I for one welcome our tree overlords

Hello Hat Lovers!

For week four of Pokemon of the Week we’ll be looking at Trevenant. Trevenant is a Ghost / Grass type from generation six.Trevenant is a Pokemon that hasn’t seen a ton of play in VGC 2014, but it has a solid Pokemon to use.

Much of what Trevenant does can be done by Gourgeist as well. Of the two, Trevenant has weaker defences but has a higher attack stat as well as the best Ability between the two of them. These make Trevenant a strong choice between the two Pokemon.

Trevenant gets a plethora of status moves and a great Ability that makes it a major pain if you can’t get rid of it quickly. Being a Ghost type, Trevenant can wall standard Kangaskhan and cripple it with status moves.

Trevenant is also a tree. I’m sure you noticed that, but I felt like saying it just to be sure.


Abilities:

Trevenant has three Abilities: Natural Cure, Frisk, and Harvest.

Natural Cure will remove any status conditions from Trevenant whenever it switches out. This lets it deal with Will-O-Wisp but Trevenant has a better Ability to use.

Frisk gives you useful information when you send in Trevenant, but Gourgeist has this Ability as well and has better stats for it.

Harvest is the reason to use Trevenant over Gourgeist. Every turn Trevenant will have a 50% chance to regenerate a berry it has consumed. If the sun is active this chance becomes 100%. Using Sitrus Berry with this strategy makes Trevenant impossible to get rid of unless its OHKO’d.

Base Stats:

85 / 110 / 76 / 65 / 82 / 56

Trevenant’s base stats aren’t fantastic. It has a good attack stat and its defences are decent enough. What makes Trevenant worthwhile is its typing and Ability.

Attacks:

For offense, Trevenant has Horn Leech, Wood Hammer, Shadow Claw and Phantom Force. Horn Leech is the weaker of the Grass moves and heals Trevenant, while Wood Hammer is stronger but deals recoil. Both attacks are viable it all depends on what you want Trevenant to accomplish. Shadow Claw is a generic Ghost stab. Phantom Force removes Trevenant from the field for a turn and goes through Protect.

The main selling point of Trevenant’s move pool is the status moves it learns. We have Leech Seed, Will-O-Wisp and Trick Room to play with. Leech Seed and Will-O-Wisp deal residual damage while either healing Trevenant or halving the opponent’s attack. These moves are what let Trevenant deal with Kangaskhan so easily.

Sets:

General Utility:
Trevenant @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Frisk
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 76 Atk / 156 Def / 20 SDef / 4 Spd
Adamant Nature
– Wood Hammer / Horn Leech / Phantom Force
– Will-O-Wisp
– Leech Seed
– Protect

This Trevenant is what I would consider to be a standard set. Wood Hammer OHKOs 252/44 Rotom-W, but they’ll be faster and threaten Will-O-Wisp. For this reason you may want to just stick Horn Leach and focus on healing. Phantom Force removes Trevenant from the field so the opponent has to sit through another turn of Leech Seed and Burn before they can get an attack on you.

Will-O-Wisp and Leech Seed cripple Kangaskhan and put pressure on attackers that can’t KO you such as Garchomp.

The defence allows you to survive Adamant 252 Tyranitar’s Crunch 100% of the time. 4 Speed goes farther than it would on something like Rotom because Trevenant has that unique base 56 speed that puts it ahead of Azumarill and Mawile without giving it hope of catching up to the rest of the format. The Special Defence looks like it was just what was leftover but it prevents Gengar from every OHKOing Trevenant with Shadow Ball.

Trick Room:
Trevenant @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Harvest
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 76 Atk / 156 Def / 20 SDef / 4 Spd
Brave Nature
– Wood Hammer / Horn Leech / Phantom Force
– Will-O-Wisp
– Trick Room
– Protect

Trevenant is a solid Trick Room setter due to its immunity to Fake Out and good bulk. Once Trick Room is up Trevenant can start burning things. Phantom Force is a cool move in Trick Room because you can use it on the last turn of Trick Room to get two turns off of the field.

Teammates:

Trevenant needs partners that can get rid of Fire type attacks. Rotom-W and Rotom-H can take on most Fire types in the format and come out on top. Dark types that resist fire such as Tyranitar and Hydreigon will be able to deal with Fire while also taking care of opposing Ghost types that threaten Trevenant.

Dark types are also a big threat, Fighting types like Lucario and Scrafty can deal with these Pokemon fairly easily.

Mega-Charizard-Y brings Drought to the table, so Harvest will activate every turn.

If Trevenant is using Trick Room you’ll want slow Pokemon to go with the strategy as well as a partner that can help set up such as Scrafty. Scrafty also provides Intimidate support, which Trevenant appreciates greatly. I can see Trevenant working on a Charizard/Mawile team that is composed of fast Pokemon that work with Charizard and slow Pokemon that work in and out of Trick Room.

Whichever Pokemon are paired with Trevenant must be willing to give up the chance to use Sitrus Berry, as Trevenant won’t function well without it.

Counters:

The easiest way to beat Trevenant is to KO it with Fire. Mega Charizard, Rotom-H, Talonflame, and Pyroar all threaten the OHKO on Trevenant and Trevenant can’t do much in return.

Dark types such as Tyranitar, Bisharp, and Hydreigon will deal a ton of damage to Trevenant, but the physical ones won’t enjoy a Will-O-Wisp.

Mega Venusaur will handle Trevenant with ease, it doesn’t like being burnt but Sludge Bomb will deal a ton of damage and Venusaur has Synthesis to heal itself.

Aerodactyl prevents Trevenant from healing with Unnerve and can deal good damage with Sky Drop.

Taunt shuts down Trevenant, just make sure not to use a Pokemon weak to its stab moves.

Conclusion

Trevenant is certainly an interesting Pokemon, and one that shouldn’t be written off. Like most Grass types, it can be a win condition on its own once the opponent loses their way of OHKO’ing it. Be sure to watch out for it, and if you face be sure to keep your counter around. The last thing you want is to face a Trevenant that keeps eating Sitrus Berries while you hopelessly hack away at it.

Anyone up for a game of poker?

Hey there Hat Lovers!

Today’s article is about one of my favourite Pokemon to put on any team. Zoroark’s Ability “Illusion” disguises it as whatever Pokemon is last in your party. So if you bring 4 Pokemon, Zoroark will disguise itself as the 4th Pokemon, including the Poke Ball it was caught in.

As a Dark-type, Zoroark is immune to Psychic, resists Ghost and Dark, and is weak to Fighting, Bug and Fairy. Given the immunity, and useful resistances, Zoroark has the potential to ruin an opponent’s turn if they target it with the wrong move. That said, Zoroark also doesn’t want to become the target of a Fighting or Fairy move. As such, before adding Zoroark to your team, you’ll really want to think about potential teammates. The key to a good Zoroark is a good bluff. Just having a Zoroark on your team can throw your opponent off tilt. But just what cards are you bluffing with?

Base Stats:

60 / 105 / 60 / 120 / 60 / 105

Zoroark is the definition of a glass cannon. It has a useable Attack stat, a good Special Attack stat, and a strong speed stat placing it above all the base 100’s as well as Garchomp. However, Zoroark isn’t going to take any hits unless they’re resisted or really weak. I mean… a 4 HP Zoroark can take a Power-up Punch from a Kangaskhan, but it’ll die to a Return before baby Kangaskhan gets a chance to hit. That’s a base 125 attack stat with a base 102 move (100 would still work). So to give you the idea, Zoroark will be OHKO’d by anything neutral with a similar power behind it from either the physical or special spectrum, and is definitely going to be KO’d by something super effective.

But Zoroark’s not that bad! 105 Speed is fast enough to outspeed plenty of the metagame, and hit pretty hard. Given that Zoroark’s strengths are… its strength, and its weaknesses are irreparable, Zoroark’s item is going to be about hitting harder to make the most of your turn’s worth of surprise.

I think the best way to look at Zoroark is to think of it as a Pyroar but with a fun Ability, coverage, and without the nuke that is Overheat.

Attacks:

Nasty Plot
Flamethrower
Dark Pulse
Hidden Power Ice
Focus Blast
Sucker Punch
Foul Play
U-Turn
Fling

I’ll add one bit of discussion here. Dark Pulse vs. Night Gaze. Dark Pulse is 100% accurate and slightly weaker, but with a 20% chance to flinch. Night Gaze is 95% accurate, slightly stronger, and has a 40% chance to lower the opponent’s accuracy. Considering you’re going to want to KO them, not drop their accuracy… Night Gaze is almost entirely inferior. Go with Dark Pulse unless you find some abstract calc that I haven’t considered where the extra 5 base power makes a difference.

Additionally, Sucker Punch is a useful move to have, but the only relevant calculation I can think of that Dark Pulse doesn’t do better is OHKO’ing Mega Gengar. But as Zoroark resists Ghost, and you’re running Zoroark (which means you’re being tricky), Zoroark can take a Shadow Ball anyways.

Sets:

That Garchomp is SO dead

Zoroark @ Life Orb
Ability: Illusion
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
– Dark Pulse
– Flamethrower
– Hidden Power [Ice]
– Protect

This is the Zoroark I’m prone to using. Life Orb ensures Hidden Power Ice will KO any Garchomp. With a Life Orb, You’ll also have a 50% chance to OHKO 252 HP Mega Mawile. Dark Pulse will also OHKO up to 252 HP / 88 SDef Calm Meowstic or coincidentally, Chandelure (same calc)! You won’t be able to OHKO Aegislash-Shield, but you’ll make a big dent.

Zoroark can run other sets. Choice Specs is largely similar to Life Orb, but will push you over the Chandelure/Meowstic hump. On a Specs set, I might run Focus Blast as a last resort option. I wouldn’t recommend Focus Sash since you’ll miss out on Garchomp KO’s with HP Ice. Zoroark also has a few other neat moves you can try to take advantage of. Fling, U-Turn and Sucker Punch are neat to play with for their versatility, even without Physical investment.

Nasty Plot is also strong if you can set it up, but would need support from a partner. If using Nasty Plot, I’d pose Zoroark as something like a Kangaskhan alongside Tailwind Smeargle, so you can threaten a Fake Out and Dark Void, but also threaten a Nasty Plot + Tailwind.

Teammates:

Zoroark partners well with Pokemon that are common targets of Psychic-type moves. Mega Venusaur has been taking some flack recently, and is being targeted by strong Gardevoir Psychics as an answer. Unfortunately, that’s the only relevant Psychic user in the metagame (maybe… Gothitelle?). So, though it sounds neat to tempt Psychic attacks, this isn’t the metagame to do it in. Zoroark can also take Ghost attacks like Shadow Ball from Aegislash, which allows it to deal well with Aegislash as long as it’s a surprise.

But the best resistance Zoroark sports is Dark! Zoroark can take a Sucker Punch from the big users, or Crunch from Tyranitar. In return, it can deal good damage to Mawile, but not great damage to the others. Not unless you turn to Focus Blast which will KO up to 184 HP Mega TTar… 70% of the time. I’m not a fan but it’s an option. Zoroark’s role here is not to take out these Pokemon, but to KO their partner or combo to 2HKO the big guns while drawing their attention for a turn.

I recommend Zoroark as something that can pose as a tempting target. Think of anything that doesn’t seem like it’s a threat, or is easily dealt with by a move Zoroark can take. For instance, posing as a Scarfed Gardevoir against a Mega Kangaskhan/Mawile. Alternatively, you can pretend Zoroark is a threatening Pokemon like a Fake Out user or something with a threatening status. A good example might be Raichu, which pretends to have Lightningrod and Fake Out, protecting your Gyarados in a couple ways. Just be sure your opponent’s best response isn’t to target Zoroark, or else you’ll just be KO’d pointlessly. So while bluffing Kangaskhan could be neat, bluffing Smeargle isn’t as wise.

I think the best way to look at how Zoroark fits on a team is to figure out what role it fills. Zoroark OHKO’s Garchomp and Salamence. it’ll also KO Dark-weak Pokemon or surprise KO Ferrothorns and chip in for the major part of a Mawile’s demise. The niche Zoroark fits in is that it can also tempt misplays that you can capitalize on. There’s enough of everything I just said to warrant Zoroark as the extra mon to round out a 4 or 5-mon core.

Counters:

Pictured: Zoroark

As I’ve mentioned, Zoroark is a glass cannon. I don’t know if a ‘Counters’ section is relevant, but I will mention that you shouldn’t counter yourself by bluffing a Pokemon with an Ability that Zoroark should have activated upon switching in. So don’t pretend your Zoroark is a Salamence, it’s anything but intimidating.

Though it’s neat to run mons that share Zoroark’s moves (e.g. Flamethrower), I wouldn’t say keeping the disguise is that relevant. Hidden Power Ice is often the best way to stay disguised.

As a Pokemon that can deal with everything Zoroark throws at it, Rotom-H really could care less about facing Zoroark. It won’t even 2HKO without including Sitrus Berry in the equation. It’s not like Zoroark deals with Mega Kangskhan very well either. The only way to deal great damage is via Focus Blast.

Zoroark also doesn’t like to face spread moves. If your opponent’s default is to just Rock Slide + target, then Zoroark can’t do its job of bluffing (though it may do its job of KO’ing something weak to ice). Dazzling Gleam is another big problem as it will KO Zoroark while dealing damage to a partner.

Conclusion:

Using Zoroark just for the mind game isn’t a good reason. If Zoroark fires off an attack and doesn’t KO, then gets hit in return, you’ve had a fun “HA!” moment, but you’re stuck with a Zoroark while they have whatever they’re using. Sometimes that’s ok. If you can 2HKO them before they 2HKO you, then that’s a neutral-positive trade.

Zoroark works best if it would be a good idea to bring it regardless of what it’s pretending to be. I really think the best way to think of Zoroark is as an alternate Pyroar. Considering Pyroar isn’t something players are scrambling to use, that doesn’t sound like a high recommendation. But alternate doesn’t mean “it works exactly the same but is inferior/superior.” Zoroark brings its Illusion Ability, which let’s you take surprise KO’s when you play your cards right. Zoroark is also a great best-of-3 mon because of the mind game potential.

When you can play with complete confidence of what you’re doing, but your opponent has that nagging feeling that they’re walking into a trap, their potential for misplays is much higher than yours. Against a strong opponent, it can also make their moves more predictable if they can see the “safe” plays. That’s the greatest strength of Illusion, and what Zoroark brings to your team over Pyroar. Otherwise, just think of it as a Pyroar with Dark STAB (which is still not bad)!

Cheers,
Crawdaunt out

Hello Hat Lovers!

This week we’ll be looking at Noivern. Noivern a Flying/Dragon type from generation six (not to be confused with the ever popular Dragon/Flying typing we’ve seen before.) Noivern screams “niche Pokemon,” from its lower base stats to its interesting move pool to its useful Abilities.

Noivern hasn’t seen a lot of play this season, players have been flocking to the ever-popular Salamence. If you try to use Noivern like a Salamence you’re going to be disappointed with your results. However, Noivern has a bunch of neat moves that separate it from its fellow Dragons, giving it a supporting role rather then an offensive one.

Abilities:

Noivern’s Abilities are Frisk, Infiltrator and Telepathy.

Frisk is the preferred Ability, revealing both your opponent’s items whenever Noivern is sent out. This alerts you to potential Choice Scarf, Focus Sash, Berries, etc. This can give you a ton of knowledge about your opponent’s Pokemon before the first turn begins.

Infiltrator is another solid Ability. With this Noivern can attack through Substitutes. This situation isn’t common enough to warrant its use, unfortunately.

Telepathy is an option if your team has moves that hit your own partners, such as Discharge or Boom Burst.

Base Stats:

Noivern’s base stats are: 85 HP, 70 Attack, 80 Defence, 97 Special Attack, 80 Special Defence, and 123 Speed. As we can see Noivern is much faster then the other Dragons, but lacks the power or defences that they posses.

Attacks:

Draco Meteor is the goto Dragon move, dealing respectable damage even from Noivern’s base 97 special attack. Other notable attacks include: Flamethrower, Boom Burst, Psychic, Dark Pulse, Focus Blast and Hurricane. Another damaging attack Noivern gets is Super Fang, which deals 50% of the target’s current HP as damage. This rounds down so it won’t trigger the Sitrus Berry of a Pokemon with a full, even HP stat.

Noivern also gets Tailwind, Taunt and Switcheroo. Tailwind makes Noivern a great support Pokemon bringing some rare speed control to the game. Taunt shuts down Pokemon such as Amoonguss. Switcheroo allows Noivern to give a Pokemon a Choice item while taking their item.

Sets:

Unlike last week’s Lucario, Noivern can only use a handful of sets effectively.

Support Noivern
Noivern @ Focus Sash
Ability: Frisk
EVs: 5 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
– Draco Meteor
– Super Fang
– Tailwind
– Protect

This Noivern brings Tailwind support to the team. Draco Meteor and Focus Sash allows Noivern to beat Garchomp and Salamence as well as deal solid damage to most Pokemon. Super Fang deals half of the target’s current HP as damage making it much easier for Noivern’s partner to KO it.

Choice Specs
Noivern @ Choice Specs
Ability: Frisk
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 HP
Timid / Modest Nature
– Draco Meteor
– Flamethrower
– Hurricane / Boomburst
– Switcheroo

With Choice Specs Noivern hits harder than Scarf Salamence. Flamethrower will hurt Steel types. Hurricane is a power Flying STAB, but its accuracy is terrible outside of rain so I wouldn’t advise it for most teams. Boomburst deals decent spread damage but you must be wary of your partner. Switcheroo passes Choice Specs to a Pokemon that won’t want them, and can be devastating if pulled off.

Teammates:

Like all Dragon types, Noivern appreciates having Steel type partners that can switch into an incoming Fairy, Dragon, Ice, or Rock attack. Aegislash, Bisharp, Mawile, and Ferrothorn are suitable choices. All of these Pokemon will like having Noivern switch into Ground, Fire, and Fighting moves for them.

Out of these four Pokemon Bisharp is the only one that can take full advantage of Tailwind. Noivern’s Super Fang followed up by an Assurance from Bisharp will be able to KO most Pokemon in the format. Finally, Bisharp will be able to OHKO Fairy types that give Noivern trouble.

Counters:

Tyranitar can tank anything Noivern throw at it and return KO with Ice Beam, and Sand will remove the Focus Sash. Fairy types are immune to its Dragon moves and threaten a Moonblast/Play Rough/Dazzling Gleam. Steel types can wall sets lacking Flamethrower. All of these Pokemon need to be wary of taking a Super Fang + partner attack, so you’ll need to rely on some prediction.

Aerodactyl can out speed it and 2HKO with Rock Slide while having a flinch chance on both of your Pokemon. It can also match Tailwinds with you.

Once Noivern has used Draco Meteor it’s Special Attack will be lowered and almost anything will be able to tank a couple hits from it and KO back.

Conclusion

Noivern is an interesting Pokemon that thrives from specific scenarios. It can deal with other Dragons, provide Tailwind support, and help other Pokemon nab KOs on bulky Pokemon. Yet its still outclassed by its peers in the offensive department and doesn’t share the popularity that its brethren do.

When putting Noivern on a team, you need to acknowledge what it can do that the other Dragons can’t, and capitalize on it.

Credit goes to Tomycase of NewGrounds

Hello Hat Lovers!

This week we’ll be looking at Lucario. Lucario is a Fighting/Steel type from generation four. Lucario is one of the mascot Pokemon from generation 4, getting its own movie and a spot in Super Smash Bros Brawl.

Lucario hasn’t been a viable Pokemon for VGC in the past seasons; this can be attributed to its average speed and poor defences. This has all changed in generation six, Lucario has been given a Mega Evolution that boosts its speed and offensive power. Lucario also gains some viability as a Pokemon that can out speed and OHKO Kangaskhan with ease.

Abilities:
Lucario has three abilities: Inner Focus, Steadfast, and Justified. Mega Lucario’s ability is Adaptability, which boosts Mega Lucario’s same type attack bonus (STAB) from 1.5x to 2x.

Inner Focus prevents flinching, rendering Fake Out useless against it and preventing random Rock Slides from ruining your day. Steadfast boosts your speed when you flinch, allowing you to most likely go first on the following turn. Both abilities are useful but I would always chose Inner Focus to prevent the opponent from ruining a turn for me.

The final ability is Justified, which increases Lucario’s attack stat by one stage whenever it is hit by a Dark type attack. Because Lucario isn’t going to be the target of any Dark type attacks due to its typing you’ll either need to switch it in on a Dark move targeting another Pokemon or use a move like Beat Up on your own Lucario.

Mega Lucario has Adaptability, making its Fighting and Steel moves far stronger than usual. Close Combat will smash holes in teams and Bullet Punch will be able to OHKO frail Pokemon.

Base Stats:
Lucario has the following base stats: 70 HP, 110 Attack, 70 Defence, 115 Special Attack, 70 Special Defence, and 90 Speed. Having high attack and special attack allows Lucario to use both physical and special sets effectively. 90 speed allows you to speed tie with Kangaskhan on the turn it Mega Evolves and out speed everything with less than base 90 speed. Faster Pokemon will out speed you unless you use a Choice Scarf. Lucario’s low defences make it quite frail, although it’s typing gives it a plethora of resistances so it can at least survive one of those.

Mega Lucario has base 70 HP, 145 Attack, 88 Defence, 140 Special Attack, 70 Special Defence, and 112 Speed. The massive buff to both offensive stats along with Adaptability make Mega Lucario far stronger then its base form. 112 Speed puts Lucario comfortably above most of the metagame, allowing it to get the jump on Pokemon such as Mega Kangaskhan, Charizard, and Garchomp. The 88 Defence increases Mega Lucario’s survivability slightly. It can be trained to survive an Earthquake or a Power-Up-Punch, but don’t expect much from it.

Attacks:
Lucario has a myriad of options for both physical, special, and supporting sets.

For physical moves we have Close Combat, Bullet Punch, Rock Slide, Crunch and Extreme Speed.

For special moves we have Aura Sphere, Flash Cannon, Hidden Power Ice, and Vacuum Wave.

Other moves Lucario learns are Follow Me, Quick Guard, Feint, Swords Dance, Nasty Plot, Heal Pulse, and Final Gambit.

Lucario learns other moves that are usable, but they’re incredibly niche and probably not worth it.

Sets:

The amount of sets Lucario can use is greater then most Pokemon in VGC due to its vast move pool and equal stat distribution amongst it’s offensive stats.

Mega Lucario (Physical)
Lucario @ Lucarionite
Ability: Inner Focus
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SDef / 244 Spd
Jolly Nature
– Close Combat
– Bullet Punch
– Swords Dance / Rock Slide / Crunch / Extreme Speed
– Protect

Since Mega Lucario’s base attack is higher then its special attack and Close Combat is stronger than Aura Sphere it makes sense to pick physical Lucario. 244 Speed puts Lucario above base 110 Pokemon after Mega Evolving, although you lose against other 252 speed Mega Lucario, so you may chose a 252 / 252 spread if you’d like. Theres also the option of dropping down to 180 speed, which puts you just above Garchomp but below base 105 and 110 Pokemon. This would allow you to invest into bulk but due to Close Combat lowering your defences I wouldn’t bother.

Close Combat smashes anything that doesn’t resist it. Bullet Punch takes care of frail Fairy types and gives Lucario a priority move. Swords Dance will boost Lucario’s attack to terrifying levels and if you can set it up safely it’ll put a ton of pressure on the opponent. Rock Slide beats Mega Charizard-Y, unless they invest in a massive amount of bulk. Crunch gives Lucario a way to deal with Ghost types. Extreme Speed is good for niche situations like getting a finishing blow off and a Pokemon with a priority move, dodging a Sucker Punch when you’re low on HP and getting a hit off a Pokemon before an opposing Rage Powder / Follow Me activates.

Mega Lucario (Special)
Lucario @ Lucarionite
Ability: Inner Focus
Level: 50
EVs: 68 HP / 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 180 Spd
Timid Nature
– Aura Sphere
– Flash Cannon
– Nasty Plot / Vacuum Wave / Dark Pulse / Hidden Power Ice
– Protect

Because of how popular Intimidate and Will-O-Wisp are special Mega Lucario is also viable for VGC. Aura Sphere nets a OHKO on fast Kangaskhan, but not on bulky Kangaskhan. Flash Cannon OHKO’s Gardevoir. Like Swords Dance on the physical set, Nasty Plot boosts Lucario’s special attack by 2 stages, making it a huge threat if pulled off. Vacuum Wave Gives Lucario a priority move. Dark Pulse serves the same purpose as Crunch did on the physical set. Hidden Power Ice is an option but it doesn’t get the OHKO on Garchomp so I don’t consider it to be worth a slot.

Since this Lucario doesn’t lower it’s defences with Close Combat I’ve given it 180 speed to just put it above Garchomp and put the rest into bulk and give it a higher chance of surviving Garchomp’s Earthquake.

Lucario (Anti-Kangaskhan)
Lucario @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Inner Focus
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
– Close Combat
– Bullet Punch / Flash Cannon
– Rock Slide
– Crunch

This set has one simple goal: KO Mega Kangaskhan right off the bat. Close Combat OHKO’s 4 HP / 0 Def Kangaskhan 100% of the time and has a 75% chance to OHKO 252 HP / 0 Def Kangaskhan. The rest of the moves provide coverage.

Scarf Lucario can also use Final Gambit, although you’ll need to move your attack EVs into HP and lose the ability to OHKO Mega Kangaskhan. Staraptor is the best user of Final Gambit in the VGC 2014 ruleset, but with Lucario it’ll be a surprise.

Lucario (Follow Me)
Lucario @ Sitrus Berry / Leftover / Lum Berry
Ability: Inner Focus
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 140 Def / 116 SDef
Calm Nature
– Follow Me
– Aura Sphere
– Feint / Quick Guard / Heal Pulse / Protect / Final Gambit
– Feint / Quick Guard / Heal Pulse / Protect / Final Gambit

Admittedly I’ve never used a Follow Me Lucario and don’t consider it to be a great user of the move, I wouldn’t be covering all the bases if I didn’t mention it.  Follow Me isn’t a move most expect when they see Lucario, so you might be able to catch your opponent off guard. Aura Sphere still deals decent damage without investment and gives you a chance if Lucario is your last Pokemon. Quick Guard, Feint, and Heal Pulse all support your partner. Since you have a full HP investment Final Gambit is an option if you use it right off the bat.

The above spread allows Lucario to survive Fire Blast from Salamence and Tyranitar, Heat Wave from Chandelure, Earthquake from Garchomp, and Power-Up-Punch from Kangaskhan. The choice of item depends on what the rest of the team needs. Sitrus is ideal but plenty of Pokemon are happy to have a Sitrus Berry to hold.


Teammates:

Lucario works well with Dragon/Flying types such as Salamence or Noivern, as they can switch into the others weaknesses. Gyarados also works well with it. Intimidate support will allow Lucario to survive Garchomp’s Earthquake for sure. If you’re using Swords Dance or Nasty Plot it would be good to have a Pokemon that helps it set up like a Fake Out user or Amoonguss.

Lucario appreciates partners that can deal with Dragon types like Garchomp and Salamence. Scarf Gardevoir can deal with these threats, as can your own Scarf Salamence. Most Lucario will want a partner that can KO Aegislash and Gengar if they don’t carry a Dark move of their own.

Mega Lucario isn’t one of those Mega Pokemon that you want to bring to every battle. Because of this it works well on double Mega teams. Keep this in mind as you build a team with Lucario. If your team has a Mega you don’t always want to bring or you have a lot of trouble with Kangaskhan Lucario makes for a great alternate Mega. Having Lucario on a team with another potential Mega gives your opponent a lot to think about in team preview.

Counters:

Salamence is a fantastic counter to Lucario, being able to switch into an attack from it, out speed it and OHKO it with Fire Blast. Amoonguss is able to redirect and withstand most attacks from Lucario. Aegislash can wall most sets so long as they don’t use a Dark/Ghost move. Garchomp out speeds regular Lucario and can still survive a hit from Mega Lucario and retaliate with Earthquake. Talonflame can also out speed and KO Lucario, however it can’t take a hit from Lucario at all.

If you’ve been keeping up with the metagame you’ll notice that all the Pokemon I listed are very common to see. This is why Lucario hasn’t seen as much play as it could.

Conclusion

Its interesting to note that in Smogon’s singles format (which might as well be the only one that exists) Mega Lucario has been banned because it is considered nigh uncounterable. In doubles Lucario is certainly a threat but it can be dealt with because you have two Pokemon out at once and at least one of them should be able to deal with it.

I probably wouldn’t even consider Lucario if it weren’t for Kangaskhan, but having a Pokemon on your team that beats the most popular Mega in the metagame is a godsend for most teams. I always see players struggling to beat the behemoth and Lucario is the second Pokemon I recommend to them (the first being Aegislash)

I hope you’ve been enjoying the series so far and if you want to see your favourite Pokemon featured next week let us know!

~Max