[SET]
Focus Sash (Sneasler) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Unburden / Poison Touch
Level: 50
Tera Type: Stellar / Ghost
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly / Adamant Nature
- Dire Claw
- Close Combat
- Fake Out
- Coaching / Protect
[SET COMMENTS]
- Focus Sash Sneasler aims to eliminate key threats in the metagame such as Kingambit and Rillaboom with powerful STAB options while also outspeeding most Pokemon on the field. Additionally, it provides a supportive role with options like Fake Out and Coaching.
- Dire Claw and Close Combat are Sneasler's main STAB options, hitting key meta threats such as Whimsicott and Tyranitar for huge damage, respectively. Fake Out creates openings for allies such as Gholdengo to set up while also breaking Focus Sash on opposing Sneasler before they can move if they do not tread carefully. Coaching boosts the power of physical-attacking allies such as Baxcalibur while also boosting their defense, allowing them to take more hits from the likes of Incineroar and Garchomp. Protect, on the other hand, can be run to aid Sneasler against opposing Fake Out to keep its Focus Sash in tact and help stall out Trick Room turns, so Sneasler can continue to be the fastest on the field.
- Focus Sash helps combat Sneasler's frail stature, letting it survive attacks such as Expanding Force from Indeedee-M and retaliate with Close Combat or Dire Claw.
- Tera Stellar is preferred on Sneasler to let it achieve OHKOs on Rillaboom and Assault Vest Archaludon with Dire Claw and Close Combat, respectively. Tera Ghost is recommended on sets without Protect to avoid Fake Out from foes such as Incineroar and Rillaboom.
- Jolly is the most common nature on Focus Sash Sneasler, letting it outspeed and OHKO fast Pokemon such as Maushold and Whimsicott. Adamant Sneasler, on the other hand, is able to get the guaranteed OHKO with Dire Claw on Tera Grass or Fairy Volcarona and Primarina.
- Although Focus Sash allows for more flexibility, Focus Sash Sneasler struggles heavily against Ghost-types like Gholdengo, notably having little to hit them. Focus Sash Sneasler also falls victim to four moveslot syndrome, oftentimes warranting need for both Coaching and Protect.
Unburden Sweeper (Sneasler) @ Psychic Seed / Grassy Seed / White Herb
Ability: Unburden
Level: 50
Tera Type: Dark / Flying / Ghost
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Dire Claw / Acrobatics
- Throat Chop / Swords Dance / Coaching
- Protect
[SET COMMENTS]
- Psychic Seed, Grassy Seed, or White Herb in conjunction with Unburden makes Sneasler the fastest Pokemon in the entire format, outspeeding and KOing top threats such as Maushold and Ursaluna-B, even when they are under Tailwind.
- On Grassy Seed sets in particular, Acrobatics is commonly run alongside Swords Dance thanks to the opportunities created by an ally Rillaboom's Fake Out, which is a necessary teammate for Grassy Seed Sneasler to activate Grassy Seed itself; Acrobatics notably hits Grass- and Fighting-types such as Amoonguss, opposing Sneasler, and Annihilape, respectively. On Psychic Seed and White Herb sets, however, Dire Claw is always the preferred option as they typically already have partners that threaten Fighting-types such as Indeedee.
- Throat Chop is commonly run on Psychic Seed sets so that Sneasler can threaten huge damage onto the Ghost-types of the format like Gholdengo and Dragapult, and also Tera Ghost Pokemon like Incineroar or opposing Sneasler, notably removing Gholdengo for ally Indeedee to use Expanding Force more freely..
- White Herb sets tend to carry Coaching instead of Swords Dance or Throat Chop since they do better into Incineroar, nullifying Intimidate with White Herb and thus being able to better threaten Incineroar with Close Combat, providing as more support for physical attackers that appreciate Coaching like Ursaluna's. With the speed boost from Unburden, it is even possible to use Coaching on allies that are naturally faster than Sneasler like a boosted Dragonite or Dragapult.
- Psychic Seed and Grassy Seed both provide Sneasler with defensive buffs when in their respective terrain. With the Special Defense buff from Psychic Seed, Sneasler is now able to survive Hurricane from Timid Pelipper and Tera Stellar Draco Meteor from Power Herb Archaludon. Grassy Seed helps leverage Sneasler's Defense stat, letting it take Scale Shot from Dragonite and a +2 Tera Dark Kowtow Cleave from Black Glasses Kingambit. Finally, White Herb is used on Sneasler sets that do not particularly abuse terrain but still want an Unburden speed boost. White Herb has the added benefit of negating attack drops from Intimidate as well as denying speed drops from Icy Wind and Electroweb from Alolan Ninetales and Electabuzz, respectively.
- Tera Dark, commonly run on Psychic Seed sets, provides a immunity to Psychic-type attacks and boosts the power of Throat Chop, allowing Sneasler to OHKO Basculegion and frailer Gholdengo.
- Tera Flying, run on Grassy Seed sets, boosts the power of Acrobatics, letting it pick off Rillaboom, whilst also providing a crucial immunity to Ground-type attacks like Earth Power and Stomping Tantrum from Ursaluna-B and Garchomp, respectively.
- Tera Ghost is run on both Grassy Seed and White Herb sets, providing a notable immunity to Fake Out from the likes of Incineroar, while also providing an immunity to Fighting-type attacks such as Final Gambit and Close Combat from Annihilape and Sneasler, respectively.
- Because Unburden already make Sneasler fast enough, Adamant is run to boost the attack stat of Sneasler even further, OHKOing low-invested Ursaluna-B.
- Unburden Sweeper Sneasler is far less flexible than Focus Sash, with the Psychic and Grassy Seed sets in particular requiring necessary support in setting up either Psychic or Grassy Terrain. Even with the defensive boosts from the Seeds, Sneasler still ends up missing its Focus Sash due to its naturally poor bulk, getting OHKOed by common super effective attacks. Sneasler also finds itself wanting to stay in a lot despite its frail stature because it would otherwise lose its speed boosts from Unburden.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Teambuilding
============
- Focus Sash Sneasler is generally used as a supportive Pokemon, using Fake Out to help allies such as Volcarona set up or to protect partners lime Ursaluna to give them opportunities to deal loads of damage.
- Unburden Sweeper Sneasler sets that carry either Grassy Seed or Psychic Seed tend to take a more offensive approach, with enablers of their items being a must on each team. Additionally, partners that can properly take advantage of Sneasler's coverage, such as Indeedee-M, can form a strong and solid offensive core.
- Rillaboom is an amazing partner for Sneasler, forming a double Fake Out core that can easily overwhelm common team structures such as Dozogiri while also threatening Ground-types that would otherwise heavily threaten Sneasler, notably the Ursaluna formes. In return, Sneasler threatens Pokemon such as Incineroar and Archaludon, Pokemon that Rillaboom struggles to break through.
- Kingambit is another great partner for almost any Sneasler set. Kingambit is able to threaten Gholdengo, one of the top checks to Sneasler, and can also take out Pokemon naturally faster than Sneasler with Sucker Punch, most importantly Dragapult. Kingambit, due to its low speed, can also abuse opposing Trick Room that may be used to nullify Sneasler's presence. Kingambit does struggle with Fighting-types such as opposing Sneasler, which Sneasler can not directly remove unless it is carrying Acrobatics, so it can instead use Fake Out and Coaching to support Kingambit.
- Sneasler is very susceptible to multi-hit moves such as Population Bomb from Maushold or Scale Shot from Dragonite and Baxcalibur. For this, partners such as Alolan Ninetales or Incineroar are recommended threaten the most common multi-hit move users or, in Incineroar's case, can weaken the damage instead. Additionally, Sneasler struggles against Ghost-types like Gholdengo and Annihilape when without Throat Chop or Acrobatics; because of this, allies like Incineroar and Pelipper are recommended to scare away Gholdengo and Annihilape, respectively.
Strategy Comments
============
- Sneasler's objective is to support its team or deal heavy damage but overall be a nuisance to the opposing team with moves such as Dire Claw, which has the chance to apply game-ending status conditions. Because of this, Sneasler thrives in board states where Dire Claw is easy to use and sometimes spam.
- Unburden Sweeper Sneasler that use either Psychic Seed or Grassy Seed need their terrain setter to be alive, so they tend to play towards the early game to break through. Focus Sash and White Herb sets have more versatility and can be brought in the front or in the back instead. Sneasler is advised to not be brought in general against Trick Room teams as, when under the impairment of Trick Room, Sneasler is far more susceptible to getting KOed due to its high speed.
- Gholdengo is the largest thorn in the side for Sneasler, as it is immune to both of Sneasler's STABs and is only threatened by Throat Chop. Allies like Kingambit or Incineroar can easily take care of Gholdengo with Kowtow Cleave and Knock Off, respectively. Annihilape and Dragonite can be an even bigger struggle when not careful, as Annihilape is only threatened by Acrobatics and Dragonite can use Scale Shot to OHKO Sneasler, even through Focus Sash. Alolan Ninetales threatens both of these Pokemon with Moonblast, while also having access to Aurora Veil to allow Sneasler to live hits such as Scale Shot from Dragonite.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/pengu.650323/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/rausakura.589964/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/gephicka.553122/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user5.104/
Focus Sash (Sneasler) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Unburden / Poison Touch
Level: 50
Tera Type: Stellar / Ghost
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly / Adamant Nature
- Dire Claw
- Close Combat
- Fake Out
- Coaching / Protect
[SET COMMENTS]
- Focus Sash Sneasler aims to eliminate key threats in the metagame such as Kingambit and Rillaboom with powerful STAB options while also outspeeding most Pokemon on the field. Additionally, it provides a supportive role with options like Fake Out and Coaching.
- Dire Claw and Close Combat are Sneasler's main STAB options, hitting key meta threats such as Whimsicott and Tyranitar for huge damage, respectively. Fake Out creates openings for allies such as Gholdengo to set up while also breaking Focus Sash on opposing Sneasler before they can move if they do not tread carefully. Coaching boosts the power of physical-attacking allies such as Baxcalibur while also boosting their defense, allowing them to take more hits from the likes of Incineroar and Garchomp. Protect, on the other hand, can be run to aid Sneasler against opposing Fake Out to keep its Focus Sash in tact and help stall out Trick Room turns, so Sneasler can continue to be the fastest on the field.
- Focus Sash helps combat Sneasler's frail stature, letting it survive attacks such as Expanding Force from Indeedee-M and retaliate with Close Combat or Dire Claw.
- Tera Stellar is preferred on Sneasler to let it achieve OHKOs on Rillaboom and Assault Vest Archaludon with Dire Claw and Close Combat, respectively. Tera Ghost is recommended on sets without Protect to avoid Fake Out from foes such as Incineroar and Rillaboom.
- Jolly is the most common nature on Focus Sash Sneasler, letting it outspeed and OHKO fast Pokemon such as Maushold and Whimsicott. Adamant Sneasler, on the other hand, is able to get the guaranteed OHKO with Dire Claw on Tera Grass or Fairy Volcarona and Primarina.
- Although Focus Sash allows for more flexibility, Focus Sash Sneasler struggles heavily against Ghost-types like Gholdengo, notably having little to hit them. Focus Sash Sneasler also falls victim to four moveslot syndrome, oftentimes warranting need for both Coaching and Protect.
Unburden Sweeper (Sneasler) @ Psychic Seed / Grassy Seed / White Herb
Ability: Unburden
Level: 50
Tera Type: Dark / Flying / Ghost
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Dire Claw / Acrobatics
- Throat Chop / Swords Dance / Coaching
- Protect
[SET COMMENTS]
- Psychic Seed, Grassy Seed, or White Herb in conjunction with Unburden makes Sneasler the fastest Pokemon in the entire format, outspeeding and KOing top threats such as Maushold and Ursaluna-B, even when they are under Tailwind.
- On Grassy Seed sets in particular, Acrobatics is commonly run alongside Swords Dance thanks to the opportunities created by an ally Rillaboom's Fake Out, which is a necessary teammate for Grassy Seed Sneasler to activate Grassy Seed itself; Acrobatics notably hits Grass- and Fighting-types such as Amoonguss, opposing Sneasler, and Annihilape, respectively. On Psychic Seed and White Herb sets, however, Dire Claw is always the preferred option as they typically already have partners that threaten Fighting-types such as Indeedee.
- Throat Chop is commonly run on Psychic Seed sets so that Sneasler can threaten huge damage onto the Ghost-types of the format like Gholdengo and Dragapult, and also Tera Ghost Pokemon like Incineroar or opposing Sneasler, notably removing Gholdengo for ally Indeedee to use Expanding Force more freely..
- White Herb sets tend to carry Coaching instead of Swords Dance or Throat Chop since they do better into Incineroar, nullifying Intimidate with White Herb and thus being able to better threaten Incineroar with Close Combat, providing as more support for physical attackers that appreciate Coaching like Ursaluna's. With the speed boost from Unburden, it is even possible to use Coaching on allies that are naturally faster than Sneasler like a boosted Dragonite or Dragapult.
- Psychic Seed and Grassy Seed both provide Sneasler with defensive buffs when in their respective terrain. With the Special Defense buff from Psychic Seed, Sneasler is now able to survive Hurricane from Timid Pelipper and Tera Stellar Draco Meteor from Power Herb Archaludon. Grassy Seed helps leverage Sneasler's Defense stat, letting it take Scale Shot from Dragonite and a +2 Tera Dark Kowtow Cleave from Black Glasses Kingambit. Finally, White Herb is used on Sneasler sets that do not particularly abuse terrain but still want an Unburden speed boost. White Herb has the added benefit of negating attack drops from Intimidate as well as denying speed drops from Icy Wind and Electroweb from Alolan Ninetales and Electabuzz, respectively.
- Tera Dark, commonly run on Psychic Seed sets, provides a immunity to Psychic-type attacks and boosts the power of Throat Chop, allowing Sneasler to OHKO Basculegion and frailer Gholdengo.
- Tera Flying, run on Grassy Seed sets, boosts the power of Acrobatics, letting it pick off Rillaboom, whilst also providing a crucial immunity to Ground-type attacks like Earth Power and Stomping Tantrum from Ursaluna-B and Garchomp, respectively.
- Tera Ghost is run on both Grassy Seed and White Herb sets, providing a notable immunity to Fake Out from the likes of Incineroar, while also providing an immunity to Fighting-type attacks such as Final Gambit and Close Combat from Annihilape and Sneasler, respectively.
- Because Unburden already make Sneasler fast enough, Adamant is run to boost the attack stat of Sneasler even further, OHKOing low-invested Ursaluna-B.
- Unburden Sweeper Sneasler is far less flexible than Focus Sash, with the Psychic and Grassy Seed sets in particular requiring necessary support in setting up either Psychic or Grassy Terrain. Even with the defensive boosts from the Seeds, Sneasler still ends up missing its Focus Sash due to its naturally poor bulk, getting OHKOed by common super effective attacks. Sneasler also finds itself wanting to stay in a lot despite its frail stature because it would otherwise lose its speed boosts from Unburden.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Teambuilding
============
- Focus Sash Sneasler is generally used as a supportive Pokemon, using Fake Out to help allies such as Volcarona set up or to protect partners lime Ursaluna to give them opportunities to deal loads of damage.
- Unburden Sweeper Sneasler sets that carry either Grassy Seed or Psychic Seed tend to take a more offensive approach, with enablers of their items being a must on each team. Additionally, partners that can properly take advantage of Sneasler's coverage, such as Indeedee-M, can form a strong and solid offensive core.
- Rillaboom is an amazing partner for Sneasler, forming a double Fake Out core that can easily overwhelm common team structures such as Dozogiri while also threatening Ground-types that would otherwise heavily threaten Sneasler, notably the Ursaluna formes. In return, Sneasler threatens Pokemon such as Incineroar and Archaludon, Pokemon that Rillaboom struggles to break through.
- Kingambit is another great partner for almost any Sneasler set. Kingambit is able to threaten Gholdengo, one of the top checks to Sneasler, and can also take out Pokemon naturally faster than Sneasler with Sucker Punch, most importantly Dragapult. Kingambit, due to its low speed, can also abuse opposing Trick Room that may be used to nullify Sneasler's presence. Kingambit does struggle with Fighting-types such as opposing Sneasler, which Sneasler can not directly remove unless it is carrying Acrobatics, so it can instead use Fake Out and Coaching to support Kingambit.
- Sneasler is very susceptible to multi-hit moves such as Population Bomb from Maushold or Scale Shot from Dragonite and Baxcalibur. For this, partners such as Alolan Ninetales or Incineroar are recommended threaten the most common multi-hit move users or, in Incineroar's case, can weaken the damage instead. Additionally, Sneasler struggles against Ghost-types like Gholdengo and Annihilape when without Throat Chop or Acrobatics; because of this, allies like Incineroar and Pelipper are recommended to scare away Gholdengo and Annihilape, respectively.
Strategy Comments
============
- Sneasler's objective is to support its team or deal heavy damage but overall be a nuisance to the opposing team with moves such as Dire Claw, which has the chance to apply game-ending status conditions. Because of this, Sneasler thrives in board states where Dire Claw is easy to use and sometimes spam.
- Unburden Sweeper Sneasler that use either Psychic Seed or Grassy Seed need their terrain setter to be alive, so they tend to play towards the early game to break through. Focus Sash and White Herb sets have more versatility and can be brought in the front or in the back instead. Sneasler is advised to not be brought in general against Trick Room teams as, when under the impairment of Trick Room, Sneasler is far more susceptible to getting KOed due to its high speed.
- Gholdengo is the largest thorn in the side for Sneasler, as it is immune to both of Sneasler's STABs and is only threatened by Throat Chop. Allies like Kingambit or Incineroar can easily take care of Gholdengo with Kowtow Cleave and Knock Off, respectively. Annihilape and Dragonite can be an even bigger struggle when not careful, as Annihilape is only threatened by Acrobatics and Dragonite can use Scale Shot to OHKO Sneasler, even through Focus Sash. Alolan Ninetales threatens both of these Pokemon with Moonblast, while also having access to Aurora Veil to allow Sneasler to live hits such as Scale Shot from Dragonite.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/pengu.650323/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/rausakura.589964/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/gephicka.553122/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user5.104/
Last edited:
