Yanmega (Analysis) [GP 0/2]

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Yanmega

[OVERVIEW]
<p>Yanmega has always been an odd Pokemon. Its stats aren't outstanding and it has one of the worst type combinations in Pokemon, but it has fantastic abilities and is more than capable of performing in OU. Despite its crippling Stealth Rock weakness, it is still capable of tearing teams apart and wrecking unprepared teams. </p>

[SET]
name: Speed Boost
move 1: Bug Buzz
move 2: Air Slash
move 3: Hidden Power Fighting / Hidden Power Fire / Hidden Power Ground
move 4: Protect
Item: Life Orb
Ability: Speed Boost
Nature: Modest
EVs.: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Yanmega is the forgotten speed boost user. Yanmega is often overlooked as a late game sweeper, but it has a pretty good base 116 Special Attack and has access to one of the best abilities in the game. Yanmega functions so well as a late game sweeper because so little can stop him once he starts sweeping. After one boost, Yanmega reaches a speed of 434, allowing him to outspeed most of the metagame and all unboosted pokemon. Yanmega tears things apart with its high Special Attack and powerful STAB moves. The final attacking move is based upon what Yanmega needs to hit. Hidden Power Ground is for Fire-types like Heatran who think they can switch in safely. Hidden Power Fighting offers more neutral coverage and can often hit Balloon pokemon and Tyranitar. Hidden Power Fire can take care of other important Steel types like Scizor, Skarmory, and Ferrothorn. It is somewhat hard to wall, as physically defensive Ferrothorn is 2HKOed by Bug Buzz and specially defensive Burungeru is 3HKOed by Air Slash. Yanmega can also counter many pokemon currently common in the metagame; Volcorona, Mienshao, Conkeldurr, and Ludicolo are all OHKO'd by Air Slash. After three speed boosts, Yanmega outspeeds Excadrill and OHKO's with any Hidden Power. Also, Adamant Doryuuzu can be outrun with only two speed boosts.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Hidden Power Electric can be used over Ground, Fire and Fighting. Hidden Power Electric nails bulky Water-type pokemon like Vaporeon for super effective damage. Hypnosis is also an option over Protect, as it earns Yanmega more free turns to rack up Speed Boosts, but it is unreliable and doesn't rack up boosts as well as Protect. Yanmega should normally run Modest for the extra power, but for those who really fear Doryuuzu, Yanmega can run Timid, as it outruns Jolly Doryuuzu after only two speed boosts as supposed to three.</p>

[SET]
name: Tinted Specs
move 1: Bug Buzz
move 2: Air Slash
move 3: Hidden Power Ground / Hidden Power Fire
move 4: Giga Drain / U-Turn
Item: Choice Specs
Ability: Tinted Lens
Nature: Timid
EVs.: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
<p> The bane of any choice user is the resisted switch in, forcing the choice pokemon to switch out. Yanmega doesn't have that problem due to Tinted Lens. This means that Yanmega can keep on attacking until Yanmega sees a quadruple resist pokemon or until it is threatened. This set helps fix Yanmega's lacking movepool, as Yanmega no longer needs perfect coverage. Bug Buzz and Air Slash are for strong STAB moves. Hidden Power Ground can help you hit Heatran for a ton of damage and hurts other steel types as well. However, it does not hit Skarmory at all, so Hidden Power Fire is another option. For the last moveslot, Giga Drain is recommended, as it both helps Yanmega stay alive and kills bulky waters. U-Turn is mentioned in the last slot mainly because it is a great way to scout the opponent and to see their Yanmega counter. It also helps Yanmega's team gain momentum. Obviously if U-Turn is used, then the nature should be changed to one that doesn't hinder attack, such as Hasty.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p> Coverage on Yanmega is a total non-issue, so there aren't too many important moves that need to be mentioned. Additional moves on Yanmega are all based on its team's needs, as it already has perfect coverage. Psychic is a viable choice, yet it has redundant coverage with Air Slash and it's not really hitting anything important. It's also not very good to be locked into a Psychic attack, seeing as this clears the way for a Dark-type to set up.</p>

[OPTIONAL CHANGES]
<p> Yanmega ran a very effective lead set last generation, yet with the bulkier leads this generation such as Hippowdon or Politoed, Yanmega is less viable. Yanmega has decent bulk, recovery with Roost, and even a phazing move, but Yanmega's poor typing stops it from trying to run a defensive set. Yanmega can run an Endure+Reversal set, but Yanmega is very vulnerable to residual damage and does not have a high physical Attack Stat. Yanmega also has access to pursuit, but it does not receive STAB and its physical attack is lacking. Yanmgega can actually run an effective Substitute set, especially with Speed Boost, yet the prevalence of Stealth Rock means that Yanmega will really only be able to set up one Substitute. Yanmega is very capable of being a scout due to Frisk and Hypnosis, but Stealth Rock is very common so it's hard to switch in Yanmega a lot to scout. There are also team previews in the beginning of the match, so scouts are pretty useless now anyway.</p>

[TEAM OPTIONS]
<p> Yanmega absolutely needs Rapid Spin support. The Speed Boost set has a Life Orb on it, so Yanmega only lasts five turns without Rapid Spin. The Choice Specs and Scout sets will need to switch in and out frequently, so Yanmega needs Rapid Spin to ensure that it can be used more than once. The best pokemon for this is Starmie, as Starmie resists many of Yanmega's weaknesses such as Ice and Fire. Forretress also resists Yanmega's Ice weaknesses and is always an option. Hitmontop, while not resisting any of Yanmega's weaknesses aside from Rock, can also be used to eliminate many of Yanmega's counters such as Blissey and Tyranitar. If Rapid Spin support doesn't fit the team, then Magic Mirror pokemon like Espeon and Xatu are necessary to help keep Stealth Rock off of the field. Electivire also works well with Yanmega. Electivire can absorb electric attacks aimed at Yanmega to raise its speed and KO many of Yanmega's walls such as Burungeru, Blissey, and Tyranitar. Yanmega also is immune to Electivire's Ground weakness. A choiced pokemon like Garchomp can clean up nicely after a Yanmega sweep and can break through the opponent's remaining pokemon. Infernape can work as a cleaner too, as it breaks through the SkarmBliss combo. Yanmega has a lot of synergy with pokemon like Heatran, but Heatran is walled by many of the same pokemon as Yanmega. </p>

[COUNTERS]
<p> Stealth Rock is the biggest counter to Yanmega. It pulls a huge chunk out of Yanmega's health and kills it off quickly. Most special walls counter Yanmega well, such as Burungeru, Blissey, Porygon2, and Vaporeon. Tyranitar also checks Yanmega pretty well because of its special bulk and ability to OHKO back with rock moves. It also outspeeds the Specs set if it has a Scarf, and isn't KO'd by the Speed Boost set unless it has HP Fighting. Snorlax walls Yanmega as well, but it can be 3HKO'd and has no reliable recovery. Other Speed Boost pokemon like Blaziken can counter Yanmega well if it has one more boost than it because it will outspeed it and OHKO it. Crobat is a very good Yanmega counter as well. It has a 4x resist to Bug, isn't OHKO'd by Air Slash, and can OHKO back with Brave Bird.</p>

[DREAM WORLD]
<p>Dream World Yanmega has already been released. Frisk is good for a scout set, but Yanmega has such great other abilities and doesn't need to bother with Frisk otherwise. </p>
 
First, on the Speed Boost set you may want to slash Substitute somewhere for additional Boosts (think Ninjask). Also, moving some Attack EVs into Special Attack on the Scout set gives Air Slash more kick.
 
I don't see why HP Dragon is Slashed on the Tinted Specs set. Considering that STAB Bug Buzz hits Dragons for 135 BP, and HP Dragon hits for 140, the power boost seems pointless, when you realize that you're locked into an unstabbed 70 BP move, and you have a n SR weakness. HP Ground to smack Heatran switch ins is better, IMO, or HP Fire to hit Skarm. Those are the only two who 4x resist Bug Buzz, so the only Pokemon you really need to hit. Giga Drain and Shadow Ball are similarly useless, and you probably should have U-turn in that spot instead.
 
Psychic should get mentioned in optional changes as it's usually your best weapon against any poison types like Weezing as well as grounded ones better then HP Ground. Sadly it would leave you open to steel types this way.
 
HP Dragon was to ensure neutral coverage on everything because nothing x4 resists Dragon, but I guess it's a little too weak. I'll remove that. As for Giga Drain and Shadow Ball, Giga Drain hits Bulky Waters harder, especially with the new power boost to it. But I guess Shadow Ball is a little useless too, as it's just filler. U-Turn is a little too weak, especially with no investment, so I think it shouldn't really be added in. I can add in Psychic over Shadow Ball, as it gets perfect coverage with Bug Buzz and Tinted Lens. It's also one of the more powerful moves Yanmega has. Its movepool isn't too huge, so I'm trying to work with what I have.
 
Speed Boost allows Yanmega to be speedier especially after a protect, allowing it to U-Turn out quickly or to put the opponent to sleep quickly.

[OPTIONAL CHANGES]
Yanmega has decent bulk, recovery with Roost, and even a phazing move, but Yanmega's poor typing lets lit down from being bulkier. Yanmega can run an Endure+Reversal set, but Yanmega is very vulnerable to residual damage and does not have high physical attack. Yanmega has access to pursuit, only it does not receive STAB and its physical attack is lacking. Yanmgega can actually run an effective Substitute set, especially with Speed Boost, yet the prevelance of Stealth Rock means that Yanmega will really only be able to set up one sub. </p>

Just pointing out some grammatical/spelling errors. There needs to be a comma between "speedier" and "especially." "Lit" should be "it." Finally, "prevalence" is spelled incorrectly.

Besides that, this was really interesting to read! It always pleases me to see Yanmega get some love, and the addition of Frisk to the scout set is pretty exciting, and something I hadn't considered. Awesome!
 
U-turn isnt about the power at all, it's more how you can rack up hazard damage, scouting what kind of sets the opponent is running, and can gain momentum, cause you can get a counter in against your opponent's switch in and proceed to force it out and set up. And then there's the whole Shanderra+U-turn is rape, but that's not legal. Do Giga Drain and Psychic get any notable KOs?
 
Giga Drain ensures 2HKO's on most Bulky Waters such as Burungeru and Vaporeon. It also can help you take down walls like Hippowdon. It helps hit Sand teams and Rain teams for more damage. It also OHKO's Swampert, who otherwise threatens you with Ice Beam.

Psychic gains perfect coverage with Bug Buzz and Tinted Lens. This isn't too hard to get, however, so that's why it's the second option.
 
Get rid of the ScoutMega set, it seems pretty useless. You see your opponent's team before the battle so there's not much to scout. Most movesets are generally obvious, as are items, and I honestly don't see how spamming U-Turn with Yanmega is gonna help scout movesets anyway.
 
Crobat also 4x resists Bug, and threates Yanmega with Brave Bird or Hypnosis. Yanmega can't do too much to it unless it's packing Psychic.
 
Any Pokemon that's 4x weak to Stealth Rock needs to be considered with Magic Mirrow users, so mention Xatu and Espeon as teammates. You should also remove Psychic from the Choice Specs set and simply mention it in AC, as it has pretty poor typing for an attack. Also Modest Yanmega with +2 Speed outpaces +2 Adamant Doryuuzu who is actually more common than Jolly, so be sure to fix that up. Timid should be mentioned if one is paranoid for Jolly variants though.

QC Approved 1/2
 
Crobat also 4x resists Bug, and threates Yanmega with Brave Bird or Hypnosis. Yanmega can't do too much to it unless it's packing Psychic.

Or Air Slash.

...or Hypnosis.

Really, though, slash Timid on the Speed Boost set. No Dory user who is not a complete idiot will let you get to +3, and relying on double Protect isn't a good idea.

And all Doryuuzu are Jolly.
 
I agree with Iconic.

I do have a small suggestion, though: wouldn't HP Fire be the better option over HP Fighting on the "Speed Boost" set? HP Fighting doesn't allow you to accomplish much, bar hitting Heatran's that carry Balloon (which you talk about when you mention HP Ground / Fighting). HP Fire, on the other hand, allows you to hurt Skarmory, Scizor, and other Steel-types, making it the better move to use I'd say.

QC APPROVED (2/2)
 
I do understand that HP Fire is a good option, but I feel that HP Fighting is an even better one. HP Fighting has the advantage of taking out several common Yanmega counters and can hit Balloon pokemon too. For example, Balloon Heatran walks all over the set unless there is HP Fighting. In addition, from personal experience, 50% of the time TYRANITAR will switch in, who cannot simply be handled with just HP Ground and needs HP Fighting to die. So HP Fighting helps hit the Sand Storm teams much harder than HP Fire. But I do understand your reasoning, and Skarm is a bitch, so I will slash that over HP Ground.
 
[TEAM OPTIONS]
<p> Forretress also resists Yanmega's Ice and Rock weaknesses and is always an option. Hitmontop, while it doesn't resist any of Yanmega's weaknesses, can be used to eliminate many of Yanmega's counters such as Blissey and Tyranitar.</p>

Just a small nitpick, but Foretress doesn't resist rock (bug is weak to rock while steel resists so combo is neutral). Hitmontop on the other hand does resist rock (but it does share flying weakness with yanmega).

Also, Tyranitar is weak to bug buzz and it's definetly not a counter to specs set.
 
The 4 HP EVs should go in Defense, since 4 HP EVs gives Yanmega an even amount of total HP, meaning it dies if it switches into Stealth Rock twice.
 
An alternative ev spread for the Speed Boost set could be 104 Def / 252 SpA / 152 Speed as this allows it to outspeed +Speed Base 130's after a speed boost and still outspeeds jolly Dory after 3 speed boosts. The reason is to survive random annoying priority attacks such as Scizor's bullet punch or Azumarill's Aqua Jet. It really helps, especially since Yanmega's defense isn't actually too shabby, nor is its HP. Perhaps suggest this in the AC or OC.
 
Given that this has its QC checks, here is a quick GP check. It won't count but it should help the actual guys.

Here forevermore
Here fornevermore
Simple Grammar/Spelling changes

Spr_5b_469.png

Yanmega

[OVERVIEW]
<p>Yanmega has always been an odd Pokemon. Its stats aren't outstanding and it has some one of the worst typing type combinations in Pokemon, but it has fantastic abilities and is more than capable of performing in OU. Despite its crippling Stealth Rock weakness, it is still capable of tearing teams apart and of wrecking unprepared teams. </p>

[SET]
name: Speed Boost
move 1: Bug Buzz
move 2: Air Slash
move 3: Hidden Power Fighting / Hidden Power Fire / Hidden Power Ground
move 4: Protect
Item: Life Orb
Ability: Speed Boost
Nature: Modest
EVs.: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Yanmega is the forgotten speed boost user. Yanmega is often overlooked as a late game sweeper, but it has a pretty good base 116 Special Attack and has access to one of the best abilities in the game. Yanmega functions so well as a late game sweeper because so little can stop him once he starts sweeping. After one boost, Yanmega reaches a speed of 434, allowing him to outspeed most of the metagame and nonscarfed all unboosted pokemon. Yanmega tears things apart with its high Special Attack and powerful STAB moves. The final attacking move is based on what Yanmega needs to hit. Hidden Power Ground is for Fire-types like Heatran who think they can switch in safely. Hidden Power Fighting offers more neutral coverage and can often hit Balloon pokemon and Tyranitar. Hidden Power Fire can take care of other important Steel types like Scizor, Skarmory, and Nattorei. It is somewhat hard to wall, as physically defensive Nattorei is 2HKOed by Bug Buzz and specially defensive Burungeru is 3HKOed by Air Slash. Yanmega can also counter many pokemon currently common in the metagame [reordered]; Urugamosu, Kojondo, Roobushin, and Ludicolo are all OHKO'd by Air Slash. After three speed boosts, Yanmega outspeeds Doryuuzu and OHKO's with either any Hidden Power. However Also, Adamant Doryuuzu can be outrun with only two speed boosts.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Hidden Power Electric and Fire can be used over Ground, Fire and Fighting. Hidden Power Electric nails bulky Water-type pokemon like Vaporeon for super effective damage. Hidden Power Fire OHKO's certain steel types like Scizor and Nattorei. Hypnosis is also an option over Protect, as it earns Yanmega more free turns to rack up Speed Boosts, but it is unreliable and doesn't rack up boosts as well as Protect. Yanmega should normally run Modest for the extra power, but for those who really fear Doryuuzu, Yanmega can run Timid, as it outruns Jolly Doryuuzu after only two speed boosts as supposed to three.</p>

[SET]
name: Tinted Specs
move 1: Bug Buzz
move 2: Air Slash
move 3: Hidden Power Ground / Hidden Power Fire
move 4: Giga Drain / U-Turn
Item: Choice Specs
Ability: Tinted Lens
Nature: Timid
EVs.: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
<p> The bane of any choice user is the resisted switch in, forcing the choice pokemon to switch out. Yanmega doesn't have that problem due to Tinted Lens. This means that Yanmega can keep on attacking until Yanmega sees a quadruple resist pokemon or until it is threatened. This set helps fix Yanmega's lacking movepool, as Yanmega no longer needs perfect coverage. Bug Buzz and Air Slash are for strong STAB moves. Hidden Power Ground can help you hit Heatran for a ton of damage and hurts other steel types as well. However, it does not hit Skarmory at all, so Hidden Power Fire is another option. For the last moveslot, Giga Drain is recommended, as it both helps Yanmega stay alive and kills bulky waters. U-Turn is mentioned in the last slot mainly because of how useful it is. it is a great way to scout the opponent and to see their Yanmega counter. It also helps Yanmega's team gain momentum. Obviously if U-Turn is used, then the nature should be changed to one that doesn't hinder attack, such as Hasty.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p> Coverage on Yanmega is a total non-issue, so there aren't too many important moves that need to be mentioned. Additional moves on Yanmega are all based on its team's needs, as it already has perfect coverage. Psychic is a viable choice, yet it has redundant coverage with Air Slash and it's not really hitting anything important. It's also not very good to be locked into a Psychic attack, seeing as this clears the way for a Dark-type to set up.</p>

[OPTIONAL CHANGES]
<p> Yanmega ran a very effective lead set last generation, yet with the bulkier leads this generation such as Hippowdon or Politoed, Yanmega is less viable. Yanmega has decent bulk, recovery with Roost, and even a phazing move, but Yanmega's poor typing lets it down from being bulkierstops it from trying to run a defensive set. Yanmega can run an Endure+Reversal set, but Yanmega is very vulnerable to residual damage and does not have a high physical Attack Stat. Yanmega also has access to pursuit, only but it does not receive STAB and its physical attack is lacking. Yanmgega can actually run an effective Substitute set, especially with Speed Boost, yet the prevalence of Stealth Rock means that Yanmega will really only be able to set up one Substitute. Yanmega is very capable of being a scout due to Frisk and Hypnosis, but Stealth Rock is very common so it's hard to switch in Yanmega a lot to scout. There are also team previews in the beginning of the match, so scouts are pretty useless now anyway.</p>

[TEAM OPTIONS]
<p> Yanmega absolutely needs Rapid Spin support. The Speed Boost set has a Life Orb on it, so Yanmega only lasts five turns without Rapid Spin. The Choice Specs and Scout sets will need to switch in and out frequently, so Yanmega needs Rapid Spin to ensure that it can be used more than once. The best pokemon for this is Starmie, as Starmie resists many of Yanmega's weaknesses such as Ice and Fire. Forretress also resists Yanmega's Ice weaknesses and is always an option. Hitmontop, while it doesn't resist not resisting any of Yanmega's weaknesses aside from Rock, can also be used to eliminate many of Yanmega's counters such as Blissey and Tyranitar. If Rapid Spin support doesn't fit the team, then Magic Mirror pokemon like Espeon and Xatu are necessary to help keep Stealth Rock off of the field. Electivire also works well with Yanmega. Electivire can absorb electric attacks aimed at Yanmega to raise its speed and KO many of Yanmega's walls such as Burungeru, Blissey, and Tyranitar. Yanmega also resists is immune to Electivire's Ground weakness. A choiced pokemon like Garchomp can clean up nicely after a Yanmega sweep and can break through the opponent's remaining pokemon. Infernape can work as a cleaner too, as it breaks through the SkarmBliss combo. Yanmega has a lot of synergy with pokemon like Heatran, but Heatran is walled by mostly many of the same pokemon as Yanmega. </p>

[COUNTERS]
<p> Stealth Rock is the biggest counter to Yanmega. It pulls a huge chunk out of Yanmega's health and kills it off quickly. Most special walls counter Yanmega well, such as Burungeru, Blissey, Porygon2, and Vaporeon. Tyranitar also checks Yanmega pretty well because of its special bulk and ability to OHKO back with rock moves. It also outspeeds the Specs set if it has a Scarf, and isn't KO'd by the Speed Boost set unless it has HP Fighting. Snorlax walls Yanmega as well, but it can be 3HKO'd and has no reliable recovery. Other Speed Boost pokemon like Blaziken can counter Yanmega well if it has one more boost than it because it will outspeed it and OHKO it. Crobat is a very good Yanmega counter as well. It has a 4x resist to Bug, isn't OHKO'd by Air Slash, and can OHKO back with Brave Bird.</p>

[DREAM WORLD]
<p>Dream World Yanmega has already been released. Frisk is good for a scout set, but Yanmega has such great other abilities and doesn't need to bother with Frisk otherwise. </p>
 
Reading through this, it seems that in several places you say 'Yanmega' when a pronoun would be more appropriate (ie something like, 'Yanmega needs Rapid Spin support due to Yanmega's crippling SR weakness' [not a quote, just an example]; the second "Yanmega" should be a pronoun). I'm not sure what Smogon's policy is on which pronouns should b'e used, but I would definitely urge you to change this, as it reads very oddly ATM. I don't have time to find all the examples in the analysis, but if you or anyone else has five minutes or so they're fairly easy to spot.
 
How possible, do you think, would it be to run the first Speed Boost set with Petaya Berry and Substitute over Life Orb and Protect? In exchange for slightly more difficult set-up - only slightly, as Stealth Rock does half the work for you - you get 496 SpA instead of 430, which is pretty substantial. You're still getting that crucial turn of invulnerability that Protect offers if done smartly, and there's always the possibility of subbing up on something like Thunder Wave and carrying your doll into the sweep. Is there some fatal flaw I'm missing?
 
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