Battle Spot Yveltal

[Theorymon]

Gotta pay respect to the bird that won me the last USUM tournament!

SET]
name: Special Attacker
move 1: Dark Pulse
move 2: Oblivion Wing
move 3: Heat Wave
move 4: Sucker Punch / Taunt / Focus Blast / U-turn
item: Life Orb / Assault Vest / Weakness Policy
ability: Dark Aura
nature: Timid
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

* Yveltal's combination of power, Max Airstream, and good bulk make it one of the most fearsome Dynamax sweepers in the metagame.

* Oblivion Wing is preferred over Hurricane for the healing factor, even though it gives a less powerful Max Airstream.

* Heat Wave roasts Zacian-C while under Dynamax.

* Roost is a more reliable form of recovery at the cost of coverage or utility.

* Even with an Attack-lowering nature, Sucker Punch is a powerful priority move that's perfect for picking off weakened faster threats, such as Regieleki.

* Taunt shuts down support Pokemon such as Hippowdon. Yveltal is immune to Prankster, so it can deny at least one of Grimmsnarl's dual screens.

* Focus Blast is Yveltal's best hope for dealing serious damage to Tyranitar, though it is a poor Max move.

* U-turn makes Yveltal decent scout and is especially good for gaining momentum against Tyranitar switching in.

Items
========

* Life Orb provides the most reliable form of extra damage, and its recoil can be offset by Oblivion Wing's recovery.

* Assault Vest makes Yveltal a particularly bulky Dynamax user, at the cost of having to drop Taunt.

* Weakness Policy has the potential to turn Yveltal into a dangerous Dynamax sweeper.


EV Spreads
========'

* 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe with Timid: This spread maximizes Yveltal's Special Attack and Speed, outpacing key threats such as Mimikyu and Urshifu.

* 140 HP / 172 SpA / 196 Spe with Timid: This EV spread minimizes Life Orb recoil, survives Zacian-C's Behemoth Blade, avoids a 2HKO from Calyrex-S's Max Starfall while under Dynamax, and outspeeds Timid Kyogre.

[SET]
name: Stall Breaker
move 1: Taunt
move 2: Roost
move 3: Oblivion Wing
move 4: Foul Play / Dark Pulse / Snarl
item: Leftovers / Kee Berry
ability: Dark Aura
nature: Timid / Bold
evs: 252 HP / 188 Def / 68 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

* With Taunt and Roost, Yveltal does an excellent job of crippling more defensive Pokemon, such as Necrozma-DM and Chansey. This set struggles against most defensive Eternatus sets, as they outspeed it and can cripple Yveltal with Toxic.

* Even without Special Attack investment, Oblivion Wing gives Yveltal a good secondary method of recovery, and the option to use Max Airstream when under Dynamax.

* Foul Play 2HKOes Zacian-C, ensuring that it isn't an easy switch-in. However, even Bold Yveltal risks a OHKO from Play Rough, so it shouldn't stay in unless crippled Zacian-C is paralyzed.

* Dark Pulse is Yveltal's strongest STAB move, making it a more dangerous Dynamax option compared to the others.

* While Snarl is weak, its Special Attack drop gives Yveltal a better matchup against specially offensive threats and makes Xerneas switching in easier to deal with for the rest of the team.

Items
========

* Leftovers provides a reliable form of recovery that fits this set's more defensive playstyle.

* Kee Berry's Defense boost can help Yveltal to survive strong physical attacks such as Zacian-C's Play Rough.

* Sitrus Berry and riskier alternatives like Mago Berry can be used to get an immediate health boost.


EV Spreads
========

* 252 HP / 188 Def / 68 Spe with Timid or 252 HP / 92 Def / 168 Spe with Bold: These two spreads allow Yveltal to outspeed Jolly Dracovish and Necrozma-DM, while maximizing its Defense.

* 252 HP / 60 Def / 196 Spe with Timid: This spread allows Yveltal to outspeed Jolly Landorus-T.

* 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe with Bold: This spread fully maximizes Yveltal's Defense.

* 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe with Timid: This spread maximizes Yveltal's Speed, allowing it to outspeed and use Taunt on Mimikyu before it can use a status move.

[SET]
name: Physical Attacker
move 1: Sucker Punch
move 2: Dual Wingbeat
move 3: Heat Wave / Steel Wing
move 4: Foul Play / Lash Out / Taunt / Steel Wing
item: Life Orb / Weakness Policy / Black Glasses
ability: Dark Aura
nature: Adamant / Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

* Physical Yveltal's movepool may not be great, but it can surprise some of it's usual checks, such as 2HKOing Chansey with Dual Wingbeat, and it has one of the strongest priority moves in the game in STAB Dark Aura-boosted Sucker Punch.

* Heat Wave with a Special Attack-lowering nature may seem strange, but when paired with Life Orb, it can finish off most Zacian-C with Max Flare if they switch into Max Airstream.

* Taunt shuts down Hippowdon, which is otherwise a big issue for this set.

* Foul Play doesn't take advantage of the Attack investment before Dynamax, but it does allow Yveltal to deal over 50% to Zacian-C switching in.

* Lash Out is a more reliable Dark-type STAB move than Sucker Punch. Knock Off would normally be a far better move, but it's sadly illegal on Yveltal in this format.

* Steel Wing gives Yveltal a Defense boost under Dynmax with Max Steelspike while seriously damaging Tyranitar.

* Roost can be used in conjunction with Taunt to shut down more defensive Pokemon.

Items
========

* Life Orb is the most highly recommended item, as it gives Adamant Yveltal a chance to KO Zacian-C switching in with Max Airstream into Max Flare.

* Weakness Policy can turn this set into a dangerous Dynamax sweeper; this is particularly notable against Chansey, as +2 Max Darkness will OHKO it.

* Black Glasses is a decent alternative for dealing extra damage with Dark-type attacks while avoiding Life Orb recoil.


EV Spreads
========

* 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe with Adamant: This spread maximizes Yveltal's Attack, while letting it outspeed Calyrex-S after a Max Airstream.

* 140 HP / 172 Atk / 196 Spe with Jolly: This spread outspeeds Jolly Landorus-T, minimizes Life Orb recoil, and avoids an OHKO from Zacian-C's Behemoth Blade.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Theorymon, 29010]]
- Quality checked by: [[luisin, 469498], [Tox, 146]]
- Grammar checked by: [[dex, 277988]]

 

[Theorymon]

Finally got this ready, sorry for the wait!

This was discussed on the QC discord channel, but I added a bulky set because cramming the Taunt + Roost strat onto two different sets was difficult to write for. I might need some help with some additional EV spreads, because Yveltal has a TON of viable EV spreads I probably haven't mentioned!

 

[luisin]

As you mentioned, this was discussed via discord.
And yes, Yveltal has a lot of evs spread, adding all of them is very difficult, you added the most important ones for the current metagame.

I have nothing more to add, it's an amazing job, QC 1/2.

 

[Tox]

I haven't played any meaningful amount of Yveltal myself yet this series, so I don't really have any observations based on first-hand experience of piloting it, and, honestly, I was waiting for someone else on QC to swoop in here to drop some knowledge and 2/2 this in the time between when you put this up and the time of this post. But here we are.

I guess what I was most curious about was what the physical sets have been doing in a world where Zacian can be on every team.
To this end, I looked at a selection of some of the highest-placing blogs from the first season of Series 12 with Yveltal on them to
see if we've missed something:

#6 (Modest Life Orb 92 Def, 252 SpA, 164 Spe) https://yttkk.hateblo.jp/entry/2022/03/01/183048

#10 (Modest Life Orb 4 Def, 252 SpA, 252 Spe) https://satooo4128.hatenablog.com/entry/2022/03/02/180118

#21 (Timid Maranga Berry 124 HP, 4 Def, 124 SpA, 4 SpD, 252 Spe) https://csunny.hatenablog.com/entry/2022/03/01/211317

#48 (Adamant Life Orb 252 Atk, 4 Def, 252 Spe) https://sawq.hatenablog.com/entry/2022/03/03/193255

#84 (Modest Life Orb 4 Def, 252 SpA, 252 Spe) https://patpory2.hatenablog.com/entry/2022/03/03/131637

#89 (Adamant Assault Vest 252 Atk, 140 SpD, 116 Spe) https://note.com/city9320/n/n84ade7f1a743

#96 (Adamant Life Orb 252 Atk, 4 Def, 252 Spe) https://hazall-poke.hateblo.jp/entry/2022/03/01/231356

#113 (Modest Assault Vest 12 HP, 20 Def, 228 SpA, 244 Spe) https://gall.dcinside.com/board/view/?id=pokemon&no=9622420


In all three cases of physical sets from the very top level of play, Adamant was preferred over Jolly, and Foul Play over Lash Out as primary Dark-type STAB. You already have Adamant slashed before Jolly on the physical set, but I think Foul Play should at least feature alongside Lash Out, right?

Anyway, I would still like to hear from folks who have been jamming right and proper amounts of Yveltal recently. Failing that, however, I see that there are multiple EV-spreads presented, as befitting a threat second only to Zacian as far as I am concerned, for the two main sets—special attacker and physical attacker—which is more than enough to pass the bar on material especially helpful for "new to mid-range players". So here's hoping Yveltal gets put up post-haste.

QC 2/2

 

[DerpySuX]

In response to what Tox said. I’ve been using and seeing tons of Yveltal both on Cart and PS. Physical Yveltal is more of a Best of 1 thing afaik. It can catch its usual checks off guard, the only thing that is worth noting about physical Yveltal (in my opinion) is that foul play can so upwards of 50% to Zacian, so if your Yveltal is revealed to be physical, it’s not too inclined to switch in. This, in my opinion, warrants Foul Play to be listed as the first choice of STAB over Lash Out.

Opinions below -

My main gripe with this is that the same effect can be easily accomplished with just slapping Heat Wave onto the much more consistent special set, this also has the benefit of hitting things like Ferrothorn and Celesteela super hard. Bypassing stuff like Chansey/Blissey with the physical set is nice, but again, this can be accomplished with the special sets simply by using taunt and whittling them down with dark pulse/oblivion wing.

I won’t discount the abilities of the physical variants, as such high placings as the ones mentioned above definitely show that it has potential, I just have a hard time trying to justify it over the special sets.

 

[Theorymon]

Thanks for the feedback!

Yeah, I was mulling over Foul Play being the main slash in after looking at blogs, and you guys just cemented it lol. Also of note, I changed the "outspeed Timid Kyogre spreads" a bit to "outspeed Jolly Landorus-T" spreads since it's worth the 8 extra EVs in Speed!

Finally: yeah DerpySux, I did have some reservations myself on including physical Yveltal because on paper, it can be hard to justify over special. However, its usage combined with those placements Tox mentioned, made me feel that we had to mention it, since these analyses are targeting two things: Cartridge ladder play, and new to mid-range players who play in that.

I agree that, I probably wouldn't bring that Yveltalt to say, a best out of 3 in a teamlock or something that risks me playing against the same people, since the surprise is a big aspect of the set. But, in a ladder where you play against tens of thousands of players, that surprise can get results, so I kept it in as the last set.

Anyways, time for this to be GPed! If anything else needs to be changed later, we can always edit stuff directly on the dex btw!

 

[dex]

GP Check

GP Check

[SET]
name: Special Attacker
move 1: Dark Pulse
move 2: Oblivion Wing
move 3: Heat Wave
move 4: Sucker Punch / Taunt / Focus Blast / U-turn
item: Life Orb / Assault Vest / Weakness Policy
ability: Dark Aura
nature: Timid
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

* Yveltal's combination of power, Max Airstream, and good bulk make it one of the most fearsome Dynamax sweepers in the metagame.

* Oblivion Wing is preferred over Hurricane for the healing factor, even with thethough it gives a less powerful Max Airstream.

* Heat Wave roasts Zacian-C while under Dynamax.

* Roost is a more reliable form of recovery at the cost of coverage or utility.

* Even with an Attack-lowering nature, Sucker Punch is a powerful priority move that's perfect for picking off weakened faster threats, such as Regieleki.

* Taunt shuts down support Pokemon such as Hippowdon. Yveltal is immune to Prankster, so it won't get Grimmsnarl get more Light Screen upcan deny at least one of Grimmsnarl's dual screens.

* Focus Blast is Yveltal's best hope for dealing serious damage to Tyranitar, though it makes a particularlyis a poor Max move.

* U-turn makes Yveltal into a decent scout, and is especially good for gaining momentum against Tyranitar switch-insing in.

Items
========

* Life Orb provides the most reliable form of extra damage, and its recoil can be somewhat offset by Oblivion Wing's recovery.

* Assault Vest makes Yveltal a particularly bulky Dynamax user, at the cost of no longer being able to usehaving to drop Taunt.

* Weakness Policy has the potential to turn Yveltal into a dangerous Dynamax sweeper.


EV Spreads
========'

* 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe with Timid: This spread maximizes Yveltal's offenses and speed, outspeedSpecial Attack and Speed, outpacing key threats such as Mimikyu and Urshifu.

* 140 HP / 172 SpA / 196 Spe with Timid: This EV spread minimizes Life Orb damagerecoil, survives Zacian-C's Behemoth Blade, avoids a 2HKO from Calyrex-S's Max Starfall while under Dynamax, and outspeeds Timid Kyogre.

[SET]
name: Stall Breaker
move 1: Taunt
move 2: Roost
move 3: Oblivion Wing
move 4: Foul Play / Dark Pulse / Snarl
item: Leftovers / Kee Berry
ability: Dark Aura
nature: Timid / Bold
evs: 252 HP / 188 Def / 68 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

* With Taunt and Roost, this Yveltal does an excellent job of crippling more defensive Pokemon, such as Necrozma-DM and Chansey. Note that this set will struggleThis set struggles against most defensive Eternatus, sincets, as they outspeed it and can cripple Yveltal with Toxic.

* Even without Special Attack investment, Oblivion Wing gives Yveltal a good secondary method of recovery, and the option to use Max Airstream when under Dynamax.

* Foul Play 2HKOes Zacian-C, ensuring that it isn't an easy switch-in. However, even Bold Yveltal risks a OHKO from Play Rough, so it shouldn't stay in unless paralysis support has crippled Zacian-C is paralyzed.

* Dark Pulse is Yveltal's strongest STAB, which will make move, making it a more dangerous user of Dynamax option compared to the other options.

* While Snarl is weak, theits Special Attack drop it provides gives Yveltal a better matchup against specially offensive threats and makes Xerneas switch-insing in easier to deal with for the rest of the team.

Items
========

* Leftovers provides a reliable form of recovery that fits this set's more defensive playstyle.

* Kee Berry's Defense boost can help Yveltal to survive new threats,strong physical attacks such as Zacian-C's Play Rough.

* Sitrus Berry and it's riskier alternatives like Mago Berry are alternate ways to restore some extra healthcan be used to get an immediate health boost.


EV Spreads
========

* 252 HP / 188 Def / 68 Spe with Timid or 252 HP / 92 Def / 168 Spe with Bold: These two identical stat spreads allow Yveltal to outspeed Jolly Dracovish and Necrozma-DM, while maximizing its Defense.

* 252 HP / 60 Def / 196 Spe with Timid: This spread allows Yveltal to outspeed up to Jolly Landorus-T.

* 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe with Bold: This spread fully maximizes Yveltal's Defense.

* 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe with Timid: This spread maximizes Yveltal's Speed, allowing it to outspeed and use Taunt on Mimikyu before it can use a status move.

[SET]
name: Physical Attacker
move 1: Sucker Punch
move 2: Dual Wingbeat
move 3: Heat Wave / Steel Wing
move 4: Foul Play / Lash Out / Taunt / Steel Wing
item: Life Orb / Weakness Policy / Black Glasses
ability: Dark Aura
nature: Adamant / Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

* Physical Yveltal's movepool may not be great, but it can surprise some of it's usual checks, such as being able to 2HKOing Chansey with Dual Wingbeat, and it has one of the strongest priority moves in the game in STAB Dark Aura-boosted Sucker Punch.

* Heat Wave with a SpA droppecial Attack-lowering nature may seem strange, but when paired with Life Orb and an Adamant nature, it can finish off most Zacian-C with Max Flare if they switch into Max Airstream.

* Taunt shuts down Hippowdon, who can otherwise bich is otherwise a big issue for this set.

* Foul Play doesn't take advantage of the Attack investment before Dynamax, but it does allow Yveltal to deal over 50% to Zacian-C switch-insing in.

* Lash Out is a more reliable Dark-type STAB move than Sucker Punch. Knock Off would normally be a far better move, but it's sadly illegal on Yveltal in this format.

* Steel Wing gives Yveltal a Defense boost under Dynmax with Max Steelspike, and an Attack to seriously damage Tyranitar with while seriously damaging Tyranitar.

* Roost can be used in conjunction with Taunt to shut down more defensive Pokemon.

Items
========

* Life Orb is the most highly recommended item, givingas it gives Adamant Yveltal a chance to KO Zacian-C switch-ins with Max Airstream +ing in with Max Airstream into Max Flare.

* Weakness Policy can turn this set into a dangerous Dynamax sweeper, especially notable for letting +2 Yveltal OHKO Chansey with Max Darkness; this is particularly notable against Chansey, as +2 Max Darkness will OHKO it.

* Black Glasses is a decent alternative for dealing extra damage with Dark-type attacks while avoiding Life Orb recoil.


EV Spreads
========

* 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe with Adamant: This spread maximizes Yveltal's Attack, while letting it outspeed Calyrex-S after a Max Airstream.

* 140 HP / 172 Atk / 196 Spe with Jolly: This spread outspeeds Jolly Landorus-T, gives the least amount of Life Orb damage, and avoids aminimizes Life Orb recoil, and avoids an OHKO from Zacian-C's Behemoth Blade.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Theorymon, 29010]]
- Quality checked by: [[luisin, 469498], [Tox, 146]]
- Grammar checked by: [[dex, 277988]]

1/1!

 

[Theorymon]

Thank you so much for the hardwork dex !

Time for the bacon bird to be served on the Smogon Dex!