Punchshroom
FISHIOUS REND MEGA SHARPEDO
[OVERVIEW]
Gallade's standout trait is its ability to augment its already high power through boosting options such as Swords Dance and Bulk Up, which is only further complemented by its expansive movepool that lets it achieve perfect neutral coverage if desired. Gallade is the only Fighting-type in NU to get Swords Dance, while Bulk Up takes advantage of the Swords Dance set's high offensive potential and ability to force switches, adding to Gallade's unpredictability by making it far more difficult to revenge kill than usual. Most notably, Gallade has a significant niche in being a Fighting-type that can beat most bulky Pokemon that resist Fighting, such as Garbodor, Slowbro, and Palossand.
However, while Gallade has high Special Defense, its HP and physical bulk are lacking, and its Speed is considered only average. Its typing also provides barely any useful resistances, and it is too physically frail to make use of its Fighting resistance, which makes setup quite difficult. These factors combined make Gallade rather prone to being revenge killed by faster threats such as Sneasel, Whimsicott, and Delphox, especially after Close Combat's defense drops. Furthermore, while Gallade is a competent Fighting-type, it faces competition for a teamslot with other Fighting-types in the tier, such as Medicham, Passimian, and Scrafty, which have higher power, access to U-turn, and better physical bulk plus Shed Skin for setting up, respectively.
[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Close Combat
move 3: Psycho Cut
move 4: Leaf Blade
item: Life Orb
ability: Justified
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Sword Dance doubles Gallade's power to terrifying heights, making its attacks hit incredibly hard. Close Combat is an extremely strong STAB attack that heavily dents anything that does not resist it. Psycho Cut smacks Poison-types such as Garbodor, Golbat, and Vileplume, with its trait of not making contact being especially useful in avoiding the effects from Rocky Helmet, Aftermath, and Effect Spore. A +2 Leaf Blade easily OHKOes Palossand and Assault Vest Slowbro after a Swords Dance boost while having a high chance to take out defensive Slowbro after Stealth Rock damage. Leaf Blade also OHKOes Quagsire and exerts a lot of pressure on Pyukumuku due to its high critical hit chance, leaving Pyukumuku unable to remove Gallade while keeping its health high.
Knock Off is an option on the Swords Dance set to cover additional Psychic- and Ghost-types, such as Decidueye, Dhelmise, Xatu, Rotom, Mismagius, and Delphox while still covering Palossand and Slowbro and to soften up the opponent's bulkier Pokemon in general. However, these Pokemon commonly carry either Colbur Berry or Z-Crystals to reduce its effectiveness or are simply too bulky to be OHKOed from +0, so these threats usually have be be softened up beforehand. With that said, Knock Off is primarily used for Psychic-types, as Psycho Cut does sufficient damage against faster Ghost-types while +2 Psycho Cut or Leaf Blade threatens to OHKO the slower ones.
Set Details
========
Maximum Attack and Speed investment permits Gallade to reach its greatest offensive potential. A Jolly nature is used to outrun Vanilluxe and Decidueye as well as Speed tie non-Choice Scarf variants of Medicham and offensive Braviary. Life Orb maximizes Gallade's immediate power, reducing its need to set up and helping to ensure more KOs after a Swords Dance boost. Justified is the ability of choice, as it can help deter Knock Off from the likes of Choice Scarf Passimian. Steadfast can be used as a means to boost Gallade's Speed should it flinch, which it would be unable to do so otherwise, but flinching moves are much rarer and more situational than Dark-type moves.
Usage Tips
========
Gallade should aim to use Swords Dance to break defensive teams, though Knock Off variants of Gallade could soften up the opponent with early-game Knock Offs first before committing to the boost. Gallade can use its immediate power to scare out slower Pokemon that it can easily KO or Pokemon that have trouble hurting it in return, such as Vanilluxe, Incineroar, Type: Null, offensive Garbodor, Piloswine, Guzzlord, Cryogonal, and Silvally-Steel. These Pokemon provide the best opportunities for Gallade to begin safely boosting. Gallade can make use of double switches or VoltTurn support to get more attacking or boosting opportunities as well. Against offensive teams, Gallade should just focus on throwing out attacks instead of setting up, as these teams don't have much Pokemon that can comfortably take unboosted attacks from Gallade anyway.
Team Options
========
Steelix resists Gallade's weaknesses to Fairy and Flying and can set up Stealth Rock for it. Other Stealth Rock users that resist Flying, such as Rhydon and Diancie, are good alternatives as well. Poison-types handle Fairy-types while acting as the primary defensive response against Fighting-types and can take physical blows in general, which Gallade cannot do. Garbodor can set up Spikes and Toxic Spikes for Gallade, Golbat provides U-turn support while baiting in Rock- and Steel-types, and Vileplume can offer Stun Spore and Aromatherapy support. Dark-types such as Sneasel, Houndoom, and Incineroar can take care of Ghost-types for Gallade. Sneasel in particular pairs well with Gallade, as it greatly threatens more offensive teams while appreciating Gallade's ability to soften up bulkier teams. On the other hand, Houndoom and Incineroar apply heavy core breaking pressure alongside Gallade, as they break each other's checks. Sneasel and Houndoom also offer Pursuit support to help remove Xatu and Sigilyph, which Gallade appreciates.
As Gallade can barely find opportunities to set up Swords Dance against offensive teams, Pokemon that do well against offensive teams are great partners. Fast attackers such as Whimsicott, Delphox, Sneasel, Heliolisk, and Sceptile and Choice Scarf users such as Passimian, Braviary, and Rotom are all potent options. Some of these Pokemon can use Volt Switch or U-turn, giving them the advantage of bringing Gallade safely into battle. Gallade's ability to lure and KO Slowbro can pave the way for fellow Fighting-types and other physical attackers in general; setup sweepers such as Klinklang, Unburden Hitmonlee, and Choice Scarf users such as Passimian, Medicham, Braviary, and Delphox like not having to deal with Slowbro. Entry hazard users such as Garbodor, Steelix, Piloswine, Diancie, Druddigon, and Rhydon can soften up the opponent's team to put them in range of Gallade's attacks, and they all favor Slowbro's absence as well.
[SET]
name: Substitute + Bulk Up
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Bulk Up
move 3: Drain Punch
move 4: Psycho Cut / Knock Off
item: Leftovers
ability: Justified
nature: Careful
evs: 236 HP / 92 SpD / 180 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Substitute shields Gallade from status ailments and excessive damage, giving it a great safety net to amass boosts. Bulk Up increases Gallade's power and physical bulk, making it increasingly dangerous and difficult to KO. Drain Punch offers a reliable STAB move and additional healing, further increasing Gallade's longevity. Psycho Cut smacks Poison-types such as Garbodor and Vileplume, which can otherwise be nuisances for Gallade to defeat without suffering extensive damage. It also does not make contact, which is useful to in avoiding activating Rocky Helmet, Aftermath, and Effect Spore. Knock Off is notable for allowing Gallade to take on Assault Vest variants of Slowbro while also dispatching Psychic- and Ghost-types such as Sigilyph, Rotom, Delphox, and Mismagius more quickly. It can also be used early-game to soften up Gallade's immediate switch-ins.
Set Details
========
The HP EVs maximize Leftovers recovery, while the Special Defense EVs and the Careful nature allow Gallade's Substitute to survive Scald from Vaporeon and defensive Slowbro, Psychic from Xatu, as well as Sludge Bomb from Vileplume most of the time. The Speed EVs allow Gallade to outspeed Jolly Incineroar, allowing it to potentially check Incineroar and not vice versa. Justified is the ability of choice to help deter the use of Dark-type moves against Gallade, especially after a Bulk Up boost. Leftovers maximizes Gallade's longevity and enables it to create more Substitutes.
Usage Tips
========
This variant of Gallade takes a slower approach in breaking cores in exchange for being much safer from being revenge killed. With its high special bulk and ability to reinforce its physical bulk, power, and healing with Bulk Up and Drain Punch, Gallade can become a tough shell to crack for teams without an immediate response. Gallade should aim to set up on the opponent's offensively weaker Pokemon, such as Xatu, slower Silvally-Steel variants, Cryogonal without Toxic, Vaporeon, and Blastoise. Pokemon that are weakened by the use of Leaf Storm and Draco Meteor, such as Sceptile and Guzzlord, also make for good setup opportunities. Alternatively, Gallade can make use of Bulk Up combined with Drain Punch to set up against slower physical foes that either are weak to Fighting or have low physical bulk, such as Rhydon, Incineroar, Piloswine, Type: Null, Scrafty, and Assault Vest Hariyama, by taking lessened damage from their attacks while recovering it back with a boosted Drain Punch. While Gallade is not as great against offensive teams that tend to possess faster hard-hitting Pokemon, it can still use its investment in bulk and access to Drain Punch to take on the likes of Heliolisk, Vanilluxe, Houndoom, and even potentially Sneasel in a pinch.
Team Options
========
Toxic Spikes are Bulk Up Gallade's best friend, as they apply even more pressure on the opponent as Gallade sets up while forcing bulkier foes such as Slowbro, Palossand, and Mega Audino to heal more frequently, giving Gallade additional free turns. Garbodor is the most reliable Toxic Spikes user in the tier; it is able to handle problematic Fairy-types such as Whimsicott, Aromatisse, and Mega Audino while Aftermath and Rocky Helmet make for nice deterrents against the majority of physical attackers that would otherwise threaten Gallade without any Bulk Up boosts, most notably faster Knock Off users and physical Flying-types. Garbodor can also bait in Pokemon such as Guzzlord and Vaporeon, which Gallade can begin setting up on. In general, Pokemon that can lure in Slowbro and cripple it with Toxic make for good partners, namely various bulky Pokemon such as Garbodor, Steelix, Druddigon, Piloswine, Silvally-Steel, and even Slowbro itself, as well as pretty much any physical attacker without exceptionally strong STAB or coverage moves. Bulk Up Gallade performs best when the opponent is forced to bring out their defensive Pokemon that are unable to pressure Gallade.
Offensive Pokemon pair well with Gallade, as they can either force out the opponent's defensive responses or cover for Gallade in more offensive matchups. Sneasel and Houndoom provide great offensive synergy with Gallade by taking out most Pokemon that resist Gallade's moves, especially with Pursuit trapping; those two also lure out the likes of Incineroar, Vaporeon, Thick Fat Hariyama, and Guzzlord for Gallade to attempt to set up against. Powerful attackers such as Delphox, Vanilluxe, Braviary, Passimian, Whimsicott, and Heliolisk apply heavy offensive pressure, either luring out weak setup fodder for Gallade or crippling its potential checks. Passimian, Whimsicott, Braviary, and Heliolisk are especially notable for their ability to pivot, allowing Gallade free entry against Pokemon like Garbodor, Steelix, Xatu, Type: Null, and Vileplume. Setup sweepers, such as Decidueye, Klinklang, Mismagius, and Delphox, do an especially commendable job of either softening up the opponent's team for Gallade to sweep through or finishing the sweep themselves.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Lum Berry is a fine alternative on the Swords Dance set to greatly improve Gallade's odds of setting up safely, as it does not have to fear getting crippled by status ailments while also allowing it to combat most of its defensive checks. However, the power loss of forgoing Life Orb is quite significant, given that Gallade is missing out on numerous KOs such as with +2 Leaf Blade against Palossand, Slowbro after Stealth Rock damage, and +0 Psycho Cut against offensive Garbodor. Choice Scarf Gallade can revenge kill fast Pokemon while offering teammates potential setup opportunities with Memento, but this niche usually doesn't manage to compare against Passimian's ability to pivot with U-turn, Medicham's raw power, or Hitmonlee's slightly better Speed tier and access to Rapid Spin. Thunder Punch alongside Electrium Z can hit a variety of problematic Psychic- and Ghost-types, such as Slowbro, Xatu, Slowking, Sigilyph, and Jellicent all at once while circumventing any Colbur Berries these Pokemon might be carrying, but its coverage is less appealing compared to other attacks on the Swords Dance set. Gallade also does not need to be saddled with a Z-Crystal to break defensive cores, meaning that it can be given to a teammate who might require it more. Gallade has a variety of utility moves such as Encore, Destiny Bond, Taunt, Will-O-Wisp, and Wish, but its average Speed, poor defensive typing, and awkward bulk makes it difficult to make good use of these moves.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Ghost-type Pokemon**: Faster Ghost-types such as Mismagius and Rotom can deter the use of Close Combat and pick off -1 SpD Gallade with Shadow Ball, though they will need the additional power from Ghostium Z to do the same against a fresh Gallade, especially Bulk Up variants, and detest switching into any other damaging moves. Rotom can also use Will-O-Wisp to cripple Gallade should it not be behind a Substitute. Palossand and Jellicent respond well enough against Bulk Up variants of Gallade, but neither can switch into Swords Dance variants. Decidueye can do major damage to Gallade with Shadow Sneak and even threaten to OHKO a -1 Def Gallade with minimal chip damage, but its lower Speed and mediocre physical bulk leave it vulnerable otherwise.
**Fairy-type Pokemon**: Whimsicott is a solid check, as it can switch into Close Combat and OHKO -1 SpD Gallade with Moonblast, Encore Gallade into Swords Dance or Bulk Up should it use it, and even pierce through Gallade's Substitutes with Infiltrator. However, Whimsicott dislikes getting hit with Psycho Cuts on the switch. Comfey makes for an annoying obstacle for Gallade, as it preys on Close Combat's Special Defense drops with a fast Draining Kiss and can Taunt Bulk Up variants. Mega Audino and Aromatisse can win provided they do not switch into Swords Dance, though non-physically bulky variants of Mega Audino risk losing the tug-of-war against Bulk Up Gallade's boosted Drain Punches. Choice Specs Diancie can barely survive an unboosted attack from Life Orb Gallade and OHKO with Moonblast, but be warned that even defensive Diancie can succumb to +2 Life Orb-boosted Leaf Blades.
**Flying-type Pokemon**: Flying-types such as Choice Scarf Braviary, Scyther, Vivillon, and Sigilyph are some of the best at offensively checking Gallade, with the latter three also capable of switching into Close Combat. Specially offensive Flying-types may want to be wary as they don't reliably OHKO a healthy Gallade, but as long as they are healthy themselves, they should not succumb to Gallade's unboosted attacks. Bulk Up variants of Gallade are even easier for these Pokemon to immediately respond to, but should Gallade be healthy and have accumulated many boosts, it can become tricky to stop without casualties. Infiltrator Golbat can also penetrate Bulk Up Gallade's Substitutes with a strong Brave Bird.
**Faster Pokemon**: Gallade becomes much easier to revenge kill should its defenses be lowered with Close Combat, with the list expanding to include Pokemon such as Sneasel, Sceptile, Choice Specs Heliolisk, Choice Specs Accelgor, Choice Scarf Passimian, Cinccino, Houndoom, and even Hitmonlee.
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