Scholar
Shinjiro's babe
Normal
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Meloetta's high Special Attack stat, massive movepool, and great offensive typing make it a dangerous special wallbreaker that can take care of passive walls such as Toxapex and Hippowdon, and its great Special Defense allows it to take attacks from Pokemon like Clefable, Latios, and Zapdos. Meloetta helps balance Normal greatly, serving as a special attacker, and its STAB Psychic moves help its more passive teammates like Chansey and Porygon2 deal with threats like Toxapex and Mega Venusaur in the Poison matchup. Meloetta can also take care of faster Pokemon like Gengar and Latios. However, its base 90 Speed tier is quite mediocre to fulfill a role of a revenge killer or wallbreaker, as it gets outsped by common Pokemon in the tier like Landorus-T, Keldeo, and Terrakion even when running Choice Scarf. While its Psychic typing can help with some matchups, it also leaves Meloetta weak to moves like Knock Off and Pursuit from common Pokemon like Bisharp and Alolan Muk. Furthermore, Meloetta has a mediocre Defense stat that limits what it can switch into because it gets easily KOed by the likes of Victini and Excadrill. It also faces competition with Porygon-Z as its team's special attacker because of Z-Conversion transforming Porygon-Z into a Ghost-type and making it immune to Fighting-type moves.
[SET]
name: Choice Specs (Normal)
move 1: Hyper Voice
move 2: Psychic
move 3: Shadow Ball
move 4: Focus Blast
item: Choice Specs
ability: Serene Grace
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Hyper Voice is powerful STAB move that also goes through Substitute, which is useful against Pokemon like Suicune, Sharpedo, and Zapdos. Psychic is another powerful STAB move that helps with breaking passive Pokemon like Toxapex and Mega Venusaur and helps with Fighting-types like Terrakion and Infernape. Shadow Ball helps greatly with Ghost- and Psychic-types and allows Meloetta to break Gengar and Latias so its passive teammates don't have to worry about dealing with a Special Defense drop or Trick. Focus Blast helps with Steel- and Rock-type Pokemon such as Ferrothorn, Heatran, and Tyranitar.
Set Details
========
A Timid nature is run with maximum EVs in Speed to outspeed Pokemon like Nidoking and Zapdos. 252 EVs in Special Attack along with a Choice Specs turn Meloetta into a powerful wallbreaker. The ability Serene Grace can make secondary effects happen more often with Psychic, Shadow Ball, or Focus Blast.
Usage Tips
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Use Meloetta early-game, as its wallbreaking power can let its STAB moves easily dent walls and threats to its teammates. Meloetta has great Special Defense, so switch it in on neutral or resisted special attacks such as Rotom-W’s Hydro Pump and Clefable's Moonblast. Meloetta can also switch in safely on passive walls that do not threaten it like Toxapex, Mega Venusaur, and Hippowdon. Take advantage of a slow U-turn from Staraptor or following a teammate fainting to safely bring in Meloetta. Do not bring it in on physical wallbreakers such as Azumarill, Diggersby, and Sand Rush Excadrill, because it will get easily KOed. Similarly, Meloetta should never stay in on potential Choice Scarf users that can threaten it such as Landorus-T, Tapu Bulu, and Victini, as they can KO it before it can hit back. Be careful around Knock Off users such as Bisharp, Azumarill, and Landorus-T, as losing its item greatly hurts Meloetta's wallbreaking power. Be wary of potential Pursuit users that can trap and remove Meloetta such as Alolan Muk, Scizor, and Mega Aerodactyl. Also, be careful what move Meloetta uses, as locking into the wrong move makes it vulnerable to being Pursuit trapped by the likes of Tyranitar and Alolan Muk or set up on by Pokemon like Bisharp and Mega Scizor.
Team Options
========
Chansey can sponge special attacks from threats like Tapu Koko and Hydreigon that threaten Meloetta. It can also set up Stealth Rock to break Focus Sash and limit how many times a Pokemon can be brought in, which allows Meloetta to secure KOs on Thundurus-T and Landorus. Porygon2 can take physical attacks that Meloetta cannot like Victini's V-create and Mega Sharpedo's Crunch. Staraptor takes care of entry hazards for Meloetta with Defog, has Intimidate to help with threats like Mega Lopunny and Infernape, and can help Meloetta get safely into the field with its slow U-turn, which can easily help preserve Meloetta for later in the game. Mega Lopunny can provide great help in the Dark-type matchup and take care of threats like Mega Sableye and Bisharp. Mega Pidgeot can help take care of Fighting Pokemon as well as use U-turn to get it in safely on a predicted switch. Diggersby is a great physical wallbreaker that can take care of threats for Meloetta such as Mantine with Return and Celesteela with Fire Punch. Ditto can help against common setup users like Mega Charizard X and Bisharp by threatening a reverse sweep and pressuring them, and it is able to outpace any Pokemon that is not Choice Scarf itself thanks to its own Choice Scarf. Smeargle is a great suicide lead on hyper offensive Normal, setting hazards and allowing Meloetta to outspeed Pokemon it usually could not thanks to Sticky Web.
[SET]
name: Choice Scarf (Normal)
move 1: Psychic
move 2: Shadow Ball / U-turn
move 3: Focus Blast
move 4: U-turn / Hyper Voice
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Serene Grace
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Psychic is powerful STAB move that can revenge kill Pokemon such as Choice Scarf Heracross and Choice Specs Keldeo. Shadow Ball helps greatly with Ghost- and Psychic-types and allows Meloetta to break Blacephalon and Mega Gallade thanks to its Choice Scarf. Focus Blast helps with Rock- and Steel-types such as Tyranitar, Excadrill, and Stakataka. U-turn is run to gain momentum, since Meloetta often forces in Pokemon like Bisharp, Mega Siczor, and Alolan Muk. Hyper Voice is another STAB move that can do neutral damage as a safe opening attack and goes through Substitute, a move that Pokemon like Mega Sharpedo and Zapdos commonly use.
Set Details
========
A Timid nature is run with maximum Speed EVs and Choice Scarf to outpace common Choice Scarf users such as Excadrill, Heracross, and Tapu Bulu. 252 EVs in Special Attack help maximize Meloetta's damage output. The ability Serene Grace can increase the chance that opposing stats will drop from Psychic, Shadow Ball, or Focus Blast.
Usage Tips
========
It's best to bring in Meloetta against threats that it takes a hit well from and beats such as Zapdos, Blacephalon, Nidoking, and passive Pokemon like Toxapex, Mega Venusaur, and Torkoal. Bluffing a Choice Specs set with U-turn is an option to gain momentum on the opponent. Another way to get Meloetta in safely is on a predicted switch, which can lead to gaining momentum with U-turn. Do not bring it in on physical wallbreakers like Azumarill, Diggersby, and Dragonite, because with Meloetta's poor physical bulk, it will get easily KOed. Be wary of Knock Off users such as Mega Sableye, Azumarill, and Landorus-T, as the loss of Meloetta's Choice Scarf leaves it outpaced by Choice Scarf Tapu Bulu. Also be careful around status moves such as Toxic or Thunder Wave from common users such as Zapdos, Chansey, and Celesteela, because Toxic puts Meloetta on a timer and Thunder Wave causes it to be outpaced by Pokemon such as Excadrill. Be aware that Meloetta's much lower damage output will give its item away to the opponent and give away that common walls like Heatran, Ferrothorn, and Slowbro can withstand attacks from it. Be careful with locking into the wrong move, as this can lead to a dangerous situation where Meloetta can get Pursuit trapped or set up on by the likes of Mega Charizard X and Bisharp.
Team Options
========
Chansey can set up Stealth Rock to help Meloetta secure KOs and soak up attacks from Pokemon that threaten it like Alolan Raichu and Greninja. Porygon2 is a staple for Normal balance teams with its ability to take on strong physical attacks from Pokemon that Meloetta cannot like Victini and Mega Scizor. Staraptor takes care of entry hazards with Defog, which can help prolong Meloetta's longevity, punishes physical attackers with Rocky Helmet and lower their Attack with Intimidate, and provide Meloetta momentum with its slow U-turn and gets it on the field safely to deal with faster threats like Terrakion and Infernape. Meloetta struggles with Dark-type Pokemon, so Mega Lopunny helps greatly with Dark- and Steel-types like Alolan Muk, Bisharp, and Ferrothorn. Mega Pidgeot takes care of Fighting Pokemon and can also help in the Steel matchup, taking on Pokemon that Meloetta struggles with like Celesteela and Heatran with Heat Wave and Hidden Power Ground. Diggersby is a powerful physical wallbreaker that can take care of threats to Meloetta like Zapdos with Return, Mega Scizor with Fire Punch, and Empoleon with Earthquake.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Normal
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Meloetta can run a Calm Mind set with Leftovers and Substitute and a spread of 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe that can become really dangerous after setting up and take down threats like Suicune. However, this limits Meloetta to Psyshock and Thunderbolt as attacking moves, which can limit what Pokemon it can knock out. Psyshock can be used over Psychic on the Choice Specs set to hit Pokemon like Chansey, but it doesn't come with a chance of getting a Special Defense drop and cannot take care of Buzzwole. Dazzling Gleam is another option to deal with troubling Dark-types such as Mega Sableye and Hydreigon, but this means usually dropping an important move like Hyper Voice. A Modest nature can be used over Timid on the Choice Specs set, but this makes Meloetta lose the ability to outspeed Nidoking and Mamoswine. Trick can be run to cripple passive Pokemon like Mantine or a setup Pokemon like Bisharp at the cost of dropping one of its coverage moves. Thunderbolt can be used on the Choice Specs set to hit Pokemon like Mantine and Celesteela, but this forces Meloetta to drop a move that it needs like Focus Blast.
Checks and Counters
===================
Normal
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**Pursuit**: Meloetta can easily be Pursuit trapped by Pokemon like Mega Aerodactyl, Alolan Muk, and Scizor, leaving Meloetta heavily damaged or KOed.
**Dark-types**: Focus Blast is too unreliable to effectively deal with the Dark-types that counter Meloetta, as it can easily get KOed by STAB Knock Off, Pursuit, or Sucker Punch from common Dark-type Pokemon like Bisharp, Alolan Muk, and Krookodile. It also has trouble with Mega Sableye, as it can easily take any of Meloetta's attacks.
**Bug-types**: Bug-types like Heracross and Scizor easily scare out Meloetta with their super effective moves, but Heracross has to be wary if Meloetta is using a Choice Scarf. Both of these Pokemon also commonly run Pursuit, which heavily dents Meloetta.
**Specially Defensive Pokemon**: Chansey and Mantine can easily wall Meloetta, cripple it with Toxic, and recover any type of damage they receive.
**Revenge Killers**: Revenge killers like Victini, Kyurem-B, and Tapu Bulu threaten Meloetta and KO it due to their powerful attacks.
**Physical Wallbreakers**: Physical wallbreakers like Azumarill, Excadrill, and Dragonite can easily KO Meloetta from full HP due to its mediocre defenses.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Magma,393488]]
- Normal analysis by: [[Magma, 393488]]
- Quality checked by: [[Misaka Mikoto, 240969], [Moosical, 215618], [Vid, 239907]]
- Grammar checked by: [[The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216], [Electrolyte,148071]]
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