Aaronboyer
Something Worth Fighting For
[Overview]
Volbeat carves a niche in the metagame via not only its unique access to Tail Glow but also its capability to Baton Pass Special Attack boosts to teammates. Notable resistances to Fighting and Ground further let it reliably take on Pokemon such as Hitmonchan locked into Sky Uppercut and Piloswine not locked into Rock Slide. However, Volbeat has such an incredibly low Special Attack stat that even after one Tail Glow boost it still fails to 2HKO a majority of Pokemon. Volbeat's STAB Bug Attacks are also physical, meaning it must forgo STAB if it wants to make use of its Tail Glow boosts. Volbeat is just really awful overall and should only be used to pass Special Attack boosts to teammates such as Haunter and Huntail.
[SET]
name: Tail Glow Pass
move 1: Tail Glow
move 2: Baton Pass
move 3: Substitute
move 4: Thunderbolt / Ice Punch
item: Leftovers
ability: Swarm
nature: Timid
evs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Tail Glow is a signature move unique to Volbeat and boosts its Special Attack by two stages with each use. Baton Pass allows Volbeat to pass Special Attack boosts and Substitutes to another Baton Pass user or an offensive recipient. Substitute shields Volbeat from status conditions and allows it to set up with Tail Glow more safely. Passing a Substitute with Baton Pass also allows the recipient to come in freely without worry of taking an attack head-on. Thunderbolt is Volbeat's strongest special attacking option, nailing Flying-types such as Pidgeot and Murkrow, while also hitting scary Water-types such as Huntail and Relicanth super effectively. However, common Grass-types such as Bellossom and Roselia can set up with Sunny Day and Spikes quite easily, and it does nothing to the elusive Dragonair and Shelgon. Thus, Ice Punch, albeit not nearly as strong as Thunderbolt, is an option to still hit Flying-types super effectively while also dealing with Grass-types such as Bellossom, Tangela, and Roselia, all of which commonly carry Hidden Power Fire, as well as the aforementioned uncommon Dragon-types. However, running Ice Punch comes at the cost of not being able to deal with Fire-types such as Magcargo and Torkoal.
[ADDITIONAL SET COMMENTS]
Leftovers gradually restores Volbeat’s health, allowing it to set up multiple Substitutes through the course of the match and further ensure that the eventual Baton Pass recipient comes in safely. Maximum HP EVs make the strongest Substitutes for the foe to break, while maximum Speed EVs alongside a Timid nature allow Volbeat to outpace a large portion of the metagame and pass Special Attack boosts and Substitutes to a teammate safely. On non-Baton Pass chain teams, Volbeat should attempt to switch into a Pokemon locked into a resisted attack, such as Choice Band Hitmonchan locked into Earthquake or Sky Uppercut. When talking about Baton Pass chain teams, Volbeat is typically not the lead, so expect it to be Baton Passed into first with a few Defense or Special Defense boosts before attempting to come in and boosting with Tail Glow. In either situation, Volbeat should try to set up a few Tail Glow boosts and have a Substitute up before Baton Passing to another Baton Pass user or the recipient. The best teammates for Volbeat fall under two categories: Pokemon that can continue the Baton Pass chain and Baton Pass recipients. Other Pokemon that can continue the Baton Pass chain include Mawile with Swords Dance and Iron Defense, Plusle with Agility, Delcatty with Calm Mind, and Ariados with Spider Web. There are several great Baton Pass recipients too. Since Volbeat will be passing Special Attack boosts, special attackers with great type coverage options such as Huntail make for the best recipients.
[Other Options]
Volbeat can utilize a Choice Band set consisting of Hidden Power Bug, Shadow Ball, Brick Break, and Trick alongside maximum Attack EVs and a Jolly nature; however, Volbeat doesn’t have a secondary type or STAB option and is ultimately outclassed by other physical Bug-types such as Yanma and Venomoth. Tail Glow sets utilizing Hidden Power Grass over Baton Pass should run maximum Special Attack EVs over HP EVs. Such a set beats Pokemon such as Sudowoodo and Whiscash.
[Checks and Counters]
Fire-types such as Flareon and Torkoal threaten to KO Volbeat with their super effective STAB attacks. Flareon is particularly noteworthy, as its high Special Defense stat allows it to take multiple boosted Thunderbolts and restore its health with Wish and Leftovers. Flying-types such as Pidgeot and Murkrow are troublesome as they can OHKO Volbeat with their STAB moves. However, if Volbeat is behind a Substitute, they are threatened by a super effective Thunderbolt or Ice Punch. Phazers such as Roar Wailord and Whirlwind Golbat can force Volbeat or the Baton Pass recipient out, although they fear a boosted Thunderbolt. Generally, Rock-types can take on an unboosted Volbeat with relative ease. However, Relicanth is wary of Thunderbolt, while Pupitar and Graveler are scared of Ice Punch. Despite what their typing suggests, certain Grass-types such as Bellossom and Roselia both commonly run Hidden Power Fire and have enough special bulk to take one boosted Ice Punch. However, this is typically considered a last-resort option.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [Aaronboyer, 239454]
- Quality checked by: [[Oglemi, 40358]]
- Grammar checked by: [[The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216], [JockeMS, 53214]]
Volbeat carves a niche in the metagame via not only its unique access to Tail Glow but also its capability to Baton Pass Special Attack boosts to teammates. Notable resistances to Fighting and Ground further let it reliably take on Pokemon such as Hitmonchan locked into Sky Uppercut and Piloswine not locked into Rock Slide. However, Volbeat has such an incredibly low Special Attack stat that even after one Tail Glow boost it still fails to 2HKO a majority of Pokemon. Volbeat's STAB Bug Attacks are also physical, meaning it must forgo STAB if it wants to make use of its Tail Glow boosts. Volbeat is just really awful overall and should only be used to pass Special Attack boosts to teammates such as Haunter and Huntail.
[SET]
name: Tail Glow Pass
move 1: Tail Glow
move 2: Baton Pass
move 3: Substitute
move 4: Thunderbolt / Ice Punch
item: Leftovers
ability: Swarm
nature: Timid
evs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Tail Glow is a signature move unique to Volbeat and boosts its Special Attack by two stages with each use. Baton Pass allows Volbeat to pass Special Attack boosts and Substitutes to another Baton Pass user or an offensive recipient. Substitute shields Volbeat from status conditions and allows it to set up with Tail Glow more safely. Passing a Substitute with Baton Pass also allows the recipient to come in freely without worry of taking an attack head-on. Thunderbolt is Volbeat's strongest special attacking option, nailing Flying-types such as Pidgeot and Murkrow, while also hitting scary Water-types such as Huntail and Relicanth super effectively. However, common Grass-types such as Bellossom and Roselia can set up with Sunny Day and Spikes quite easily, and it does nothing to the elusive Dragonair and Shelgon. Thus, Ice Punch, albeit not nearly as strong as Thunderbolt, is an option to still hit Flying-types super effectively while also dealing with Grass-types such as Bellossom, Tangela, and Roselia, all of which commonly carry Hidden Power Fire, as well as the aforementioned uncommon Dragon-types. However, running Ice Punch comes at the cost of not being able to deal with Fire-types such as Magcargo and Torkoal.
[ADDITIONAL SET COMMENTS]
Leftovers gradually restores Volbeat’s health, allowing it to set up multiple Substitutes through the course of the match and further ensure that the eventual Baton Pass recipient comes in safely. Maximum HP EVs make the strongest Substitutes for the foe to break, while maximum Speed EVs alongside a Timid nature allow Volbeat to outpace a large portion of the metagame and pass Special Attack boosts and Substitutes to a teammate safely. On non-Baton Pass chain teams, Volbeat should attempt to switch into a Pokemon locked into a resisted attack, such as Choice Band Hitmonchan locked into Earthquake or Sky Uppercut. When talking about Baton Pass chain teams, Volbeat is typically not the lead, so expect it to be Baton Passed into first with a few Defense or Special Defense boosts before attempting to come in and boosting with Tail Glow. In either situation, Volbeat should try to set up a few Tail Glow boosts and have a Substitute up before Baton Passing to another Baton Pass user or the recipient. The best teammates for Volbeat fall under two categories: Pokemon that can continue the Baton Pass chain and Baton Pass recipients. Other Pokemon that can continue the Baton Pass chain include Mawile with Swords Dance and Iron Defense, Plusle with Agility, Delcatty with Calm Mind, and Ariados with Spider Web. There are several great Baton Pass recipients too. Since Volbeat will be passing Special Attack boosts, special attackers with great type coverage options such as Huntail make for the best recipients.
[Other Options]
Volbeat can utilize a Choice Band set consisting of Hidden Power Bug, Shadow Ball, Brick Break, and Trick alongside maximum Attack EVs and a Jolly nature; however, Volbeat doesn’t have a secondary type or STAB option and is ultimately outclassed by other physical Bug-types such as Yanma and Venomoth. Tail Glow sets utilizing Hidden Power Grass over Baton Pass should run maximum Special Attack EVs over HP EVs. Such a set beats Pokemon such as Sudowoodo and Whiscash.
[Checks and Counters]
Fire-types such as Flareon and Torkoal threaten to KO Volbeat with their super effective STAB attacks. Flareon is particularly noteworthy, as its high Special Defense stat allows it to take multiple boosted Thunderbolts and restore its health with Wish and Leftovers. Flying-types such as Pidgeot and Murkrow are troublesome as they can OHKO Volbeat with their STAB moves. However, if Volbeat is behind a Substitute, they are threatened by a super effective Thunderbolt or Ice Punch. Phazers such as Roar Wailord and Whirlwind Golbat can force Volbeat or the Baton Pass recipient out, although they fear a boosted Thunderbolt. Generally, Rock-types can take on an unboosted Volbeat with relative ease. However, Relicanth is wary of Thunderbolt, while Pupitar and Graveler are scared of Ice Punch. Despite what their typing suggests, certain Grass-types such as Bellossom and Roselia both commonly run Hidden Power Fire and have enough special bulk to take one boosted Ice Punch. However, this is typically considered a last-resort option.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [Aaronboyer, 239454]
- Quality checked by: [[Oglemi, 40358]]
- Grammar checked by: [[The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216], [JockeMS, 53214]]
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