[OVERVIEW]
RegenVest Primarina is a solid defensive pivot for a team with its unique Water/Fairy typing, access to slow Flip Turn, and good coverage in the likes of Energy Ball and Psychic Noise. Powerful STAB options in Moonblast and Surf allow Primarina to output decent burst damage off of its base 126 SpAtk stat, even without any extra investment. It serves as a check to physically offensive threats like Chien-Pao and Roaring Moon, while also being able to handle a large portion of the tier's special attackers. [I am not exactly sure where to include this bit, but it feels pertinent to include] Primarina is, however, the only RegenVest user in the tier without access to Knock Off, meaning it functions differently to what is generally expected of this archetype. It cannot remove items from opposing Pokemon and has to force progress through threatening damage and its slow pivots.
[SET]
RegenVest(Primarina) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP/ 252 Def/ 4 SpD
Nature: Relaxed
IVs: 0 Spe
- Flip Turn
- Psychic Noise
- Moonblast
- Energy Ball/ Surf
[SET COMMENTS]
STAB Moonblast and Flip Turn are the two anchors of this set, enabling solid damage as well as slow pivoting for Primarina. Moonblast hits Chien-Pao, Roaring Moon, Great Tusk and other tier staples for super-effective damage, and Flip Turn enables Primarina to bring in teammates safely. Dragon immunity allows Primarina to safely 1v1 Latios variants not carrying Thunderbolt, and it can hold its own against the likes of Gholdengo, Deoxys-S, Iron Moth and Heatran. Psychic Noise in particular, allows it to hit most Iron Moth for a good chunk of damage and deny recovery to Gholdengo and Heatran as well. Energy Ball is useful against Swampert and opposing Primarina. This moveslot may also be swapped for Surf, that provides a second powerful STAB option for more reliable neutral damage against Corviknight and Skarmory. Maximum investment into Defense allows Primarina to bolster defences across the board to augment its boosted Special Defense from the Assault Vest.
Pokemon like Roaring Moon and Chien-Pao, while countered by Primarina, greatly benefit from its ability to offensively pressure Great Tusk, Zamazenta and Other physical Fighting-types. Physically defensive mons like Pecharunt appreciate Primarina's ability to switch into Dark-type attacks that threaten it; similarly for Ground- and Rock-types like Great Tusk or Iron Boulder respectively that are threatened by Water-type moves. Latios and other Psychic types such as Iron Crown do benefit from Primarina's defensive profile, but Primarina users must be wary of potenial Knock Offs that can greatly cripple its RegenVest strategy. Strong Electric-type attackers like offensive Iron Hands, Electrode-Hisui, Zapdos and Regieleki can pressurise and break through Primarina, which could use Electric-immunity support from a Great Tusk or a Volt Absorb Corviknight. Desolate Land users such as Heatran or Iron Moth can deny Primarina Flip Turn pivots and, in the latter's case, immediately threaten it with Sludge Wave. Primordial Sea Zapdos or Barraskewda can help to control the weather and give Primarina safe entry. Primarina greatly benefits from having teammates to absorb Knock Off such as Rocky Helmet Corviknight, and having hazard removal either through Defog or Rapid Spin so that it can repeatedly enter the field of battle.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Primarina could run Surf over Energy Ball in its last moveslot, which does give up valuable coverage and requires support from a teammate to run. However, that option allows Primarina to utilise its powerful STAB combination for more reliable coverage, notably against Steel-types like Gholdengo, which completely walls the Energy Ball set. Psychic offers a 15BP increase over Psychic Noise but is generally less useful due to the latter's denial of HP recovery. This Primarina set generally sees little variation as its moves have been selected for specific use cases.
Checks and Counters
===================
Zapdos/Regieleki/Offensive Iron Hands: These Pokemon can force out Primarina with strong Electric-type attacks that often 2HKO at most, sometimes OHKOing Primarina even through its Assault Vest. Having a counter to these Pokemon is near essential if running RegenVest Primarina.
Desolate Land Users: As mentioned earlier, Desolate Land users such as Heatran and Iron Moth can deny Primarina Flip Turn and threaten it with Magma Storm(for trapping) or Sludge Wave(which does high damage to Primarina) respectively.
Ogerpon: All four Ogerpon formes see varying degrees of usage in AAA and are a threat to Primarina; this primarily takes the form of Desolate Land Ogerpon-H and Power Whip from any of the forms that can OHKO Primarina. Running a strong Grass resist such as Corviknight or Moltres is crucial to improve this matchup for the team.
Knock Off: Knock Off users abound in the tier, with Roaring Moon, Great Tusk, and all other RegenVest users carrying the move. Losing its Assault Vest cripples the effectiveness of this Primarina set to a large extent, which means this Primarina set needs to play around Knock Off very carefully.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/porcupine21.483565/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user3.102/ [TBA]
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user4.103/ [TBA]
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user5.104/[TBA]
RegenVest Primarina is a solid defensive pivot for a team with its unique Water/Fairy typing, access to slow Flip Turn, and good coverage in the likes of Energy Ball and Psychic Noise. Powerful STAB options in Moonblast and Surf allow Primarina to output decent burst damage off of its base 126 SpAtk stat, even without any extra investment. It serves as a check to physically offensive threats like Chien-Pao and Roaring Moon, while also being able to handle a large portion of the tier's special attackers. [I am not exactly sure where to include this bit, but it feels pertinent to include] Primarina is, however, the only RegenVest user in the tier without access to Knock Off, meaning it functions differently to what is generally expected of this archetype. It cannot remove items from opposing Pokemon and has to force progress through threatening damage and its slow pivots.
[SET]
RegenVest(Primarina) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP/ 252 Def/ 4 SpD
Nature: Relaxed
IVs: 0 Spe
- Flip Turn
- Psychic Noise
- Moonblast
- Energy Ball/ Surf
[SET COMMENTS]
STAB Moonblast and Flip Turn are the two anchors of this set, enabling solid damage as well as slow pivoting for Primarina. Moonblast hits Chien-Pao, Roaring Moon, Great Tusk and other tier staples for super-effective damage, and Flip Turn enables Primarina to bring in teammates safely. Dragon immunity allows Primarina to safely 1v1 Latios variants not carrying Thunderbolt, and it can hold its own against the likes of Gholdengo, Deoxys-S, Iron Moth and Heatran. Psychic Noise in particular, allows it to hit most Iron Moth for a good chunk of damage and deny recovery to Gholdengo and Heatran as well. Energy Ball is useful against Swampert and opposing Primarina. This moveslot may also be swapped for Surf, that provides a second powerful STAB option for more reliable neutral damage against Corviknight and Skarmory. Maximum investment into Defense allows Primarina to bolster defences across the board to augment its boosted Special Defense from the Assault Vest.
Pokemon like Roaring Moon and Chien-Pao, while countered by Primarina, greatly benefit from its ability to offensively pressure Great Tusk, Zamazenta and Other physical Fighting-types. Physically defensive mons like Pecharunt appreciate Primarina's ability to switch into Dark-type attacks that threaten it; similarly for Ground- and Rock-types like Great Tusk or Iron Boulder respectively that are threatened by Water-type moves. Latios and other Psychic types such as Iron Crown do benefit from Primarina's defensive profile, but Primarina users must be wary of potenial Knock Offs that can greatly cripple its RegenVest strategy. Strong Electric-type attackers like offensive Iron Hands, Electrode-Hisui, Zapdos and Regieleki can pressurise and break through Primarina, which could use Electric-immunity support from a Great Tusk or a Volt Absorb Corviknight. Desolate Land users such as Heatran or Iron Moth can deny Primarina Flip Turn pivots and, in the latter's case, immediately threaten it with Sludge Wave. Primordial Sea Zapdos or Barraskewda can help to control the weather and give Primarina safe entry. Primarina greatly benefits from having teammates to absorb Knock Off such as Rocky Helmet Corviknight, and having hazard removal either through Defog or Rapid Spin so that it can repeatedly enter the field of battle.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Primarina could run Surf over Energy Ball in its last moveslot, which does give up valuable coverage and requires support from a teammate to run. However, that option allows Primarina to utilise its powerful STAB combination for more reliable coverage, notably against Steel-types like Gholdengo, which completely walls the Energy Ball set. Psychic offers a 15BP increase over Psychic Noise but is generally less useful due to the latter's denial of HP recovery. This Primarina set generally sees little variation as its moves have been selected for specific use cases.
Checks and Counters
===================
Zapdos/Regieleki/Offensive Iron Hands: These Pokemon can force out Primarina with strong Electric-type attacks that often 2HKO at most, sometimes OHKOing Primarina even through its Assault Vest. Having a counter to these Pokemon is near essential if running RegenVest Primarina.
Desolate Land Users: As mentioned earlier, Desolate Land users such as Heatran and Iron Moth can deny Primarina Flip Turn and threaten it with Magma Storm(for trapping) or Sludge Wave(which does high damage to Primarina) respectively.
Ogerpon: All four Ogerpon formes see varying degrees of usage in AAA and are a threat to Primarina; this primarily takes the form of Desolate Land Ogerpon-H and Power Whip from any of the forms that can OHKO Primarina. Running a strong Grass resist such as Corviknight or Moltres is crucial to improve this matchup for the team.
Knock Off: Knock Off users abound in the tier, with Roaring Moon, Great Tusk, and all other RegenVest users carrying the move. Losing its Assault Vest cripples the effectiveness of this Primarina set to a large extent, which means this Primarina set needs to play around Knock Off very carefully.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/porcupine21.483565/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user3.102/ [TBA]
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user4.103/ [TBA]
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user5.104/[TBA]
Last edited:
