Silvally-Fairy
"Because Null and I have to make it on our own. And I don't ever want to forget that."
- Gladion
BASE STATS: |
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HP:
95 |
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Attack:
95 |
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Defense:
95 |
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Sp. Atk:
95 |
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Sp. Def:
95 |
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Speed:
95 |
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Oh boy, BlackMalachite posting about more lower-tier Pokemon in OU, (seriously, are any of you actually shocked by my posts at all at this point? When it comes to Pokemon below OU having viability, I'm kind of a broken record when it comes to supporting niche Pokemon). Moving onto the topic at hand, Silvally has been talked about in OU before in short spurts, but lately, I've found that the Fairy Memory variant is extremely useful in OU. I have been having an unreasonable amount of fun and success with our Pseudo-Arceus steed in the tier as a result of its unique qualities.
You're probably wondering, "alright, I get that Silvally looks cool as a cucumber, but why not Clefable?" While Clefable is generally the preferred pick due to Magic Guard / Unaware, reliable recovery, and its ability to use different items, Silvally-Fairy has some absolutely excellent traits and offensive/defensive role compression to distinguish itself and provide for a specific but solid niche in OU, even over its main competitor Clefable. So first, let's start with Silvally-Fairy's great traits, and then I'll follow that up with an FAQ (based on players I've talked to on the forums and Showdown) once I've given information about Silvally-Fairy before we get into potential sets. We will also be talking about great teammates for each of the sets and why they're great.
Silvally-Fairy's Great Traits
- Silvally has access to a plethora of support moves that Clefable could only dream of getting, such as Parting Shot, Defog, Roar, Flame Charge, Tailwind, Swords Dance, and U-Turn. In addition, Silvally is the only Pokemon in the game that has access to the uniquely wonderful combination of Parting Shot and Defog, two utility moves that synergize extremely well with one another.
- Silvally-Fairy is the best Knock-Off absorber in OU, no question, as Fairy Memory (its required item) cannot be knocked off, and it resists the move as a result of its Mono-Fairy typing. It's also pretty much the only Knock Off absorber in OU (unless you count Pokemon with the Sticky Hold ability, which is a waste of an ability slot), and Pokemon you can no longer use in OU or couldn't to begin with (such as Zamazenta-C or Giratina-O). This is especially important as Clefable absolutely hates to lose its Leftovers or Life Orb, while Silvally does not care about the move.
- Silvally has the same base 95 HP and Special Attack as Clefable; in addition, every other one of Silvally's stats is higher (also all being at base 95).
- This is notable in the speed department, as base 95 Speed with a Jolly nature reaches 317 or an Adamant nature 289. This means that Pokemon that outspeed Clefable such as Bisharp, Dragonite, Excadrill, Landorus-T, Mandibuzz, Skarmory, Tapu Fini, and Tyranitar are all outsped by Silvally-Fairy, and can be handled by one of its coverage moves or STAB attacks depending on the moveset you're using.
- This is also notable for offense; Silvally can run mixed sets while Clefable simply cannot, opening Silvally's movepool even more than Clefable's and making it less predictable. Silvally's access to Swords Dance and a fantastic physical Fairy STAB move also gives it more potential kick offensively.
- In addition, while the lack of reliable recovery outside of Rest is a bummer, Silvally's 95 / 95 / 95 defenses are more solid than Clefable's 95 / 70 / 90 Defenses and Silvally's speed helps make up for this lack of recovery, to begin with.
- Silvally-Fairy has access to much stronger Fairy STAB in Multi-Attack, a base 120 Physical move that changes type depending on the Memory that Silvally is holding. In addition to this, Silvally-Fairy has access to reliable Steel type coverage for opposing Fairies, along with access to Explosion (which can be particularly nasty if you're hit with Taunt and can't Parting Shot your way safely into one of your teammates).
- Silvally-Fairy is one of the only Physical Fairy types to gain access to Swords Dance and arguably has more utility than all the other Pokemon with access to this combination (I will get into this more in the FAQ). In addition to this, Silvally is the only non-Fire type Pokemon to have access to the potentially horrifying combination of Swords Dance and Flame Charge.
- Mono-Fairy typing is fantastic both offensively and defensively, and the higher Defense means Pokemon like Swords Dance Hawlucha won't have time to set up Swords Dance. STAB Acrobatics without a boost only 2HKOs an UNINVESTED Silvally-Fairy, while Jolly Silvally's Multi-Attack has a good chance to OHKO.
Silvally-Fairy FAQ
Question #1: Did you forget that Mimikyu and Tapu Bulu both exist for Swords Dance Fairy sets?
Answer: Great question, Silvally-Fairy from my testing has several distinct advantages over both of those Pokemon. Mimikyu has one more point of base Speed than Silvally does but also has 5 base points less in its Attack stat. In addition to this, Mimikyu has a crippling Ghost weakness, Dark neutrality, and while Disguise is a great defensive ability, it's somewhat neutered by its horrible base 55 HP and lackluster base 80 Defense, along with the inability to go mixed like Silvally (along with not having Silvally's other support tools, including the lack of Flame Charge). Tapu Bulu is way better, though, right? I mean, look at those vastly superior stats! Well, good luck using Tapu Bulu's Fairy typing when it doesn't get access to even a single physical Fairy-type attack. Tapu Bulu has access to two Fairy-type offensive moves, Nature's Madness, and Dazzling Gleam.
Question #2: Well, Clefable can do things like setting up Stealth Rocks and be a team cleric; why would I even look at Silvally when Clefable suits my team's needs?
Answer: Another great point and Silvally-Fairy may not be your fit for those kinds of teams. However, Silvally-Fairy is not meant for that kind of niche and isn't going to try to compete with Clefable in that role. Silvally-Fairy's niche comes from its unpredictability, role compression, better stats (contributing to its ability to go mixed and outspeed key threats), and access to unique support tools that Clefable cannot get access to. In addition to this, Knock Off cannot gimp Silvally item-wise in the way that it can gimp Clefable.
Question #3: There are much better Defoggers, though, let alone Fairy Defoggers. Have you forgotten that Tapu Fini and Tapu Koko exist?
Answer: Tapu Fini and Tapu Koko are as Pokemon, no question, better than Silvally-Fairy. However, Silvally-Fairy has key advantages over bother of them. Let's talk about Tapu Koko first, as it competes with Silvally-Fairy in this slot more. Tapu Koko has better offenses, much higher speed, and better offensive typing, so clearly, it's better right? Well, not quite. Tapu Koko's defensive spread of 70 / 85 / 75 is definitely usable but doesn't quite hit the defensive benchmarks that Silvally's 95 / 95 / 95 does. In addition to this, Tapu Koko has an absolutely crippling Ground weakness that Silvally-Fairy does not have, meaning it has to be a lot more scared of Pokemon such as Scarf Landorus-T or Garchomp. In addition to this, Tapu Koko's Fairy attacks actually don't hit as hard as Silvally-Fairy because it has no Physical Fairy-type attacks to utilize its 115 Base Attack stat. Tapu Fini absolutely hates Knock Off, cannot run mixed and has the same Special Attack stat as Silvally as well. In addition, having weaknesses to Electric and Grass attacks is absolutely not ideal when you have monsters like Rillaboom running around, and can offset its defensive prowess.
Silvally-Fairy Sets
There are two sets that I've been testing that I've had the most success with (I have tested some others, but they haven't been as reliable as the two sets I'm going to be talking about here). Each set fits different team dynamics, so choose wisely based on your team's specific needs.
Silvally-Fairy Set #1 - Swords Dance Cleaner
Silvally-Fairy @ Fairy Memory
Ability: RKS System
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Multi-Attack
- Psychic Fangs / Crunch
- Flame Charge
This set is a lot more straightforward than the Parting Shot / Defog Utility set (which we will talk about next). Set up Swords Dance, use Flame Charge to boost your speed, and slice a hole through your opponent's defenses. +2 STAB Multi-Attack will absolutely neuter most Pokemon, even physically decently bulky neutral targets or hard-to-scale monsters like Multiscale Dragonite.
+2 252 Atk Silvally-Fairy Multi-Attack vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Swampert: 343-405 (84.9 - 100.2%) --
6.3% chance to OHKO
+2 252 Atk Silvally-Fairy Multi-Attack vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Bisharp: 313-370 (115.4 - 136.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252 Atk Silvally-Fairy Multi-Attack vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Blissey: 573-675 (80.2 - 94.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+2 252 Atk Silvally-Fairy Multi-Attack vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Clefable: 277-327 (70.3 - 82.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
+2 252 Atk Silvally-Fairy Multi-Attack vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Multiscale Dragonite: 330-388 (102.1 - 120.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252 Atk Silvally-Fairy Multi-Attack vs. 248 HP / 60+ Def Mandibuzz: 522-614 (123.4 - 145.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252 Atk Silvally-Fairy Multi-Attack vs. 248 HP / 220 Def Zapdos: 286-337 (74.6 - 87.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
I'd also like to point out that specific Fairy resists such as Ferrothorn and Scizor absolutely do not appreciate taking Flame Charge and are not safe switch-ins as a result, as they're going to end up being fodder for Silvally-Fairy to gain Speed Boosts from, while the currently popular variant of Scizor (the Specially Defensive set) cannot OHKO with Bullet Punch, even with no investment and a defense lowering nature (0 Atk Technician Scizor Bullet Punch vs. 0 HP / 0- Def Silvally-Fairy: 188-224 (56.7 - 67.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO).
+2 252 Atk Silvally-Fairy Flame Charge vs. 252 HP / 80 Def Ferrothorn: 264-312 (75 - 88.6%) --
guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
+2 252 Atk Silvally-Fairy Flame Charge vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Excadrill: 266-314 (73.6 - 86.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
+2 252 Atk Silvally-Fairy Flame Charge vs. 248 HP / 8 Def Scizor: 352-416 (102.6 - 121.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252 Atk Silvally-Fairy Flame Charge vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Magnezone: 156-184 (55.5 - 65.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
While many people prefer to run Crunch on Swords Dance Silvally sets, I've actually found more consistent results with Psychic Fangs, as most of the things Multi-Attack will hit will still hit harder than Crunch (even against threats such as Slowbro). However, Crunch is still usable, so I've kept it slotted in as an option. Why Psychic Fangs? Well...
+2 252 Atk Silvally-Fairy Psychic Fangs vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Toxapex: 160-190 (52.6 - 62.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Crunch hits Slowking-G super effectively, so you'll have to decide whether you feel that handling Slowking-G more reliably is more important than handling Toxapex more reliably (I generally prefer the latter, as my team usually doesn't have problems with Slowking-G).
Good Teammates:
Tapu Lele: Psychic Terrain prevents priority and boosts the damage output of Psychic Fangs. This means that Bullet Punch, in particular, is irrelevant (and basically means most Scizor variants can't touch Silvally-Fairy).
Heatran: Fire / Steel typing absolutely compliments Silvally's mono-Fairy typing extremely well, and Heatran comes in on a lot of the Pokemon that threaten Silvally-Fairy really nicely.
Magnezone: Being able to trap opposing Steel-types like Melmetal and wear them down is an absolute boon to Silvally-Fairy; it can also maintain momentum with Volt Switch.
Swampert: Physically bulky Swampert can set rocks and come in easily against most Pokemon that want to deal with Silvally-Fairy. In addition, it can maintain momentum with Flip Turn.
Silvally-Fairy Set #2 - Mixed Utility Defogger
Silvally-Fairy @ Fairy Memory
Ability: RKS System
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Multi-Attack
- Flamethrower
- Defog
- Parting Shot
The premise of this set is simple, come in to clear hazards or scare something like Hydreigon, Hawlucha, or Dragapult out (be wary of Specs Shadow Ball), then shift match momentum in your favor using Parting Shot, which allows you to get certain teammates in far easier. Multi-Attack will cleave through a wide variety of OU's Pokemon with ease, even without an Adamant Nature (the extra power boost from Adamant doesn't hit notable damage benchmarks over Jolly / Hasty).
252 Atk Silvally-Fairy Multi-Attack vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Dragapult: 402-474 (126.8 - 149.5%) --
guaranteed OHKO
252 Atk Silvally-Fairy Multi-Attack vs. 248 HP / 60+ Def Mandibuzz: 260-308 (61.4 - 72.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Silvally-Fairy Multi-Attack vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Tyranitar: 290-344 (71.7 - 85.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Silvally-Fairy Multi-Attack vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Multiscale Dragonite: 165-195 (51 - 60.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Silvally-Fairy Multi-Attack vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Hydreigon: 688-816 (211.6 - 251%) --
guaranteed OHKO
252 Atk Silvally-Fairy Multi-Attack vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Urshifu-Rapid-Strike: 314-372 (92 - 109%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO
252 Atk Silvally-Fairy Multi-Attack vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Weavile: 450-530 (160.1 - 188.6%) --
guaranteed OHKO
252 Atk Silvally-Fairy Multi-Attack vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Hawlucha: 402-474 (135.3 - 159.5%) --
guaranteed OHKO
252 Atk Silvally-Fairy Multi-Attack vs. +1 0 HP / 0 Def Hawlucha: 270-318 (90.9 - 107%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO (Grassy / Electric Seed Boost)
In addition to this, Flamethrower is a nasty surprise for Pokemon like Ferrothorn who think that Silvally will be running Physical, as even with only 4 EVs, Flamethrower gets crucial 2HKOs on certain Pokemon, allowing it to pick off weakened threats in the mid-game or severely damage certain threats to a point where they are no longer reliable answers to Silvally-Fairy or other members of your team.
4 SpA Silvally-Fairy Flamethrower vs. 252 HP / 176+ SpD Ferrothorn: 176-208 (50 - 59%) -- 67.2% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
4 SpA Silvally-Fairy Flamethrower vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Bisharp: 168-198 (61.9 - 73%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
4 SpA Silvally-Fairy Flamethrower vs. 32 HP / 0 SpD Melmetal: 178-210 (42.4 - 50.1%) -- 0.4% chance to 2HKO
4 SpA Silvally-Fairy Flamethrower vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Skarmory: 166-196 (49.7 - 58.6%) -- 99.6% chance to 2HKO
4 SpA Silvally-Fairy Flamethrower vs. 248 HP / 252+ SpD Scizor: 208-248 (60.6 - 72.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
4 SpA Silvally-Fairy Flamethrower vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Excadrill: 178-210 (49.3 - 58.1%) -- 59% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
4 SpA Silvally-Fairy Flamethrower vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Rillaboom: 168-198 (49.2 - 58%) -- 64.5% chance to 2HKO after Grassy Terrain recovery
Defog is there for clearing hazards, and Parting Shot allows you to easily regain momentum and weaken an opposing Pokemon's attack to cushion the blow of an attack on the switch-in (this is especially helpful for squishy Pokemon such as Weavile, Hawlucha, or Zeraora. Parting Shot as a whole is such an incredible tool on any Pokemon (see my Morpeko post in here several pages back), let alone a Pokemon like Silvally with usable bulk, speed, offenses, and a fantastic typing / movepool. The EVs are pretty standard and go well with Silvally-Fairy's movepool. We're choosing a Hasty nature because Silvally will more often get hit on the Special side if a Pokemon it feels comfortable switching in on will use against it.
Good Teammates:
Rillaboom: Grassy Terrain helps with longevity issues caused by Silvally-Fairy's lack of recovery and can also pick off some problematic Pokemon with STAB Priority Grassy Glide or a hard-hitting Superpower.
Heatran: Fire / Steel typing absolutely compliments Silvally's mono-Fairy typing extremely well, and Heatran comes in on a lot of the Pokemon that threaten Silvally-Fairy really nicely. This is especially apparent for this Parting Shot variant as it means Heatran has a much easier time coming in.
Magnezone: Being able to trap opposing Steel-types like Melmetal and wearing them down is an absolute boon to Silvally-Fairy, and Magnezone has an easier time coming in thanks to Parting Shot and then maintain momentum even more with Volt Switch.
Swampert: Physically bulky Swampert can set rocks and come in easily against most Pokemon that want to deal with Silvally-Fairy, especially with help from Silvally's Parting Shot. In addition, it can maintain momentum with Flip Turn.
Weavile: A fantastic teammate that covers Silvally-Fairy's shortcomings well thanks to its monstrous Triple Axels, in addition to having a much easier time getting onto the field thanks to Silvally's Parting Shot.
Final Thoughts:
Silvally-Fairy is not the easiest Pokemon to use, but it's gratifying and a potent component for maintaining momentum and disrupting your opponent's established archetypes. So give Silvally a whirl, and I can assure you that if you build your team right, it will put in some great work for you!
"You know why being a Trainer is so great? Because when you're battling, it doesn't matter if you're a kid or an adult. Everyone's equal in Pokémon battle!" - Gladion