[OVERVIEW]
* Thanks to the combination of Leaf Storm and Contrary, Serperior poses a serious offensive threat that can quickly snowball out of control.
* Great Speed tier coupled with Glare prevents Serperior from being revenge killed easily, making it even more dangerous cleaner.
* Serperior can be very annoying to face sometimes due to its access to moves like Glare, Substitute, Leech Seed, and Synthesis.
* Serperior's Special Attack is rather low when unboosted, meaning that Serperior can't fire off much damage immediately and requires a couple turns to set up in order to actually start wreaking havoc.
* Serperior has a shallow coverage and thus is walled by common metagame presences like Heatran and Mega Latias.
* Poor bulk doesn't let Serperior come in on the field easily and endure many hits.
[SET]
name: Substitute
move 1: Leaf Storm
move 2: Hidden Power Fire
move 3: Substitute
move 4: Glare / Leech Seed
item: Leftovers
ability: Contrary
nature: Timid
evs: 56 HP / 200 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
* Hidden Power Fire prevents the likes of Ferrothorn, Magearna, and Celesteela from easily walling Serperior.
* Substitute enables Serperior to ease prediction as well as to capitalize on passive Pokemon like Rotom-W and Gastrodon by absorbing their weak attacks and status moves and forcing them out, obtaining a free turn.
* Glare cripples Serperior's answers like Tornadus-T and Heatran and also eases matchup against fast offensive teams.
* Leech Seed simultaneously chips down Serperior's switch-ins and heals Serperior, preventing it from getting worn down quickly.
Set Details
========
* 56 EVs in HP enable Serperior's Substitute to always tank a Hydro Pump from defensive variants of Rotom-W.
Usage Tips
========
* Early-game, Glare is usually your go-to move, especially against faster teams, in order to harm Serperior's answers and make them easier to beat.
* Serperior acts best as a mid- to late-game cleaner, when its answers are either completely destroyed or weakened and crippled enough so Serperior can muscle past them.
* Since Serperior is relatively frail and tends to getting worn down due to Substitute, it's best to bring it in on the field via aggressive double switches or VoltTurn support.
* The best opportunity to use Glare, Leech Seed, or Substitute is on Pokemon like Rotom-W and Gastrodon that are forced out by Serperior and thus give it a free turn.
* Substitute can be used to scout out moves like Thunder Wave from Clefable that can severely cripple Serperior. Also Substitute comes in handy when Serperior gets an opportunity to perform a sweep, making it more forgiving to use as well as preventing it from being revenge killed easily.
Team Options
========
* Due to its offensive nature, Serperior fits best on faster-paced teams that can give it proper support enabling it to clean up the opposing team.
* The likes of Heatran, Mega Alakazam, and Mega Latios can beat Serperior's answers like Heatran itself, Tornadus-T, Zapdos, and Mega Venusaur.
* Ground-types like Garchomp and Z-Move Landorus-T are notable allies because they threaten most of Serperior's answers and set Stealth Rock up.
* Other hazard setters such as Greninja, Heatran, and Mega Tyranitar pair well with Serperior too, softening up the opposition for it.
* VoltTurn support from Rotom-W, Tornadus-T, and the likes helps Serperior enter the battlefield safely; the former is an especially notable teammate to Serperior because it also checks Heatran and Tornadus-T.
* Slower offensive Pokemon such as Mega Mawile, Tapu Lele, and Mega Medicham appreciate Glare support from Serperior.
* Pursuit trappers, namely Mega Tyranitar and Weavile, can trap and beat Serperior's checks like Mega Latias, Mega Latios, Tornadus-T, and Zapdos.
[SET]
name: Synthesis
move 1: Leaf Storm
move 2: Hidden Power Fire
move 3: Synthesis
move 4: Glare
item: Leftovers
ability: Contrary
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
* Synthesis gives Serperior some defensive utility and lets it stick around for more time.
* Defog enables Serperior to remove hazards from common hazard setters such as Ferrothorn and Ash-Greninja.
* Taunt turns Serperior into a decent stallbreaker, shutting down passive Pokemon like Chansey and Toxapex.
* Nature Power in conjunction with Electric Terrain support from Tapu Koko allows Serperior to hit Tornadus-T and Toxapex super effectively while landing a neutral hit on Heatran and Zapdos.
Usage Tips
========
* You can play with Serperior more aggressively early-game thanks to Synthesis keeping it alive and allowing Serperior to switch in on the likes of Rotom-W and Tapu Fini a lot more freely.
* Be very careful of using Leaf Storm and Synstesis because these moves have only 8 PP.
* Since this Serperior lacks Substitute and thus has no room to mistake, you should pay more attention to weakening and eliminating Serperior's checks and counters before pulling of a sweep.
* Don't overestimate Synthesis Serperior's ability to take hits repeatedly: its bulk still isn't very good, and Synthesis is a somewhat shaky recovery move due to its low amount of PPs and reliance on weather. Don't underestimate Serperior's bulk, either: while it isn't amazing, a healthy Serperior can tank something important like Ash-Greninja's Hydro Pump in a pinch.
* If you need your Serperior healthy, the best oppotunity to use Synthesis is when Serperior forces something like Rotom-W out and thus generates a free turn to itself.
Team Options
========
* Even with Synthesis, Serperior doesn't do well against Ash-Greninja, so answers to it, like Magearna, Tapu Fini, and Kommo-o make great partners to Serperior.
* Wallbreakers such as Mega Mawile and Garchomp can break down opposing defensive structures, opening a way for cleaning up to Serperior
* Hazards support from the likes of Landorus-T, Greninja, and Heatran softens up the opposing team and helps Serperior perform a sweep.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
* Choice Scarf Serperior can be a threatening revenge killer and late-game cleaner, but its terrible coverage and initially low firepower prevent Serperior from doing this job effectively. In addition, Choice Scarf Kartana outperforms Choice Scarf Serperior in almost every way.
* Using both Glare and Leech Seed on the same set might be beneficial against threats like Heatran and Mega Latias. This comes at the cost of coverage in Hidden Power Fire and reduces Serperior's efficiency as a cleaner a lot, though.
* Using both Glare and Leech Seed on the same set might be beneficial against threats like Heatran and Mega Latias. This comes at the cost of coverage in Hidden Power Fire and reduces Serperior's efficiency as a cleaner a lot, though.
* Knock Off can remove items from Serperior's switch-ins like Heatran and Celesteela. However, options listed on main sets provide more overall utility, and Serperior doesn't have much place to fit Knock Off.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Fire-types**: Pokemon like Heatran, Volcarona, and Mega Charizard X don't mind eating Leaf Storm and threaten Serperior with their super effective Fire-type STAB moves, fearing only Glare.
**Flying-types**: Tornadus-T, Zapdos, and the likes resist Leaf Storm and can knock out Serperior with super effective moves. Zapdos is an especially notable counter to Serperior because it is immune to Glare and can stall Serperior's Leaf Storm out of PPs with the combination of Pressure and Roost.
**Steel-types**: The likes of Magearna and Celesteela easily take on several Leaf Storms but can fall prey to a boosted Hiddem Power Fire if they were weakened enough. Most Steel-types are annoyed by Glare and Leech Seed too.
**Bulky Grass-types**: Tangrowth, Mega Venusaur, and Amoonguss resist Leaf Storm, are immune to Leech Seed, and don't really mind taking a Glare, while in return they can severely hurt Serperior with super effective moves like Sludge Bomb. Boosted Hidden Power Fire hits Grass-types not named Mega Venusaur for a good amounts of damage, though.
**Dragon-types**: Pokemon such as Mega Latias, Mega Latios, and Kommo-o can easily sponge both Leaf Storm and Hidden Power Fire and can retaliate with their strong attacks, but all of them are heavily crippled by Glare
**Chansey**: Chansey easily bounces off any attack from Serperior thanks to its titanic special bulk and Soft-Boiled; it isn't annoyed by Glare thanks to Natural Cure, either. However, Chansey can eventually get overwhelmed by Serperior by certain combinations of moves like Substitute and Leech Seed or Synthesis and Taunt.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Egor, 439341]]
- Earlier versions by: [[Felixx, 401973], [Djokra, 327320]
- Quality checked by: [[, ], [, ], [, ]]
- Grammar checked by: [[, ], [, ]]
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