Zebstrika discussion

[Nozzle]

Base Stats: 75 HP / 100 Atk / 63 Def / 80 SpA / 63 SpD / 116 Spe

Abilities: Lightningrod / Motor Drive / Sap Sipper

Here is, in my opinion, THE most underrated mon in the whole NU tier. With it's amazing speed tier and good coverage it is able to revenge a large portion of the NU tier (preferably weakened). Outspeeding Serperior, Scolipede and Tauros is HUGE and with Volt Switch it is easily one of the best scouts and momentum gainers, which is very important in this metagame. It's access to Overheat is very useful to revenge to afromentioned Serperior and Scolipede and it doesn't give a shit about the SpA drop since it can just Volt Switch out of there. However, Zebstrika's switch-in opportunities are really lacking due to it's frailness. Lightningrod negates this somewhat with an immunity to Electric attack who, if hit by, get you a +1 boost to Special Attack, which can be crucial due to it's average SpA stat. (Sap Sipper should almost never be used since Zebstrika has really lacking physical coverage and since Zeb is already really fast Motor Drive is inferior.) All in all, I think Zebstrika is one of the most useful and consistent Pokemon in the NU tier if played to it's strength's.

Zebstrika @ Life Orb
Trait: Lightningrod
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spe / 4 Def
Timid Nature
- Volt Switch
- Overheat
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Grass]

1. What success did you have with Zebstrika and how do you reach it's full potential?

2. What teammates have you found the best for Zebstrika?

 

[Infernis]

I actually do use Sap Sipper on some Zebstrika. If you have a team with Carracosta and another grass weakness, getting free opportunities to get Zebstrika in is great. It doesn't even really take advantage of the attack boost, though I suppose a set could be made that could. The idea is to have an unexpected pivot for an offensive team. The more immunities you have, the more mind games you can lay on.

 

[watashi]

most people use zeb as a scarfer but i don't think thats the best option for it since it's so weak and easily taken advantage of. the set posted in the op is probably the best one since it hits decently hard and gives seismitoad and other ground-types a hard time with its coverage. its fast enough to outrun a lot of the threats in the tier as well which is nice.

 

[ryan]

I'm inclined to agree with FLCL. Scarf Zebstrika's power is super disappointing because of its subpar base 80 Special Attack. I've tried Expert Belt in the past to act as a lure as well, but once again, its power was lacking. Probably one of the only sets worth running, in my opinion, is the Life Orb set, as it has enough Speed to beat out most every relevant threat in the tier, and it still has enough power to dent frailer offensive Pokemon.

As for partners for Zebstrika, I find that wallbreakers are really nice when paired alongside it. Pokemon such as Choice Band Sawk can break through the special walls that Zebstrika could never dream of defeating–probably one of the few exceptions for this would be Mantine, which Zebstrika actually can beat one on one.

Overall, Zebstrika is by no means a bad Pokemon, but it also isn't quite as great as many of us thought it would be when Scolipede, Primeape, and Jynx came down to NU. Still, it's a Pokemon that earns its spot on many teams, even if this is only because of its Speed stat.

 

[NfskMjmMal]

It's really unfortunate that Zebstrika's physical movepool is so bad, as I'm sure we'd all love to take advantage of that good base 100 Attack. It's best physical options are Double-Edge, Bounce, Flame Charge, Pursuit, Double Kick, and Spark for STAB (lol), which is of course, a cringe-worthy list. Carracosta and Seismitoed are great in NU right now. I could see a team being made with Seismitoed as a lead/anti-lead, SmashCosta, Sap Sipper Zebstrika, and another Grass-resist or two (that are also not weak to Ground). However, even with Sap Sipper, Zebstrika should always use a special set because its power and coverage are so much better. Even if Zebstrika got Wild Charge (which I really think it should get - come on, it's an electric zebra!), then maybe one could use a set of Volt Switch, Wild Charge, Double Edge, and Double Kick? lmao. That's a lot of recoil. Maybe Return instead. Or maybe just don't use physical sets.

 

[tennisace]

It gets Wild Charge via Level Up, so I don't know what you're talking about.

 

[ryan]

For the record, Zebstrika does get Wild Charge. Unfortunately, it's still generally inferior to the special sets, as even with a boost from Sap Sipper, as you mentioned, you're pretty much committing suicide with the recoil. Plus, because Zebstrika is so fragile, you can expect any Pokemon it cannot OHKO itself to either OHKO it back or deal some major damage to it.

friggin tennisace

 

[Nozzle]

It does indeed get Wild Charge but it has no notewhorthy physical coverage so it's better off using it's more verstatile special movepool.

 

[phantom]

I personally prefer Expert Belt over Life Orb. It's a great bluff and you don't really miss out on any KOs.

 

[NfskMjmMal]

yeah yeah I'm blind yeah yeah

still not running physical though

 

[SaurusHam]

Eh ive used a speced set with max speed and all that jazz (which I found to be a lot better than the scarfed set) but even then I still didnt find myself getting anywhere.
I really wish it got a better physical movepool, it couldve of at least gotten superpower I mean come on everyone got superpower.

 

[Axa]

I've run Me First on physical/mixed Zeb - it's amusing sometimes and if they don't resist whatever attack they're using it's probably going to be more powerful than Wild Charge.

 

[Jean mi]

I've run Me First on physical/mixed Zeb - it's amusing sometimes and if they don't resist whatever attack they're using it's probably going to be more powerful than Wild Charge.

I haven't tried it but if I try it, I would use this kind of set. It has the stats to take advantage of a mixed set and me first. If you want a life orb or choiced special set, Rotom-S, Rotom-F or Raichu do this pretty well too, probably even better.

 

[Nyara]

I think he's just a poorman's version of Electrode, why?

- Electrode have the same power.

- Electrode is A LOT faster, thus, if you're ok by just reaching the speed of max. Zebstrika all you must do is just put some EV's, you can even put some extra EV's on HP for having the same bulk and greater special bulk, along this you can skip the Timid nature and go all way with Modest.

- Both have almost the same moveset, with the difference that Electorde swap Overheat with more brute power and Foul Play (or Electro Ball on place of Thunderbolt if you're into paralyzing stuff, or a lot of supports moves).

- Electrode's abilities are more useful, generally, Static can make up for a failing revenge or just to make things easier for others laters (or as a last-ditch try to stop a sweep, 30% ins't that bad), and Aftermath is just perfect to revenge KO things you're unnable to K.O without it or just to make the path ready for your next Pokémon or to finish a sweep.

Still, Overheat is a good reason to use Zebstrika over Electrode, anyway, and if you're able to make use of Lightingrod or Sap Sipper (you want it to stop sleepers like Butterfree), then it's ok, too. But if you're not making use of Overheat or its abilities you should switch to Electrode. Physical Zebtriska sucks, don't try it.

Note: Zebstriska with a Scarf is not that great, if you're gonna use a Scarf, I could rather put on to an Ampharos, Rotom-AnyLetter, or Luxray, they can do that task a lot better.

 

[Farobi]

Static and Aftermath are not as good as Lightningrod or Sap Sipper in terms of abilities, gaining stat boosts while being immune to a certain type has no downside to it at all. Sure, Electrode is faster, but it literally outspeeds only one Pokemon that Zebstrika can't, Swellow. While it may seem that Electrode has EVs to spare, Electrode is still not too bulky with the HP investments, but the Modest nature can cost some matches. It also seems that you underestimate Overheat's quality quite a bit; it allows Zebstrika to muscle through certain Grass-types and Scolipede more successfully than Electrode ever will.

Choice Scarf Zebstrika is fairly mediocre from my experience. It has a rather measly Base 80 Special Attack that is asking to be boosted by Life Orb. I would much rather use Electabuzz, who has a similar Speed stat and like +15 more in Base Special Attack, though the loss of Overheat sucks to massacre Jynx sucks :/

 

[Zebstrika]

(Sap Sipper should never be used since Zebstrika has really lacking physical coverage and since Zeb is already really fast Motor Drive is inferior.)

It's true that I- erm, Zebstrika does have an inferior movepool.

Thunderbolt>Wild Charge
Overheat>Flame Charge (if you need to boost your speed with flame charge, you've already got problems, and even a -2 overheat is still stronger than flame charge)
Volt Switch> well...there is no physical equivalent
Hidden power>double kick, or whatever other crappy coverage you can find

Only stuff physical has with no special equivalent is Return and Pursuit. Nothing to see there, moving on.

Still, sap sipper has its uses. With Lightningrod, you have an electric immunity and grass is neutral. With sap sipper, you have grass immunity and resistance to electric. So it's basically an extra type of attacks you can switch in on. Also sap sipper covers the annoying moves better. Absorbing sleep powders, stun spores, leech seeds and spores is arguably better than absorbing thunder waves. So you can use sap sipper to make sure a butterfree does not get a free KO on your team by throwing out a sleep powder, as an example.

Edit: Also, you're more likely to switch into a true grass type than an electric type. You can roast the grass type, but the electric, that's situational.

 

[Kierany9]

I tried Zebstrika and it really didn't do that well. The reason being is that it has a 100 base attack and one of the worst physical movepools in NU. The only viable physical attacks are Wild Charge and Return. A special set is decent but is outclassed in almost every way by other electrics like Raichu(except speed+defense), Ampharos(except speed) and Electrode(except Electrode has a terrible movepool).
However, Zebstrika does make a pretty good revenge killer and has helped me knock out many weakened targets. Like Treecko said, it hits fast and hits hard(ish). And that's its niche in this tier. However, anything other than a revenge killer is best handled by Raichu, Eelektross or the like.

 

[Leety]

I really like Zebstrika as a Pokemon, it's just in competitive use, I couldn't get much out of it. It's mainly due to the barren movepool. It's as Kierany9 says, it works as a very solid revenge killer, anything else it's just outclassed by other Pokemon.

However, I am a dreamer and I've been planning some idea out of Zebstrika to see if it can have some use of it's physical power and keep it unique. Not sure how well it would work though but I dare someone to try it

Zebstrika @ Choice Band
Trait: Sap Sipper
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Adamant Nature
- Wild Charge
- Facade
- Thrash
- Double Kick

This set I've wrote down on paper will be left as a way to counter stall based Pokemon, (ones that carry Will-o-wisp, leech seed, or even toxic) you can switch into Zebstrika to take the burn or poison, and retaliate with facade which deals neutral damage to most Pokemon with the exception of ghost and rock types. Or if the sap sipper activates with a leech seed (or any grass move for that matter,) you can go for a thrash for mainly neutral damage or if you fear the rock type switch in, you can go for double kick.

In all other cases for this set, it can be used for revenge killing if you can't set it up as described above. But it's mainly a huge risk vs reward set. I'm not really good at predicting moves and switches as of now which is why I haven't tried the idea, but somebody can take it if it sounds good. :3

 

[Robust Raichu]

I really like Zebstrika as a Pokemon, it's just in competitive use, I couldn't get much out of it. It's mainly due to the barren movepool. It's as Kierany9 says, it works as a very solid revenge killer, anything else it's just outclassed by other Pokemon.

However, I am a dreamer and I've been planning some idea out of Zebstrika to see if it can have some use of it's physical power and keep it unique. Not sure how well it would work though but I dare someone to try it

Zebstrika @ Choice Band
Trait: Sap Sipper
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Adamant Nature
- Wild Charge
- Facade
- Thrash
- Double Kick

This set I've wrote down on paper will be left as a way to counter stall based Pokemon, (ones that carry Will-o-wisp, leech seed, or even toxic) you can switch into Zebstrika to take the burn or poison, and retaliate with facade which deals neutral damage to most Pokemon with the exception of ghost and rock types. Or if the sap sipper activates with a leech seed (or any grass move for that matter,) you can go for a thrash for mainly neutral damage or if you fear the rock type switch in, you can go for double kick.
:3

I wouldn't recommend using Zebstrika to absorb a burn as his attack stat still gets cut and you probably wouldn't be able to use facade because most Pokemon who use Will-o-Wisp are ghost type. Also, I doubt small BP boost from Thrash over Return is worth being locked into the move. I like that you're thinking out of the box though!

 

[InsaneDragoniteHD]

My success with using Zebstrika once was alright in the fact it helped grant me an immunity to electric moves with its ability Lightningrod. I try to bring out the potential in Zebstrika by running a expert belt set, because you can run Wild Charge paired with Overheat. This can damage Scolipede pretty heavily, cripping it for the rest of the match, while Wild Charge allows it to take out those pesky water types if switched into correctly. Hidden Power Grass is also there to take out those ground types which spell trouble for Zebstrika,because if they switch into Zebstrika, they will take a lot of damage. I have found success running Flame Charge for that speed boost, but overall, its better with like overheat. Also, with the ability Lightningrod, you can pretty much switch into fast pokemon like Electrode and gain that special attack boost. Then it comes to the fact I have tried special Zebstrika. Special Zebstrika generally works better than the expert belted one because thunderbolt has that higher base power than Wild Charge and you will be doing more damage to those various water types that roam the NU tier. SO overall, it is better to run the special set, because you do more damage with thunderbolt and it is more effective than the Expert Belted set is. Also, as an alternative, you can use Sap Sipper if it is needed to check grass types better, therefore surprising your opponent, because most Zebstrika normally run the special set or are scarfed. You could run a physical set with Zebstrika and Sap Sipper, but as I said, the special set is better than those two, just expert belt has proven more success in my case.

Good teammates with Zebstrika are probably water types, like Mantine, which are more than likely to die from any electric attack out there. I haven't used Zebstrika that much outside of teammates that were not water types. I think scarfers do go well with Zebstrika though.

 

[Harbinger of Peace]

Zebstrika has dropped a lot in usage. (I think even low enough to be PU from the June Stats :eek: ) Scarf Zebstrika is blazingly fast, and almost always outspeeds the opponent, (Most scarfers in NU, and even some +2 speed threats) but scarf Zeb can do pitiful damage a lot of times. Base 80 Satk isn't the best, (even in NU)especially with no way to boost it reliably and when you run a timid nature, Zeb hits like a turkey sandwich, only hitting really hard with SE damage. However, LO Zeb can hit pretty hard, actually doing decent damage to some walls, and denting slower offensive pokes (which is pretty much almost every mon w/o scarf,lol. I have yet to try Mixed Zeb, but Idk how well it would work, because you'd have to invest in some attack EVs, which is making you're Satk more depressing. Oh yeah, Zeb also has 3 great abilities. Motor Drive gives you a speed boost (which is unnecessary) and lightningrod gives you an Satk boost (which is much appreciated), and Sap sipper can give you an attack boost (which is ok for a mixed set I guess, but I prefer being able to boost Zeb's lower Satk). So all in all, Scarf Zeb is useful if your team if you need a blazingly fast scarfer, but the damage output can be dissapointing, especially against defensive teams, and LO gives Zebstrika a needed power boost, and is useful for a decently strong Special attacker.

 

[Infernis]

Just a couple notes on Zebstrika: Thunder makes it hit pretty darn hard regardless of its low SpA, and while the low accuracy is a bit shaky, rain can fix that right up. Also, Volt Switch is a good move on it for chip damage while you switch: oftentimes at the end of the match there is a bulky Pokemon that I just can't push through for a revenge kill. Switch on out, take the hit with something else, and go for the kill with Thunder(bolt)/Overheat. Also, physical sets can make surprising turnarounds with Quick Attack. Sure, it doesn't hit hard at all, but you can beat the hell out of Sucker Punchers, plus outrun Scarf Electrode (lol?) and many others. I didn't even know it had that.

 

[HispanicPanic]

I've had the most success with the life orb set like everyone else has been suggesting. It's physical movepool is too shallow to really do anything with it, and without life orb, it's simply not going to be doing enough damage. I like what Infernis suggested with using thunder in the rain for perfect accuracy. Zeb could probably work really well on rain teams if it has lightning rod to switch in to electric attacks that threaten a lot of rain teams. However, Seismitoad probably works better as a switch in to electric attacks, but you could instead use Zeb with sap sipper to take grass attacks that threaten Toad giving you immunities to both water weaknesses. I've never used a rain team in NU, but I might have to try it now to see if Zeb holds up in one. Overall with a combination of lightning rod/sap sipper and a perfect accuracy thunder in rain, Zeb could be quite usel.

 

[InsaneDragoniteHD]

I've had the most success with the life orb set like everyone else has been suggesting. It's physical movepool is too shallow to really do anything with it, and without life orb, it's simply not going to be doing enough damage. I like what Infernis suggested with using thunder in the rain for perfect accuracy. Zeb could probably work really well on rain teams if it has lightning rod to switch in to electric attacks that threaten a lot of rain teams. However, Seismitoad probably works better as a switch in to electric attacks, but you could instead use Zeb with sap sipper to take grass attacks that threaten Toad giving you immunities to both water weaknesses. I've never used a rain team in NU, but I might have to try it now to see if Zeb holds up in one. Overall with a combination of lightning rod/sap sipper and a perfect accuracy thunder in rain, Zeb could be quite usel.

Good point there, it could do well in rain if it has lightningrod.
It does require more prediction though, meaning you have to predict your opponent to go for the electric move they, have, which they probably won't, knowing you have Zeb in your team. It would work against noobs though, because they would not know that Zeb has that ability. Thunder does do well in rain, but the special attack stat, might hinder a little, but I don't see it being too much of a problem.

I agree with Seismitoad being a better alternative to electric attacks, because he gets an ability that allows him to benefit from the rain, therefore nullifying the electric type attack and being able to hit hard and fast in the rain. Sap Sipper Zeb could work well with Seisimitoad, because you get a grass and electric immunity, but the boost from Sap Sipper is not really necessary,unless you are running like Wild Charge.

 

[Infernis]

I don't see Sap Sipper's boost being nearly as handy as a free switch for something that normally has a hard time getting them. That said, Wild Charge and Quick Attack are both moves I've seen used with it. Thrash has decent power, but beware the confusion and the locked-into-a-normal-move problem.