Item Weakness Policy

[CBManBearPig]

I apologize if there is already a thread discussing this item, but I searched everywhere and couldn't find one. So here it is. Please keep in mind that everything I will discuss in the OP is purely speculation.


Weakness Policy

When held by a Pokémon, it raises the Pokémon's Attack and Sp. Attack stats by two stages whenever it is hit by a move that is Super Effective

The first thing that comes to mind when I examine this item is Doubles strategies. A Pokémon could easily use a weak SE attack on its teammate with Weakness Policy, boosting its Attack and Special Attack tremendously. In theory, this could be combined with abilities such as Simple or Unburden (since it only activates once) to increase sweep-ability. In Singles, bulky Pokémon such as Dragonite, who is a magnet for SE hits, could use Weakness Policy in conjunction with Agility or something to begin a sweep.

Discuss.

 

[mrglass]

I feel like something like this would be useful in singles for Aegislash or Tyranitar, as they can tank SE hits. Gogoat also seems like it would work well with Milk Drink and Horn Leech.

Lugia and Dragonite would also be good with it

 

[Zabel Zarock]

If for some reason you don't want Aggron to Mega Evolve this would be an interesting option for regular Aggron since it goes a ton of weaknesses and carries Sturdy. It can patch its speed a bit with Autotomize and Rock Polish and can hit hard. With a boost from this item it would make Aggron into a monster.

I suppose you can argue that other pokemon with Sturdy can do the job, since most has similar typing and can have higher speed to take advantage of, I just wanted to mention Aggron just because I thought of it now. Any pokemon that can take a hit will enjoy the boost. But I suppose Weakness Policy Aggron is a bit too gimmicky at best.

 

[mattj]

Yeah, unless its on something incredibly bulky I can't imagine this being useful.

 

[Slheyas]

Rhyperior could maybe use it?

Solid Rock means taking SE hits in the face doesn't hurt him as much, its monstrous attack is boosted to crazy amount and I guess Rock Polish could help patch up that speed.

 

[Siggu]

MixNite at 100% health + Weakness Policy + Hazard cleaner = A pile of bones

It's the first thing that came up to my mind. Some speed and you're ready to destroy everything not called Scarf Ditto

 

[Yeah Galo Sengan]

Dragon Dance on the multiscale turn that you get hit by the obvious dragon/fairy/rock/ice attack, and boom you're at +3 attack and can pick apart the opponent at your leisure.

(I was destroyed by this strat like day 1 of open wifi battling against Japanese players)

 

[Siggu]

I have not used this item yet, so this might be a silly question, but is it consumable, like berries or Focus Sash?

I personally don't anticipate to see high usage of this item. Things like Aegislash can boost on its on and I would imagine that it would prefer Leftovers or an Attack boosting item instead of this. Maybe I'm wrong though?

Shield Forme Aegislash has enough defenses to take SE attacks (Even strong coverage ones), so one with Autotomize and Weakness Policy could be plausible, but not very reliable

 

[Lord Jesseus]

Dragon Dance on the multiscale turn that you get hit by the obvious fairy/rock/ice attack, and boom you're at +3 attack and can pick apart the opponent at your leisure.

I'd consider going Agility. A +2 is already potent, and the extra speed might be useful.

 

[Jimmyftw]

I'd consider going Agility. A +2 is already potent, and the extra speed might be useful.

If you use agility would it give away that you are holding Weakness Policy?

 

[Lord Jesseus]

If you use agility would it give away that you are holding Weakness Policy?

Not necessarily, Dragonite has been known to run Agility sets in the past.

 

[RoyalBlue]

Dragonite with Agility/DD Roost? It's super gimmicky but it would be pretty cool. You can easily keep taking super effective hits with the scale and slowly boost up along the way. It can be a neat strategy.

Also, does it work with sub up?

I don't think giving away that you have Weakness Policy would even matter tbh. How else are you going to kill a Dragonite without hitting it Super Effectively?

 

[fryfrey]

Aegislash + Autotomize. Good opportunity to go mixed on those massive Sword Forme attacking stats.

 

[ryan]

Cloyster

Aside from the fact that this post is beyond substantial, I don't see Cloyster using this to good effect. The problem is mainly that it needs to tank a super effective attack on the physical side, which pretty much means a Fighting- or Rock-type attack—Electric- and Grass-type attacks are almost always special, and Cloyster's special bulk is horrible. With only two relevant weaknesses to try to use to your advantage, it seems like a waste. On top of that, Fighting-type attacks are pretty much always going to be too strong for Cloyster to set up on, and the only Rock-type attack that I can think of that Cloyster can really tank is Stone Edge from bulky Landorus-T. Cloyster is hard enough to set up as it is; trying to set up on super effective attacks will make it even more difficult. Plus, Shell Smash + Weakness Policy is pretty excessive anyways.

I also don't really think that Agility Dragonite with Weakness Policy sounds very good. I'd rather make use of Dragonite's bulk and typing to set up Dragon Dance. The only Agility set I've seen work on Dragonite has been a specially attacking rain set with Hurricane, Thunder, and Surf, and Life Orb covers the loss of power when you're spamming powerful attacks such as those. The problem is that it would rely on the activation of the item in order to be successful, which is very unreliable compared to just using Dragon Dance.

All in all, Weakness Policy seems like a fairly gimmicky item, and it seems like there is almost always a more consistent alternative.

 

[nikovan]

Weakness Policy Multiscale Dragon Dance Dragonite (holy... that's a huge name) will be impressive.

Virtually nothing can OHKO Dnite through Multiscale, though in order to use this item you must guarantee that the first hit Dnite receives is a super effective one, otherwise the Multiscale bulk disappear and then you get fucked. Preferibly, switch into a fairy or rock attack. Ice is just too risky. Also, there's the problem that Dnite doesn;t have too many weaknesses in the first place, so it could be hard to pull off unless you can bring Dragonite without hazard damage in front of something with rock/fairy/ice moves.

 

[Camisado]

Carracosta W/ Weakness Policy
Sturdy
Timid 252Spd/252 Attack

Aqua Jet
Shell Smash
Stone Edge
WaterFall/Earthquake/Superpower/Low Kick

Yummy.

 

[Soul Fly]

This item has the potential to turn Agility Dnite into an excellent lure.

 

[Kalut123]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought Aegislash when I saw this. He can easily take SE attacks and potentially reply back with an OHKO.
I'm also loving the idea of weakness policy Dragonite.

That's not a bad idea actually. It's a tad reliant on your opponent, but otherwise it can boost HP Ice to counter Landorus-T. If their move doesn't 2HKO it forces your opponent to use different, more likely weaker options....this gives Aegis more ways to set up in an entirely different manner.

 

[Killah]

Maybe someone should actually test it instead of talking via your own anus? Flash Fire, Water Absorb, Shuca Berry etc all activate from behind a sub. If this thing does too we could have a terrifying item on out hands.

haha this post has inspired me to test it

I can confirm that it does NOT activate while behind a substitute, and is consumed immediately after use (it did not activate on two consecutive SE attacks on the same turn in a double battle).

I can also confirm that it only works ONCE with multi-hit attacks, and activates after the first hit.

 

[vileguy]

I think this item has a lot of potential for several pokemon. Firstly, things with recovery like dragonite and gliscor. These pokemon would normally run with leftovers, but getting a +2 offensive boost while saving a move slot is a considerable benefit. Gliscor only has 2 weaknesses, and special ice attacks can often kill it, but there are plenty of physical ice attacks that a gliscor can survive 1 hit from, and the same is certainly true for water. Dragonite can survive even some ice attacks with multiscale. This item allows dragonite to spam recover while taking super effective hits, then come back with a +6 extremespeed. Dragon dance is no longer required, just a jolly nature for using non-priority attacks, but it's still an option as is agility.

Secondly, sturdy pokemon with either decent speed or a speed boost can make use of this. Skarmory not only has sturdy and decent speed, it has access to agility and roost. A speed boosting sturdy pokemon could use this as well, but they are extremely vulnerable to priority. Other bulky pokemon like Mamoswine could make sure of this, but they'd first have to be targeted by and survive a super effective attack, making this a risky strategy.

I haven't done it yet, but I'm going to try this out with a bulky mixed dragonite set.

 

[Beast Mode]

i feel like dragonite is the only real viable user of this item with aegislash having better options such as assault vest, leftovers, ect. The pokemon that are bulky enough to take a super effective hit just either aren't fast enough or strong enough to do any serious damage.

Just wanted to confirm for the record that it is consumed when triggered.

If only this triggered on stealth rock. Then Drifblim would be at +2Atk +2SpAtk and +2Spd just by switching in. That would be crazy

 

[Jaroda]

Wow im disappointed in the lack of enthusiasm and ingenuity here. What does it take to inspire people to think outside the box before being dismissive? Hippowdon with defensive spread and EQ + Stone Edge +Slack Off + Yawn/Stockpile/Roar. We know all too well Hippos bulk. Stockpile on the switch, tank anything outside Mega Venusaur Grass Knot, then revenge, Yawn or Stockpile again. He will go miles before cowering.

 

[Stolen Steel]

Alright I think it is safe to assume this is going to be a great item to use on some Bulky Offense sets. Specifically the Poke I have in mind is Mamoswine. With Thick Fat Mamoswine can easily switch in on fire moves which are "super effective" against him and gain the boost. From there he has the incredibly powerful dual-stab combo that is still top of the list this gen. With Max attack Mamo's +2 EQ's will decimate almost anything it hits. Most other cases such as flying types can be dealt with its STAB priority Ice Shard. That along with Stone Edge and Super Power for coverage will be nasty to deal with. It will be situational but a Double Choice banded Mamoswine that can switch moves too sounds scary as hell at least to me.

 

[Alter]

After reading this thread I tried out a Weakness Policy DDNite and it was surprisingly good. Four weaknesses in conjunction with Multiscale allow it to safely get its attack stats through the roof. It becomes exceedingly hard to revenge kill when it gets a +3 ESpeed under its belt and you're always playing a mind-game as to whether it will be carrying a berry (lum) or this item. The bonus provided by this item is really great and it works exceptionally well in Dragonite's case. I imagine that this item could see use on bulky set-up attacks instead of other items like Lefties, Gems and berries.

 

[Kejmur]

Wow im disappointed in the lack of enthusiasm and ingenuity here. What does it take to inspire people to think outside the box before being dismissive? Hippowdon with defensive spread and EQ + Stone Edge +Slack Off + Yawn/Stockpile/Roar. We know all too well Hippos bulk. Stockpile on the switch, tank anything outside Mega Venusaur Grass Knot, then revenge, Yawn or Stockpile again. He will go miles before cowering.

CM Offensive Suicune should be fine as well. Suicune is extremely capable of easily surviving SE hit and just clean up after, and Weakness Policy CM Suicune sounds like a really good bulky Electric/Grass types lure. With additional power boost you should be able to beat even something like SpD Celebi or defensive MegaAmpharos, opening sweep opportiunity for something else (like Gyarados, Keldeo, etc.). What I didn't like about offensive CM Suicune that it was pretty weak after one boost. With this item as long as you take SE hit you gain massive power increase and you may still go with CM spamming if they don't plan to use SE hit against you.

CM Celebi should work in similar manner (or Nasty Plot). It's extremely hard to KO back unless you use Bug type attack and with amount of weaknesses it has and bulk finding opportiunity to use it shouldn't be a big problem. Or switch on weaker SE hit, get free boost and work from there even without CM (instead go Recover for example). Situation where you use Dragon, opponent use bulky water to check it, Ice Beam on you switch and from there you work is totally possible situation.

BTW I'm surprised no one mentioned Aegislash. Tank SE hit with shield form (preferably after SD) and rip stuff with +4 Shadow Sneak in Attack form. Taking into account how bulky it is, it should make a good use of this item as well, mostly late game where stuff is weakened.

Bulky, but slow Baton Passer sound fine as well, as long as you can pass Weakness Policy boost to someone else. Imagine beefy MegaMawile, which take SE Earth hit and pass it to Kyurem-B. Heck, Celebi can do the same which I mentioned before. Just watch on on phazers and taunt users.

EDIT: Yeah, I'm blind. Ignore Aegislash sentence. Everything else stays the same.