Silvally (WIP)

[Diagnostic]

[OVERVIEW]

• Silvally has an above-average base speed of 95, allowing it to take on a Choice Scarf role efficiently and speed tie with the common Choice Scarf user in the tier, Electivire.
• Access to STAB Explosion, STAB Double-Edge, Crunch/Shadow Claw to hit Normal-type immunities, and Swords Dance as set-up option allows Silvally to function as an exceptional Normal-Type wallbreaker and is arguably the best at doing so in comparison to its other Silvally type-variants in ZU.
• Having the ability to use Z-Crystals allows Silvally to utilize support options such as Z-Parting Shot to heal teammates, Z-Heal Block to gain a +1 SpA for a special attacking role while shutting down recovery options from defensive pokemon such as Pyukumuku, Z-Explosion which allows you to use a 300 Base Power nuking option after factoring STAB, along with other Z-combinations.
• Not being restricted to a Type-based Memory allows Silvally to make use of items such as a recovery option in Leftovers or damage boosting ones including Life Orb, Choice Band, Choice Specs, Silk Scarf, and Expert Belt.
• Silvally faces competition with other Normal-types in the tier depending on which offensive role it decides to take on. Physical wallbreaker variants compete with pokemon such as Kecleon, Bouffalant, and Komala, which all have abilities / immunities that allows them to break through defensive cores. Special attacking variants compete with pokemon such as Chatot and Noctowl, which have stronger STAB options to abuse along with reliable set-up options that are not reliant on Z-Crystals.
• Support variants hold a niche for being able to Defog while using Leftovers to maintain passive recovery or Z-Parting Shot to provide a recovery option to its teammates but Normal-type is not an ideal defensive typing in this metagame as it does not provide any resistances, limiting Silvally to an offensive role. Lickilicky ultimately outclasses Silvally in a cleric/support role, although it lacks hazard removal, while Silvally is outclassed by other hazard removers in the tier including Komala, Altaria, and Silvally-Water. Silvally, despite having access to Defog, is unfortunately affected by all forms of hazards and especially dislikes Sticky Webs that remove its ability to utilize its speed tier.

[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Explosion
move 2: Double-Edge
move 3: U-Turn
move 4: Defog / Toxic / Ice Beam
item: Choice Scarf
ability: RKS System
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

• Explosion
• Double-Edge
• U-Turn
• Defog
• Toxic
• Ice Beam

Set Details
========

• Maximum Attack investments allows Silvally to hit as hard as possible with STAB Explosion and Double-Edge, securing important KO's against the targets that it is meant to revenge kill or if it has the opportunity to late game sweep.
• Maximum Speed investments with a Jolly nature allows Silvally the ability to outpace opposing choiced attackers under base 95 speed including Pinsir, Rotom-Fan, Mr.Mime, and Chatot, Shell Smash users such as Huntail, and weather-based attackers such as Beartic.

Usage Tips
========

• Speed Control with late-game sweeping capabilities once Ghost-types and Normal-type resists are removed.
• Revenge Killer with access to a powerful STAB Explosion to remove most offensive threats.
• Switch-in on passive pokemon that lack Knock off and status options. Take advantage of Silvally's immunity to Ghost-type attacks such as Shadow Ball.

Team Options
========

• Magnet Pull partners such as Probopass and Golem-Alola
• Swanna which has excellent STAB options that threatens both Fighting-types, Rock-Types, and Gourgeist-XL, aiding as an offensive partner.
• Using a defensive core to support its weakness to Fighting-type attacks while providing checks to the Rock-types that commonly switch in such as Bronzor + Altaria or Gourgeist-XL + Golem.
• Fighting-types such as Combusken and Monferno which threaten defensive cores that would not fear any of Silvally's coverage options and switch in freely.

[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Explosion
move 3: Double-Edge
move 4: Crunch / Shadow Claw
item: Normalium Z
ability: RKS System
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

• Swords Dance
• Explosion
• Double-Edge
• Crunch
• Shadow Claw

Set Details
========

• Maximum Attack and Speed investments with a Jolly nature allows Silvally to hit as hard as possible while outpacing pokemon under base 95 speed and speed tying with Electivire and other offensive Silvally variants.
• Normalium Z provides it with a one-time nuke option against frail resists such as Pawniard without having to remove itself with Explosion.

Usage Tips
========

• Wallbreaker
• Can break through Ghost-types and some Normal-resists such as Bronzor and Pawniard due to Swords Dance.
• Switch in on passive pokemon lacking status options, especially burn. Switching into Knock off is a good opportunity due to your Z-crystal reducing the base damage of the attack.

Team Options
========

• Rock-type pokemon checks
• Pyukumuku checks
• Faster offensive pokemon with Fighting-type coverage checks
• Gourgeist-XL checks
• Status Absorber

[SET]
name: Z-Parting Shot Support
move 1: Parting Shot
move 2: Thunderbolt
move 3: Ice Beam
move 4: Defog
item: Darkinium Z
ability: RKS System
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

• Parting Shot
• Thunder Bolt
• Ice Beam
• Defog

Set Details
========

• Maximum Special Attack and Speed investments with a Timid nature allows Silvally to hit as hard as possible while outpacing pokemon under base 95 speed and speed typing with Electivire and other offensive Silvally variants.
• Darkinium Z in combination with Parting Shot lets it utilize a one-time recovery option that heals weakened teammates while providing opportunities for set-up due to decrease foe's offensive stats by one stage.

Usage Tips
========

• Defogger + One-time Cleric option
• Switch into passive pokemon weak to your BoltBeam attack combination such as Tangela and Altaria. Switching into Knock off is a good opportunity due to your Z-crystal reducing the base damage of the attack.
• Take advantage of Parting Shot's stat reduction for teammates and only utilize the Z-option when necessary to heal up weakened attackers or defensive pokemon.

Team Options
========

• Soundproof pokemon checks
• Special defensive pokemon checks
• Faster offensive pokemon with Fighting-Type coverage checks
• Faster utility pokemon with access to Taunt checks

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

• Silvally can opt for a Choice Specs / Choice Band set that abuses its STAB Normal-type attacks, coverage options, and access to U-turn but is generally not advised due to facing competition with other Normal-type attackers in the tier who functions as better wallbreakers and Silvally's main niche comes from its above-average speed and utility options.
• Z-Heal Block provides a one-time boost to its special attack and take advantage of defensive checks that require recovery to beat it but is checked by AV users such as Kecleon and can be forced out by offensive pokemon with access to powerful Fighting-type coverage. Never Ending Nightmare, coming from Z-Shadow Claw, grants it a powerful one-time option against checks such as Colbur Berry Gourgeist-XL and Eviolite Bronzor, but is generally less useful for wallbreaking in comparison to Z-Explosion variants.
• A weather-support suicide lead is an option due to Silvally's ability to hold items including Heat Rock and Damp Rock and access to the respective moves to set the desired weather. STAB Explosion and U-Turn allows it to heavily damage opponents or pivot into a weather abusing teammate while preserving turns although it faces stiff competition with Volbeat and Golem, which have useful abilities and provide arguably better utility for the hyper-offensive archetype.
• STAB Facade on Swords Dance variants allows Silvally to set up against Scald and Status users but is not preferred over the sheer power that Double-Edge and Explosion provides. Hyper Voice is your strongest attacking option and can replace Thunderbolt on special attacking variants but is generally not preferred over the coverage option that Ice Beam in combination with Thunderbolt provides against the metagame and leaves you walled by steel-types. Energy Ball is a decent coverage option that pairs well with Flamethrower and Hyper Voice for solid neutral coverage. Tri Attack is a slightly weaker STAB option over Hyper Voice but provides potential status utility and has a chance to inflict the freeze status on an incoming opponent.
• Leftovers is a usable item that provides passive recovery to Silvally but other items provide more utility and take advantage of Silvally's offensive capabilities. Life Orb allows Silvally to boost its coverage options but the recoil from Double Edge and its lack of recovery leaves this item generally outclassed by Z-Crystals.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Rock-Types**: Golem / Crustle / Golem-Alola / Probopass

**Fighting-Types**: Silvally-Fighting / Combusken / Monferno / Machoke

**Ghost-Types**: Gourgeist-XL

**Unaware Users**: Pyukumuku

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Diagnostic]]
- Quality checked by: [[, ], [, ], [, ]]
- Grammar checked by: [[, ], [, ]]

 

[yogi]

Been sitting too long, and you've not been on for a week. Reassigning bud.