Fuck you Manaphy, I get Tail Glow too. And Baton Pass. And Prankster. FUCK YOU.
Also, before anyone asks, Volbeat CAN have Encore as an egg move, even though it is male-only, as breeding an illumise with a volbeat produces either one.
Status: written
QC: [PK Gaming] [wilson46] [Delta 2777]
GP: [V0x] [Calm Pokemaster]
[Overview]
<p>Before BW came around, Volbeat was relegated to the depths of NU, its only (and not very effective) niche being the ability to Baton Pass Tail Glow. With a terrible stat distribution that makes it both frail and nonthreatening, it seems as though Volbeat is absolutely worthless in OU. However, BW changed all of that in an instant by granting Volbeat one of the best new abilities: Prankster. Prankster turns Volbeat from a terrible, near-useless Pokemon into an excellent support Pokemon: the +1 priority which it provides to non-attacking moves allows Volbeat to easily pull off a Tail Glow + Baton Pass combination. Volbeat also has a stellar support movepool with which to abuse Prankster, including but not limited to Encore, Thunder Wave, Substitute, and Trick, which allows it to use Baton Pass more effectively. Unfortunately, its lack of Taunt means Volbeat is susceptible to Taunt itself, and will often end up doing absolutely nothing for the team if affected. Powerful priority attacks such as Choice Band Scizor's Bullet Punch or Choice Band Dragonite's ExtremeSpeed bypass Prankster's +1 priority and can take Volbeat out before it has a chance to do anything. In addition, its Special Attack stat is so abysmal that it can hardly abuse the Tail Glow boost itself, meaning that Volbeat is good for one thing, and one thing only: Baton Passing Tail Glow boosts.</p>
[SET]
name: Prankster
move 1: Tail Glow
move 2: Baton Pass
move 3: Encore
move 4: Thunder Wave / Substitute
item: Leftovers
ability: Prankster
nature: Bold
evs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Tail Glow is a move that raises the user's Special Attack by three levels in BW, and is unique to Volbeat, Manaphy, and Smeargle. Other than Smeargle (which is better off passing Quiver Dance or Shell Smash), Volbeat is the only Pokemon that can Baton Pass Tail Glow, and with priority to boot. Obviously, Baton Pass and Tail Glow are the crux of the set, allowing Volbeat to turn a bulky special attacker into an immediate threat. The last two moveslots are mainly filler, but they still make use of Prankster. Encore stops setup sweepers in their tracks and gives Volbeat a free turn if played correctly. Thunder Wave can be used to spread paralysis through your opponent's team or cripple a faster opponent as a last-ditch effort. However, Substitute protects Volbeat from status to an extent and provides a cushion to Volbeat's Baton Pass recipients, allowing them to take the incoming blow and come out unscathed. Unfortunately, Volbeat cannot directly abuse the boosts itself due to its atrocious Special Attack, so passing the Tail Glow boost is its only niche.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EV spread is designed to maximize Volbeat's pitiful defenses by investing mainly in HP and Defense, with a small amount in Special Defense to give Volbeat an odd HP stat, ensureng that it takes less Stealth Rock damage and can create more Substitutes. Almost all priority moves are physical, and a physically defensive EV spread is thus used so that Volbeat can take these attacks. No Speed investment is needed since Prankster grants +1 priority to all of Volbeat's support moves. Surprisingly, with the given EV spread, Volbeat becomes much more durable than it might seem—it is still frail though, and shouldn't be expected to survive powerful hits such as Choice Band Scizor's Bullet Punch. Leftovers is the best option to provide a form of passive recovery; however, Focus Sash is an option if you want to guarantee the passing of a Tail Glow boost. Unfortunately, Focus Sash is unreliable on all Pokemon except on those with Magic Guard or in the "lead" position.</p>
<p>Since Baton Passing Tail Glow is all Volbeat will be doing, providing it with the proper support in the form of teammates who can receive the boost and abuse it, as well as those who can aid Volbeat's attempts at passing the boosts, are remarkably important. Bulky special attackers such as Latias, Porygon2, and Heatran are the best recipients of Tail Glow, as they can immediately be threatening with the boost and don't perish instantly like some frailer attackers such as Lucario. In addition, the recipients can choose to invest more in bulk rather than Speed, as Volbeat will usually be able to spread some paralysis around with its priority Thunder Wave. That said, fast, powerful special attackers such as Latios, Lucario, Espeon, Gengar, Deoxys-S, and Infernape are also able to take immediate advantage of the immense boost, and unlike the slower, more bulky attackers, they do not have to rely on paralysis support from Volbeat or otherwise to attempt a sweep.</p>
<p>Volbeat works best on full Baton Pass teams since Magic Bounce Espeon can easily switch into phazing attempts and reflect Taunt back at the user trying to prevent Volbeat from doing its job. Espeon also reflects entry hazards that pose a significant threat to Volbeat's ability to Baton Pass effectively, as Volbeat is weak to Stealth Rock and susceptible to both types of Spikes; Toxic Spikes in particular limits the number of times Volbeat can attempt to pass Tail Glow. However, as Espeon is not always the most reliable way to prevent entry hazards from entering the field, Rapid Spin support is incredibly helpful to Volbeat. Starmie and Tentacruel are exemplary teammates for this because they both resist Fire-type attacks, have attacks such as Thunderbolt and Ice Beam to deal with Flying-types, and can reliably use Rapid Spin. Starmie in particular can make good use of a Tail Glow boost provided by Volbeat, especially with its phenomenal type coverage and blazing Speed. Vaporeon is also another good teammate, as it can pass massive Wishes to heal Volbeat in addition to abusing the Tail Glow boost itself with its good base 110 Special Attack. Yet another teammate who excels at abusing the Tail Glow boost provided by Volbeat is of Deoxys-S. When equipped with Life Orb, Deoxys-S has a high chance to OHKO Blissey after Stealth Rock damage with a +3 Psyshock. Its naturally high Speed combined with its diverse attacking movepool makes it one of the best abusers of the Tail Glow boost passed by Volbeat.<p>
[Other Options]
<p>Volbeat has numerous other options which are made viable by Prankster. With Prankster, it gains priority on Tailwind, Light Screen, Confuse Ray, Moonlight, Sunny Day, Rain Dance, Toxic, and Trick. Of the aforementioned, only Toxic or Moonlight might be worth using, as the others are better left to more efficient users. Priority Toxic in conjunction with Moonlight allows Volbeat to outstall certain Pokemon, but the strategy isn't very effective in the offense-oriented BW OU metagame. With the prominence of sandstorm, Moonlight will often be rendered useless, and there are auto-weather starters present for sun and rain as well, meaning Sunny Day and Rain Dance are hardly necessary. Trick is an interesting option which could be used with Lagging Tail or Iron Ball to cripple an opponent, but it is a gimmick at best, and Volbeat really shouldn't be doing anything other than Baton Passing.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Taking out Volbeat is not very difficult, as with its terrible defenses, it won't be surviving much, even with defensive EV investment. Volbeat is weak to Stealth Rock and vulnerable to both types of Spikes, meaning that entry hazards will likely slow down or even stop Volbeat from performing its one and only task, Baton Passing Tail Glow. Although Prankster gives Volbeat the edge on most Pokemon, priority attacks will stop it in its tracks, especially powerful ones from the likes of Choice Band Scizor and Choice Band Azumarill. Even with full investment in Defense and HP, Volbeat's stats are so pathetic that it cannot possibly stand repeated, hard-hitting attacks such as Choice Band Dragonite's Outrage; powerful special attacks such as Choice Specs Latios's Draco Meteor can also instantly OHKO, provided Volbeat doesn't have a Substitute up. Since Volbeat doesn't have access to Taunt, it is highly vulnerable to Taunt itself. Phazers such as Skarmory can also take care of Volbeat and phaze away any boosts it may have accumulated.</p>
