Pokémon Tapu Koko

[Darvin]

Is Electro Ball ever a viable choice over Thunderbolt? Not too familiar with the current meta, so I don't know if EB would net any valuable KOs that TB couldn't.

Electro Ball is only more powerful than Thunderbolt if you are at least 3x faster than the opposing pokemon. Tapu Koko has 394 speed, meaning that Electro Ball is only going to be better against targets with 131 speed or less. This would require the target to be uninvested base 47 or less. Most of the pokemon in this speed range are not OU relevant, and many who are are immune to electricity or are weak to fairy so you would never need to use this move against them anyways. Slowbro appears to be the only target that this has any relevancy against, turning a OHKO after rocks into a straight OHKO, and that isn't worth a moveslot.

A scarf set might conceivably have a use for Electro Ball, since that will hit anything under 197 speed (uninvested base 80 or below) harder than thunderbolt. This notably includes Aegislash, as well as Mega Scizor and Heatran sets that don't run any speed. That's a very small list of potential targets, but given how metagame defining Aegislash is right now I guess running a move specifically to hit it as hard as possible could make sense. Still not worth the slot IMO since Aegislash is by no means a Tapu Koko switch-in. Plus Scarf Tapu Koko would be huge Dugtrio bait in the current meta.

 

[Morningstar]

I have a question, has anyone used this in Rain Teams? I assume that Terrain is different from weather and that the two stack, and that means that Thunder benefits from both environments by having more accuracy and higher power.

 

[Subject 18]

Correct. The weather and terrain don't cancel each other out, so Tapu Koko will have %100 Thunders boosted by Electric Terrain.

 

[nameless90]

SubToxic set

Tapu Koko @ Leftovers
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute
- Toxic
- Taunt
- Nature's Madness

I think that this set can work as a stallbreaker, because it can use that huge Spe to create a Subwith safety and, then, Tapu Koko proceeds to Taunt the opponent; Toxic stall is also a possibility. Nature Madness is perfect with Toxic to put a timer on the opponent.

EVs are simple max Spe to create a fast Sub and max EVs onto HP + Leftovers for longevity (Tapu Koko has nice resistances to use).

 

[LeNorm]

I've been having a surprising amount of success with a choice banded set. I imagine most people expect a special (or stally) set and so are more surprised by the physical attacks. With 500 attack and almost 400 speed, it hits like a truck and outspeeds most unboosted pokemon. Not many teams are setup to deal with a physical electric attacker, with the only problem I consistently find being ground types, which means that in early game I spam U-Turn, and later on I will go for the more powerful attacks.

Tapu Koko @ Choice Band
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- U-turn
- Brave Bird
- Wild Charge
- Steel Wing

I run U-Turn for chip damage and scouting, Wild Charge for STAB, Brave Bird for power and to wreck fighting and bug pokemon. Steel Wing is in the last slot - it does a good job against fairies, has no recall, and Koko has very few other options. The alternatives were quick attack for priority, or another normal type move (if only it had play rough).

 

[Ash Borer]

I've been having a surprising amount of success with a choice banded set. I imagine most people expect a special (or stally) set and so are more surprised by the physical attacks. With 500 attack and almost 400 speed, it hits like a truck and outspeeds most unboosted pokemon. Not many teams are setup to deal with a physical electric attacker, with the only problem I consistently find being ground types, which means that in early game I spam U-Turn, and later on I will go for the more powerful attacks.

Tapu Koko @ Choice Band
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- U-turn
- Brave Bird
- Wild Charge
- Steel Wing

I run U-Turn for chip damage and scouting, Wild Charge for STAB, Brave Bird for power and to wreck fighting and bug pokemon. Steel Wing is in the last slot - it does a good job against fairies, has no recall, and Koko has very few other options. The alternatives were quick attack for priority, or another normal type move (if only it had play rough).

you'd most likely be better off running HP Fire or HP ice in the last slot. Fire will probably still kill Ferrothorn and Excadrill in 2 hits, while Ice hits Lando, Gliscor and Garchomp. All 5 of which completely wall you otherwise. Well Brave Bird might get past Ferro and Chomper, but you'll definitely die doing it. Steel wing hits pretty much nothing.

 

[Hitzel]

Volt Switch has good utility in providing momentum and hitting hard under electric terrain, however U-turn is a superior option because you don't have to worry about ground types or Alolan-Marowak. As far as coverage, Tapu Koko hits hard enough with t-bolt that you don't really need much else, given you can always click U-turn and switch to a counter.

Is it bad that I have run Volt Switch and U-Turn and felt like I wasn't being stupid? It feels like Banded Talonflame back in the day but you're not locked into only Brave Bird or U-Turn.

 

[Nobu]

I've been running a physical set with Wild Charge/Brave Bird/U-Turn/Taunt. The taunt means he doesn't have as much coverage, but often catches people by surprise, and can buy a couple of turns. I've been running it with Landorus-T and Weavile to cover its weaknesses and I think they make a decent core together.

 

[ChaosKingStorm]

Tapu Koko @ Expert Belt/Life Orb
Ability: Electric Surge
Hasty Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Brave Bird
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- U-turn

This is what I got in game so I can't change the nature or Hidden Power. What would you recommend for an EV spread? Max speed is basically a given, but what about on the attacking stats? I'm thinking of going all in on SPA but not sure.

 

[Run]

Tapu Koko @ Tapunium Z
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid/Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def / 30 SpA
- Electro Ball/Thunderbolt
- Dazzling Gleam
- Hidden Power [Water]
- Nature's Madness

So this is what I've been tinkering with, and it's working REALLY well. You can go Timid/Electro Ball, or Modest/Thunderbolt as your main stab. I use a Sticky Web setup that synergizes well, and the extra speed can be handy vs a few threats if you don't have Web support... But the real bread and butter of this set is Tapunium Z and Nature's Madness-Z (Guardian of Alola). Go ahead and scout out your opponent's switches, This TK can counter his own counters by with Nature's Madness-Z on the switch, then all it needs is to outspeed and hit for ~25%. Nature's Madness is really good at softening up tank heavy teams even without Tapunium Z so its still not a wasted slot. HP Water is here solely for Alolan Marowak, who absorbs Electro Ball and takes at most 19% from Dazzling Gleam, and he's EVERYWHERE right now. But if you need coverage elsewhere feel free to switch it up for another move.

The speed drop from Sticky Web knocks makes some slower tanks even slower, making the difference between 80/120/150 Electro Ball. Nature's Madness-Z + Electroball kills Eviolite Chansey at -1 Speed, crumbling one of the more major Special Sponges available right now.

 

[RexFures]

Whats a counter for this guy? he completely wrecks my team

 

[oreofestar]

Alolan Marowak

 

[Steel With It]

Whats a counter for this guy? he completely wrecks my team

Alolan Marowak cockblocks Koko's entire moveset, even breaking through SubToxic with Bonemerang, and only has to watch out for Nature's Madness or the rare-as-hell HP Water/Ground.

EDIT: Greninja'd.

 

[IcyMan28]

Alolan Marowak cockblocks Koko's entire moveset, even breaking through SubToxic with Bonemerang, and only has to watch out for Nature's Madness or the rare-as-hell HP Water/Ground.

EDIT: Greninja'd.

This is one of the reasons I prefer U-turn over Volt Switch. The loss of power is noticeable but it retains momentum against this and a few others.

 

[PShine]

Whats a counter for this guy? he completely wrecks my team

I'd say Latias is also a good counter. Unlike A-Marowak, who struggles against Rain teams/Surf Chu Koko frequently is paired with, the Offensive Defog set from Last gen stomachs everything bar Dazzling Gleam, while Psychic/Surf(Rain Boosted) 2HKOs back. Not the best option, but it also takes care of common teammates, and a more Defensive variation would likely be the Perfect Counter.

 

[Jukain]

on uturn vs volt switch:

volt switch goes with grass knot, uturn goes with everything else. if you have gk, grounds can't stop you, so there is no negative to running volt other than dealing with wak. if you don't have gk, you can get shut down by grounds, so uturn becomes more necessary. you could run volt switch no matter what, but it's more of a luxury that can leave you open in certain situations. not having to guess against grounds is a big deal, offering more flexibility and utility overall.

 

[Orga777]

I'd say Latias is also a good counter. Unlike A-Marowak, who struggles against Rain teams/Surf Chu Koko frequently is paired with, the Offensive Defog set from Last gen stomachs everything bar Dazzling Gleam, while Psychic/Surf(Rain Boosted) 2HKOs back. Not the best option, but it also takes care of common teammates, and a more Defensive variation would likely be the Perfect Counter.

The Lati's are not available since it is all pre-bank right now. However, Dazzling Gleam does not bode well for Lati's, and Tapu Koko is naturally faster. I really don't think they are very good checks in this case. Personally, Hippo is probably the best option unless it has Grass Knot or Ferrothorn if it doesn't have HP Fire. Other good options are Mega Pert (again if no grass knot) and Lando if no HP Ice. Pretty much post bank you will need to scout for Tapu Koko's last move to see what you can do. There are a lot of decent options. Right now, A-Maro is the best, but the stats won't hold up when all the ORAS mons are released into the format.

 

[EviGaro]

I've had some success with Gastrodon as a counter, though obviously you'll want something to scout for Grass Knot. Marowak's rock weakness bothers me too much as a "true" counter, and it doesn't quite take Brave Bird that well.

 

[BlackBulletNL]

probably a stupid questing but I couldn't find it anywhere: in order to get the right nature, should I run/kill it and come back with a abra? i did just run from it and i am just not sure what to do right now...

 

[gvmgvm40]

This plays like a better Mega Manectric. Good secondary typing, hits harder, has cool options like Taunt/Roost/Nature's Madness, plus it can go mixed; at the cost of lower physical bulk and speed. I've been having fun with a Land-T/Genesect/Tapu Koko VoltTurn core and it's pretty great.

 

[PShine]

probably a stupid questing but I couldn't find it anywhere: in order to get the right nature, should I run/kill it and come back with a abra? i did just run from it and i am just not sure what to do right now...

Fight it again, and there will be a 50% chance that Koko will have the same nature as your Abra, if Abra is the leading mon.

 

[SnowOneLives]

I'm not too familiar with speed tiers and new to competitive, but what's the advantage of running Jolly/Timid over Adamant/Modest, and why are so many people trying to use a special attacking set on this guy?

 

[guanlong]

I'm not too familiar with speed tiers and new to competitive, but what's the advantage of running Jolly/Timid over Adamant/Modest, and why are so many people trying to use a special attacking set on this guy?

special attacking sets are more popular because tapu koko is really lacking in physical STAB. wild charge is inferior to thunderbolt due to recoil damage and it lacks any physical fairy STAB. also, common coverage moves eg HP ice are special.

i think a mixed set can also be run, to take advantage of moves such as brave bird (nice because it hurts m-venusaur and other bulky grass types), but i'm not too sure about its overall viability.

max speed with a positive nature makes use of tapu koko's good speed tier which allows it to outspeed things like greninja, tornadus-t, weavile etc

 

[Lolrider]

I'm not too familiar with speed tiers and new to competitive, but what's the advantage of running Jolly/Timid over Adamant/Modest, and why are so many people trying to use a special attacking set on this guy?

To quote someone else (in this thread I think, actually), higher speed tiers are pretty crowded, so running a +Spe nature allows him to outspeed things he wouldn't otherwise (obvious, right?). Afaik Koko lacks any priority, so if something outspeeds it and can OHKO it then Koko either has to switch or die, etc. Likewise, this can be important if Koko has to come in and revenge kill a Sweeper. At +1, a sweeper might outspeed neutral Spe Koko, but not outspeed +Spe Koko.

I don't know what the relevant mons to compare against are, but because Koko's speed is so high anyway, the difference between, say, Adamant or Jolly, is much higher on it than it would be on something much slower, like Hippowdon, just to throw out a name. And, because the difference between numbers is greater, the number of pokemon that can fit within that difference will also be greater, i.e. the potential number of threats that might outspeed Adamant Koko but not Jolly Koko will probably be much greater than what might occur for Adamant/Jolly Hippowdon. That also ties in with the implication behind "crowded speed tiers."

 

[Zennistrad]

Whats a counter for this guy? he completely wrecks my team

Scarfed Rotom-H I've found completely shuts down Tapu Koko in pokebank singles. Until pokebank is released then Alolan Marowak is probably your best bet.