<p>As the sixth fastest Pokemon in VGC 2011 with access to Safeguard, dual screens, and other useful moves, Serperior would seem to have a niche in the VGC 2011 metagame. However, Prankster users make Serperior's superb Speed almost useless, and with no impressive attacking stats to fall back on to make good use of its Speed, Serperior often finds itself a dead weight once it's finished setting up or is Taunted. Overall, Serperior isn’t too threatening or helpful, but still does a great job of setting up screens and has just enough other options to get by.</p>
[SET]
name: Dual Screens
move 1: Light Screen
move 2: Reflect
move 3: Glare / Safeguard / Taunt
move 4: Leaf Blade / Leaf Storm
item: Light Clay / Mental Herb
nature: Jolly / Timid
evs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spe
[Set Comments]
<p>Thanks to its fantastic Speed, Serperior sets up screens before most Pokemon can attack, making it a great dual screen user. After setting up screens, Serperior can proceed to use Glare or Taunt on your opponent's Pokemon, making them more vulnerable to attacks. Alternatively, it can set up Safeguard, which is a great move to protect your team from Amoonguss and other status abusers. To show how helpful screens are, assuming both Archeops and Tornadus run max Attack, a neutral nature, and Reflect is up, Tornadus will never KO Serperior with Flying Gem boosted Acrobatics without a critical hit, while Archeops only has a 7% chance to KO Serperior. Leaf Blade is a great move with its high critical hit rate, and has the added bonus of hitting Jellicent on its softer physical side for super effective damage. Leaf Storm, used twice, will outdamage Leaf Blade, and Serperior may not be attacking that often anyway.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p> Mental Herb gives you at least one turn of setup, lifting the effects of Taunt and Encore, while Light Clay will make Serperior's screens last longer. An alternative EV spread of 100 HP / 156 Atk / 252 Spe can be used if Serperior's offensive abilities with the recommended spread are too unusable. 156 EVs in Special Attack guarantees a KO on Terrakion with Leaf Storm and most Pokemon weak to it. The EVs in Attack will also make for a stronger Leaf Blade, making Serperior less of an offensive slouch. 100 EVs in HP will still guarantee surviving a neutral nature Tornadus's Acrobatics with Reflect up, but you have a much higher chance of being KOed by Archeops.</p>
<p>Although generally not as good as the moves above, Gastro Acid and Dragon Tail can work well in certain situations. Gastro Acid, while being a situational move, is a lot of fun to use on Conkeldurr who abuse Flame Orb plus Guts. Some other uses include hitting Eelektross and Musharna, who often depend on their abilities to protect themselves from their partner's spread attacks. Although otherwise useless, Dragon Tail can be used to stop Trick Room.</p>
<p>Giga Drain is an option over the aforementioned attacks for restoring Serperior's health. However, it is only recommended if using the second spread, because with only 4 EVs in Special Attack, Serperior can't even guarantee a reliable 2HKO on Terrakion, so the HP recovered will hardly be worth Leaf Blade's higher critical hit rate and power.</p>
<p>Most sweepers will benefit from dual screens, making them much harder to take down. Because Serperior is able to hit Jellicent and Terrakion for super effective damage, partners such as Terrakion or Hydreigon, who would normally have trouble with those two, work well and help to cover Serperior's Fire weakness. Thundurus is also a great partner, being able to outspeed Archeops and KO both Archeops and enemy Tornadus with Thunderbolt. Sweepers that possess some bulk such as Hydreigon and Eelektross become even more menacing when behind screens.</p>
[SET]
name: Calm Mind
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Giga Drain
move 3: Hidden Power Ice / Taunt
move 4: Rest / Protect
item: Chesto Berry / Life Orb
nature: Timid
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[Set Comments]
<p>With good defenses and Speed, Serperior is a noteworthy candidate for Calm Mind, needing little help from its teammates to set up. After a Calm Mind or two, Serperior's offensive abilities improve significantly, and enable it to bring down most Pokemon with Giga Drain and Hidden Power. Unlike Lilligant, Virizion, and Volcarona, Serperior initially outspeeds crucial threats such as Tornadus and Terrakion and doesn't have a crippling 4x weakness to Flying- or Rock-type moves. Hidden Power helps make up for Serperior's poor coverage, hitting its would-be counters for super effective damage. Rest plus Chesto Berry is one instant recovery, while Life Orb gives Serperior more power but reduces its survivability.</p>
[Additional Comments]
<p>Hidden Power Ice generally gives the best coverage, hitting Flying-types, such as Tornadus, and Dragon-types for super effective damage, but Hidden Power Fire can be used to hit Steel-types. Rock is mainly for Volcarona, who is 4x weak to it, and while it does get coverage against Flying-types for super effective damage, Ice is generally the better choice. Taunt is usually not used, but it has some potential use against Amoonguss and Trick Room users, should they not carry Mental Herb. After a Calm Mind, Serperior's Special Attack will only be as high as a neutral natured Jellicent's, so getting off more than one Calm Mind should be your goal, and is safer when Serperior has Rest and Chesto Berry.</p>
<p>Although Serperior's defenses are above average, the Calm Mind set is still vulnerable to attacks, and with two Pokemon attacking at once, Serperior will likely be forced to use Rest sooner, rather than later. Thundurus checks most Flying-types, doing huge damage with its STAB Thunderbolt. A Rage Powder user draws attention away from Serperior, giving it more time to stat up.</p>
[Optional Changes]
<p> A Swords Dance or Coil set could work, but Serperior's physical movepool is very lacking, with nothing of note outside of Leaf Blade, Dragon Tail, and Return. Serperior can set up Sunny Day and gets Growth, but again, it doesn't have much to work with. A SubSeed set could work but Whimsicott probably does it better, and Subseed isn't as effective in doubles as it is in singles to begin with. Double Team is not banned in VGC, and Serperior is arguably one of the fastest and bulkiest users. After a few Double Teams, the Calm Mind set becomes hard to stop.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Whimsicott is annoying with Encore, and the other two Prankster users can carry Taunt, which seriously impedes Serperior from doing anything useful, but must watch for Serperior carrying Mental Herb. Most Flying-types carry Acrobatics with a Flight Gem, and can kill Serperior without Reflect up. Other good checks include Chandelure, Darmanitan, and any other Pokemon that resists Serperior's attacks and can get through its bulk. Putting aside the threat of Serperior's Taunt and Safeguard, Amoonguss's bulk and typing make it hard for Serperior to do anything noteworthy to the giant mushroom. Bouffalant and Sawsbuck are hard counters with their Sap Sipper ability, raising their Attack stats each time they're hit by a Grass-type attack, while shrugging off anything else Serperior throws at them. Sawsbuck should be a bit wary of Hidden Power, though.</p>
