[SET]
Glass Cannon (Annihilape) @ Safety Goggles / Focus Sash
Ability: Defiant
Level: 50
Tera Type: Fire / Water
EVs: 100 HP / 156 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Final Gambit / Coaching
- Close Combat
- Rage Fist
- Taunt
[SET COMMENTS]
- Annihilape uses its high base HP paired with Final Gambit to trade with and eliminate important bulky metagame threats, such as Porygon2, Archaludon, and some Volcarona. Final Gambit and Taunt make Annihilape one of the most effective counters to Trick Room in the metagame, and the combination of Defiant, a Fake Out immunity, and a STAB-boosted Close Combat makes Annihilape an amazing counter against Incineroar.
- Final Gambit is the most important move in Annihilape's kit, being able to immediately remove bulky supportive and offensive threats. Coaching can be used to boost teammates like Sneasler and Dragonite. Close Combat allows Annihilape to threaten Incineroar, the Ursaluna formes, and Kingambit without knocking itself out. Rage Fist can stack up Base Power to become a huge threat, as it's able to remove foes like Rillaboom and Primarina in one hit at 250 Base Power. Taunt is a great counter to Trick Room setters like Indeedee-F, Porygon2, and Farigiraf, as well as checking Amoonguss.
- Safety Goggles makes it easier for Annihilape to remove Pokemon like Porygon2 and Incineroar that are being supported by Amoonguss by bypassing its Spore and Rage Powder, although Amoonguss can still survive Final Gambit. The Focus Sash makes it easier for Annihilape to trade damage with Gholdengo, Ursaluna-B, and opposing Annihilape, ensuring Annihilape can tank a hit and gain power on Rage Fist.
- Tera Fire allows Annihilape to take on Volcarona, Gholdengo, Alolan Ninetales, and Rillaboom, as well as sun teams using Hisuian Typhlosion and Torkoal. Tera Fire also protects Annihilape from getting burned, but makes it weaker to Basculegion and Pelipper. Tera Water is a solid defensive Tera type that helps Annihilape take on Gholdengo, Pelipper, and Basulegion-M better, removing its weaknesses and granting resistances to the Water-type moves commonly seen on rain teams, though this gives it a weakness to Rillaboom's Grass-type moves.
- The 100 HP EVs allow Final Gambit to OHKO Volcarona, Porygon2, and some Rillaboom. The Speed investment lets Annihilape outspeed Rillaboom, Gholdengo, and Archaludon. The EVs in Attack allow Annihilape to OHKO all Incineroar with Close Combat after a Defiant boost and OHKO Basculegion-M with a 100-Base Power Rage Fist.
- The immediate value of the glass cannon set is amazing to support its partners and threaten immediate knockouts, although it lacks the ability to completely run through foes that setup Annihilape has. This set also lacks the bulk and support to survive for long, so it struggles more against faster threats like Basculegion-M and Tera Flying Sneasler.
[SET]
Fast Setup Sweeper (Annihilape) @ Leftovers / Sitrus Berry
Ability: Defiant
Level: 50
Tera Type: Fire / Water
EVs: 180 HP / 68 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Protect
- Bulk Up
- Rage Fist
- Drain Punch
[SET COMMENTS]
- This set allows Annihilape to boost its stats with Bulk Up while gaining Base Power on Rage Fist, giving it the power it needs to sweep through teams. Its Ghost typing and Defiant ability help Annihilape roll over teams unchecked, as it can't be slowed down by Fake Out or Intimidate. It has a very strong matchup against many slower teams that try to pivot to Rillaboom and Incineroar, creating pockets through their passive switches to set up.
- Rage Fist easily reaches 250 Base Power, giving it an incredible option to OHKO almost any Pokemon that doesn't resist Ghost. Drain Punch hits Pokemon that Rage Fist is ineffective against like Incineroar and Ursaluna-B for big damage while giving Annihilape significant HP recovery, which makes it extremely difficult to knock out. Bulk Up gives Annihilape an Attack boost that is critical for knocking Ammonguss out with a 250-Base Power Rage Fist; it also increases Annihilape's physical bulk enough to give it a chance of surviving 200-Base Power Last Respects from Basculegion-M.
- Leftovers is more useful in matchups where Annihilape wants to sit on the field the whole game and recover consistently, while Sitrus Berry allows Annihilape to trade damage more aggressively against Pokemon like Ursaluna-B and opposing Annihilape.
- Tera Fire makes it easier for Annihilape to beat balance teams—giving it better matchups against Rillaboom, Volcarona, Gholdengo, and Alolan Ninetales—while also making it immune to burns from Incineroar's Will-O-Wisp and Volcarona's and Magmar's Flame Body. Tera Water gives Annihilape a better matchup against teams centered around rain or sun, granting it crucial resistances to Basculegion-M's Wave Crash and Charizard's Heat Wave as well as removing its weaknesses to Pelipper's Hurricane and Basculegion-M's Last Respects.
- 180 HP EVs optimize the amount of healing that Annihilape gets from Leftovers and Grassy Terrain while giving it enough bulk to survive key attacks like Sneasler's Acrobatics and Ursaluna-B's Blood Moon with Maushold's Friend Guard active. The Attack EVs allow Annihilape to OHKO Tyranitar with Drain Punch, as well as giving it a good chance to OHKO most Rillaboom with 250-Base Power Rage Fist. Maximum Speed allows Annihilape to run over slower balance teams, letting it outspeed Gholdengo, Rillaboom, and Volcarona in order to OHKO them.
- Although this set lacks the flexibility of glass cannon Annihilape, it has the ability to sweep through teams with proper support. This set is more reliant on its partners supporting it, and without proper support or boosts, it can be a very lackluster attacker.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Teambuilding
============
- Glass cannon Annihilape is typically paired with other strong physical attackers like Dragonite and Rillaboom that struggle against Incineroar and appreciate Coaching support. It also fits well on balance and hyper offence teams that struggle against Trick Room. Setup Annihilape is usually found on dedicated setup teams and paired with Maushold, Rillaboom, and Incineroar, which allow it to reach its maximum potential.
- Maushold's Beat Up immediately boosts Annihilape's Rage Fist up to 250 Base Power. Maushold also provides important support with Friend Guard, which makes Annihilape almost unassailable, and can use Follow Me to redirect attacks, especially Gholdengo's Shadow Ball and Basculegion-M's Last Respects. Rillaboom gives Annihilape valuable healing via Grassy Surge and Fake Out support while also threatening Basculegion-M and Ursaluna-B with its powerful Grass-type STAB moves. Tailwind from Dragonite or Whimsicott allows Annihilape to outspeed and OHKO key threats like Dragapult and Swift Swim Basculegion-M.
- Setup Annihilape struggles a lot against redirection from Pokemon like Magmar, Ammonguss, and Indeedee-F, so it is often paired with Taunt users like Maushold, as well as strong spread attackers like Gholdengo and Ursaluna-B. The setup set also has problems with Grassy Seed Sneasler, which can survive its 250-Base Power Rage Fist and threaten it and its partners with the combination of Acrobatics and Close Combat. Gholdengo uses its defensive typing to completely counter Sneasler, while Incineroar can slow it down with Fake Out and Intimidate. Because glass cannon sets are so frail, they often lose to fast Pokemon like Choice Scarf Indeedee-M and Basculegion-M. Rillaboom helps with these matchups, as it removes Indeedee-M's Psychic Terrain and walls it with its Assault Vest, and it threatens Basculegion-M with Grassy Glide.
Strategy Comments
============
- Annihilape can function as either a supportive glass cannon or a powerful setup sweeper. Glass cannon sets are able to quickly remove key threats that pressure its teammates while also being able to boost allies' stats and stop annoying disruptive Pokemon like Incineroar. Setup sweeper sets are reliant on its team to help it boost its power to absurd levels; otherwise, it just won't be able to do enough damage.
- A setup Annihilape should almost always be led with Maushold, and the primary focus should be setting it up with a few uses of Bulk Up and hitting it with Maushold's Beat Up. From there, the support of Follow Me from Maushold and Fake Out from Incineroar and Rillaboom allow Annihilape to sweep through teams with its powerful Rage Fist. The glass cannon set can be used more flexibly when you want to stop opposing Trick Room users, shut down Amoonguss, or remove a key threat to your team. It works well as both a lead and backup option and is able to provide value in most matchups.
- Fast attackers heavily threaten Annihilape, especially the glass cannon variant. Strong attackers with super effective moves can immediately remove a huge chunk of Annihilape's HP, significantly weakening its Final Gambit and making it much harder for setup sets to get going. Support via Fake Out, Follow Me, and Tailwind can help Annihilape either set itself up or outspeed and KO threats. Setup Annihilape can also occasionally struggle against Defense-boosting Pokemon like Commander Dondozo and Iron Defense Corviknight, which Taunt Maushold and Haze Dragonite can help against. Taunt from Maushold can also be used to prevent Taunt or Haze from opposing users.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/r0gue_vgc.696399/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/rausakura.589964/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/pengu.650323/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/a-blue-banana.649096/
Glass Cannon (Annihilape) @ Safety Goggles / Focus Sash
Ability: Defiant
Level: 50
Tera Type: Fire / Water
EVs: 100 HP / 156 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Final Gambit / Coaching
- Close Combat
- Rage Fist
- Taunt
[SET COMMENTS]
- Annihilape uses its high base HP paired with Final Gambit to trade with and eliminate important bulky metagame threats, such as Porygon2, Archaludon, and some Volcarona. Final Gambit and Taunt make Annihilape one of the most effective counters to Trick Room in the metagame, and the combination of Defiant, a Fake Out immunity, and a STAB-boosted Close Combat makes Annihilape an amazing counter against Incineroar.
- Final Gambit is the most important move in Annihilape's kit, being able to immediately remove bulky supportive and offensive threats. Coaching can be used to boost teammates like Sneasler and Dragonite. Close Combat allows Annihilape to threaten Incineroar, the Ursaluna formes, and Kingambit without knocking itself out. Rage Fist can stack up Base Power to become a huge threat, as it's able to remove foes like Rillaboom and Primarina in one hit at 250 Base Power. Taunt is a great counter to Trick Room setters like Indeedee-F, Porygon2, and Farigiraf, as well as checking Amoonguss.
- Safety Goggles makes it easier for Annihilape to remove Pokemon like Porygon2 and Incineroar that are being supported by Amoonguss by bypassing its Spore and Rage Powder, although Amoonguss can still survive Final Gambit. The Focus Sash makes it easier for Annihilape to trade damage with Gholdengo, Ursaluna-B, and opposing Annihilape, ensuring Annihilape can tank a hit and gain power on Rage Fist.
- Tera Fire allows Annihilape to take on Volcarona, Gholdengo, Alolan Ninetales, and Rillaboom, as well as sun teams using Hisuian Typhlosion and Torkoal. Tera Fire also protects Annihilape from getting burned, but makes it weaker to Basculegion and Pelipper. Tera Water is a solid defensive Tera type that helps Annihilape take on Gholdengo, Pelipper, and Basulegion-M better, removing its weaknesses and granting resistances to the Water-type moves commonly seen on rain teams, though this gives it a weakness to Rillaboom's Grass-type moves.
- The 100 HP EVs allow Final Gambit to OHKO Volcarona, Porygon2, and some Rillaboom. The Speed investment lets Annihilape outspeed Rillaboom, Gholdengo, and Archaludon. The EVs in Attack allow Annihilape to OHKO all Incineroar with Close Combat after a Defiant boost and OHKO Basculegion-M with a 100-Base Power Rage Fist.
- The immediate value of the glass cannon set is amazing to support its partners and threaten immediate knockouts, although it lacks the ability to completely run through foes that setup Annihilape has. This set also lacks the bulk and support to survive for long, so it struggles more against faster threats like Basculegion-M and Tera Flying Sneasler.
[SET]
Fast Setup Sweeper (Annihilape) @ Leftovers / Sitrus Berry
Ability: Defiant
Level: 50
Tera Type: Fire / Water
EVs: 180 HP / 68 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Protect
- Bulk Up
- Rage Fist
- Drain Punch
[SET COMMENTS]
- This set allows Annihilape to boost its stats with Bulk Up while gaining Base Power on Rage Fist, giving it the power it needs to sweep through teams. Its Ghost typing and Defiant ability help Annihilape roll over teams unchecked, as it can't be slowed down by Fake Out or Intimidate. It has a very strong matchup against many slower teams that try to pivot to Rillaboom and Incineroar, creating pockets through their passive switches to set up.
- Rage Fist easily reaches 250 Base Power, giving it an incredible option to OHKO almost any Pokemon that doesn't resist Ghost. Drain Punch hits Pokemon that Rage Fist is ineffective against like Incineroar and Ursaluna-B for big damage while giving Annihilape significant HP recovery, which makes it extremely difficult to knock out. Bulk Up gives Annihilape an Attack boost that is critical for knocking Ammonguss out with a 250-Base Power Rage Fist; it also increases Annihilape's physical bulk enough to give it a chance of surviving 200-Base Power Last Respects from Basculegion-M.
- Leftovers is more useful in matchups where Annihilape wants to sit on the field the whole game and recover consistently, while Sitrus Berry allows Annihilape to trade damage more aggressively against Pokemon like Ursaluna-B and opposing Annihilape.
- Tera Fire makes it easier for Annihilape to beat balance teams—giving it better matchups against Rillaboom, Volcarona, Gholdengo, and Alolan Ninetales—while also making it immune to burns from Incineroar's Will-O-Wisp and Volcarona's and Magmar's Flame Body. Tera Water gives Annihilape a better matchup against teams centered around rain or sun, granting it crucial resistances to Basculegion-M's Wave Crash and Charizard's Heat Wave as well as removing its weaknesses to Pelipper's Hurricane and Basculegion-M's Last Respects.
- 180 HP EVs optimize the amount of healing that Annihilape gets from Leftovers and Grassy Terrain while giving it enough bulk to survive key attacks like Sneasler's Acrobatics and Ursaluna-B's Blood Moon with Maushold's Friend Guard active. The Attack EVs allow Annihilape to OHKO Tyranitar with Drain Punch, as well as giving it a good chance to OHKO most Rillaboom with 250-Base Power Rage Fist. Maximum Speed allows Annihilape to run over slower balance teams, letting it outspeed Gholdengo, Rillaboom, and Volcarona in order to OHKO them.
- Although this set lacks the flexibility of glass cannon Annihilape, it has the ability to sweep through teams with proper support. This set is more reliant on its partners supporting it, and without proper support or boosts, it can be a very lackluster attacker.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Teambuilding
============
- Glass cannon Annihilape is typically paired with other strong physical attackers like Dragonite and Rillaboom that struggle against Incineroar and appreciate Coaching support. It also fits well on balance and hyper offence teams that struggle against Trick Room. Setup Annihilape is usually found on dedicated setup teams and paired with Maushold, Rillaboom, and Incineroar, which allow it to reach its maximum potential.
- Maushold's Beat Up immediately boosts Annihilape's Rage Fist up to 250 Base Power. Maushold also provides important support with Friend Guard, which makes Annihilape almost unassailable, and can use Follow Me to redirect attacks, especially Gholdengo's Shadow Ball and Basculegion-M's Last Respects. Rillaboom gives Annihilape valuable healing via Grassy Surge and Fake Out support while also threatening Basculegion-M and Ursaluna-B with its powerful Grass-type STAB moves. Tailwind from Dragonite or Whimsicott allows Annihilape to outspeed and OHKO key threats like Dragapult and Swift Swim Basculegion-M.
- Setup Annihilape struggles a lot against redirection from Pokemon like Magmar, Ammonguss, and Indeedee-F, so it is often paired with Taunt users like Maushold, as well as strong spread attackers like Gholdengo and Ursaluna-B. The setup set also has problems with Grassy Seed Sneasler, which can survive its 250-Base Power Rage Fist and threaten it and its partners with the combination of Acrobatics and Close Combat. Gholdengo uses its defensive typing to completely counter Sneasler, while Incineroar can slow it down with Fake Out and Intimidate. Because glass cannon sets are so frail, they often lose to fast Pokemon like Choice Scarf Indeedee-M and Basculegion-M. Rillaboom helps with these matchups, as it removes Indeedee-M's Psychic Terrain and walls it with its Assault Vest, and it threatens Basculegion-M with Grassy Glide.
Strategy Comments
============
- Annihilape can function as either a supportive glass cannon or a powerful setup sweeper. Glass cannon sets are able to quickly remove key threats that pressure its teammates while also being able to boost allies' stats and stop annoying disruptive Pokemon like Incineroar. Setup sweeper sets are reliant on its team to help it boost its power to absurd levels; otherwise, it just won't be able to do enough damage.
- A setup Annihilape should almost always be led with Maushold, and the primary focus should be setting it up with a few uses of Bulk Up and hitting it with Maushold's Beat Up. From there, the support of Follow Me from Maushold and Fake Out from Incineroar and Rillaboom allow Annihilape to sweep through teams with its powerful Rage Fist. The glass cannon set can be used more flexibly when you want to stop opposing Trick Room users, shut down Amoonguss, or remove a key threat to your team. It works well as both a lead and backup option and is able to provide value in most matchups.
- Fast attackers heavily threaten Annihilape, especially the glass cannon variant. Strong attackers with super effective moves can immediately remove a huge chunk of Annihilape's HP, significantly weakening its Final Gambit and making it much harder for setup sets to get going. Support via Fake Out, Follow Me, and Tailwind can help Annihilape either set itself up or outspeed and KO threats. Setup Annihilape can also occasionally struggle against Defense-boosting Pokemon like Commander Dondozo and Iron Defense Corviknight, which Taunt Maushold and Haze Dragonite can help against. Taunt from Maushold can also be used to prevent Taunt or Haze from opposing users.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/r0gue_vgc.696399/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/rausakura.589964/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/pengu.650323/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/a-blue-banana.649096/
Last edited:
