[OVERVIEW]
**Ice**:
Being one of the few fast Pokemon that Ice teams have access to, Weavile easily establishes its position in the Monotype metagame. Its fantastic Speed stat and access to Pursuit let it outspeed and KO or trap common threats to Ice-type teams such as Landorus, Latios, and Starmie, while its great Attack combined with an amazing offensive typing and good STAB moves in Knock Off, Icicle Crash, and a priority move in Ice Shard make Weavile a threat to any team. It also packs a wide movepool with access to coverage moves like Low Kick and Poison Jab as well as a setup move in Swords Dance, which makes it a deadly sweeper. However, due to its horrid bulk, it faints to most strong attacks and often cannot utilize Swords Dance. Furthermore, its poor defensive typing brings a weakness to Stealth Rock and common priority moves like Bullet Punch and Mach Punch. It is also shut down by common status effects like burns.
[SET]
name: All-out Attacker
move 1: Knock Off
move 2: Icicle Crash
move 3: Ice Shard
move 4: Low Kick / Pursuit
item: Life Orb
ability: Pressure
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Knock Off is Weavile's strongest attack and gets rid of the foe's item. It also beats Psychic-types like Jirachi, Victini, and Mew and Ghost-types like Jellicent and Gengar. Icicle Crash is Weavile's secondary STAB move; it has a decent flinch chance and lets it threaten Dragon- and Flying-type Pokemon like Dragonite, Zapdos, Hydreigon, and Landorus while also hitting Fighting-types and Mega Evolutions such as Mega Medicham and Mega Gallade. Ice Shard is a good priority move that lets Weavile revenge kill weakened Pokemon and deal massive damage to Choice Scarf users such as Garchomp and Landorus-T. Low Kick allows Weavile to beat Steel- and Rock-type Pokemon like Heatran and Tyranitar. Pursuit can be used to hit retreating foes like Gengar, Victini, or and Hoopa-U, all of which are threats to Ice teams.
Set Details
========
Maximum Speed investment with a Jolly nature lets Weavile outspeed threats like Latios, Mega Diancie, and Mega Gallade, while maximum Attack investment lets Weavile hit as hard as it can without a boosting nature. Life Orb is used to increase Weavile's damage output even more at the cost of losing a bit of HP at the end of every successful attack. Pressure is used over Pickpocket, as Weavile would have to first lose its own item to effectively make use of it. On the other hand, Pressure can drain Stone Edge and Close Combat PP, both of which are problems for Ice-type teams.
Usage Tips
========
As Weavile has poor bulk, it should be sent out when a teammate faints or against weakened foes to revenge kill them with Ice Shard. Weavile functions as great late-game cleaner due to its excellent Speed and Attack. Most defensive Pokemon hate losing their item, so Weavile can easily capitalize on that and weaken them. It should not be sent in when Stealth Rock is on the field, as it will get worn very easily when combined with Life Orb damage. Weavile should be wary of any type of status effect, as they heavily reduce its offensive presence. Weavile can be worn down easily, making it very vulnerable to priority moves like Infernape's Mach Punch as well as Mega Medicham and Mega Scizor's Bullet Punch.
Team Options
========
Mamoswine is a fantastic partner for Weavile, as it can set up Stealth Rock and pressure Fire- and Steel-type Pokemon like Heatran. On the other hand, Weavile can make up for Mamoswine's average Speed and take out faster threats like Latios. Piloswine can be used as a bulkier version of Mamoswine to pivot into attacks more easily. Running Piloswine also allows Mamoswine to use a more offensive set. Avalugg gets rid of entry hazards for Weavile while acting as a defensive backbone for it. Aurorus can spread paralysis through Thunder Wave and act as an alternative Stealth Rock user. Froslass provides a Fighting-type immunity and can set up Spikes to help Weavile break through certain Pokemon more easily. Kyurem-B is a great wallbreaker and can easily weaken most Pokemon so that Weavile can clean up later. It can also threaten Fairy- and Water-type Pokemon for Weavile through Iron Head and Fusion Bolt. Lapras greatly helps Weavile deal with Water-type Pokemon, as its access to Freeze-Dry lets it easily break the Water-types that Weavile has a hard time against, such as Mega Swampert, Gyarados, Azumarill, and Quagsire. Walrein threatens Fire-type Pokemon like Victini, Torkoal, and Darmanitan, all of which are annoying for Weavile. It also beats Scizor with a Choice Specs-boosted Hidden Power Fire, which is especially helpful. Cloyster appreciates Weavile's ability to weaken Pokemon and remove their items, as it runs a setup sweeper set. Rotom-F can pivot with Volt Switch and safely bring in Weavile. It also beats and cripples bulky Water-type Pokemon like Gyarados and Azumarill through Thunderbolt and Will-O-Wisp, respectively. Both Mega Glalie and Abomasnow are good partners, as they help Weavile against Water-type Pokemon through Freeze-Dry and Giga Drain, respectively.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
**Ice**:
Poison Jab can be used over Low Kick to threaten Fairy-type Pokemon like Azumarill and Clefable. However, it otherwise does minimal damage, and Icicle Crash is still better against Pokemon like Mega Diancie and Togekiss. Swords Dance can be used with Focus Sash to turn Weavile into a sweeper. Using Focus Sash lets Weavile utilize Pickpocket; however, as Weavile has horrible bulk, it rarely finds an opportunity to set up. A Choice Band set can be run to increase Weavile's Attack even more and have a guaranteed OHKO on Heatran after Stealth Rock, but it locks Weavile into one move.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Ice**:
**Skarmory**: Skarmory utterly walls Weavile. It takes minimal damage from both of its STAB moves and can set up entry hazards or even just KO it with Brave Bird if Weavile is weakened enough.
**Physically Defensive Pokemon**: Porygon2, Torkoal, Rotom-W, and Gastrodon easily tank all of Weavile's attacks; although they hate losing their item, they still reliably counter Weavile.
**Fighting-types**: Fighting-types like Choice Scarf Terrakion, Keldeo, and Choice Scarf Heracross all easily take Weavile's attacks or outspeed and KO it.
**Fairy-types**: Fairy-type Pokemon like Clefable, Klefki, and Azumarill easily wall Weavile. Clefable and Klefki can Thunder Wave it and set up their respective entry hazards, while Azumarill can KO it with Play Rough.
**Status**: Any type of status effect heavily cripples Weavile. Burns destroy its offensive capabilities, poison wears it down very easily, and paralysis lowers its Speed drastically.
**Residual Damage**: Entry hazard damage, especially Stealth Rock, status, and Life Orb damage heavily wear down Weavile and make it vulnerable to most priority moves.
**Priority**: Weavile is threatened by most priority moves, as they are generally super effective against it or come from strong attackers such as Extreme Speed Dragonite and Entei. Mega Medicham, Infernape, and Mega Scizor all have access to super effective priority moves against Weavile. Mega Medicham can 2HKO Weavile with Fake Out + Bullet Punch, while Infernape and Mega Scizor can OHKO it with Mach Punch and Bullet Punch, respectively.
**Revenge Killers**: Choice Scarf Victini, Choice Scarf Jirachi, and Mega Lopunny all outspeed Weavile and easily KO it, although they can't switch in safely.
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