VGC 18 Kartana

Egor

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QC: Carbonific / Jio
GP: P Squared

[OVERVIEW]

* Kartana's base 109 Speed allows it to outpace threats such as Terrakion and Hydreigon.

* Its decent defensive typing and good physical bulk allow it to switch into some strong physical attacks from the likes of Landorus-T and Mega Kangaskhan, but note that Kartana has trouble switching into attacks from Mega Metagross.

* Beast Boost allows Kartana to snowball from KOs .

* Unfortunately, Kartana's base 31 Special Defense is terrible. Kartana is OHKOed by any neutral special attack and, in some cases, by resisted attacks as well. It is also checked by faster special attackers such as Tapu Koko and Gengar; Gengar's Shadow Ball easily OHKOes Kartana, as does Life Orb Tapu Koko's Thunderbolt under Electric Terrain .

* Kartana's moves don't have very high Base Power, balancing out its tremendous Attack stat and making it susceptible to Intimidate.

* Kartana faces competition from Mega Metagross as an all-out attacker, from Tapu Bulu as an offensive Grass-type, and from Zapdos as a Tailwind setter and check to opposing Water-types.

[SET]
name: Physical Attacker
move 1: Leaf Blade
move 2: Sacred Sword / Smart Strike
move 3: Tailwind / Smart Strike
move 4: Detect
item: Focus Sash / Flyinium Z / Grassium Z
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

* Leaf Blade is Kartana's strongest move and can hit Water- and Ground-types for heavy damage. After Z-Tailwind, this attack is guaranteed to be a critical hit.

* Sacred Sword is Kartana's coverage move, hitting Steel-types, which resist all Kartana's STAB moves, very hard.

* Tailwind is pretty good option that doubles your team's Speed for three turns. It's most useful to help middling-Speed teammates outpace faster threats.

* Smart Strike can hit Fairy-types such as Tapu Lele and Mega Gardevoir.

* Detect protects Kartana from double targets and scouts for Fire-type moves such as Celesteela's Flamethrower. If Kartana is double targeted, Detect will help Kartana stay alive and give its teammates a free turn.

* Knock Off is also a decent option because it provides some utility and good coverage, which allows Kartana to hit Mega Metagross and Cresselia for super effective damage.

* Focus Sash prevents Kartana from being KOed by a single powerful special attack and allows Kartana to revenge kill. It also increases the chance of Tailwind setup. Flyinium Z is used with Tailwind to raise the critical hit ratio and provide speed control for your team. Grassium Z is necessary for 175-Base Power STAB Bloom Doom, which can OHKO Tapu Koko and Gengar on a predicted switch or under Tailwind.

* Maximum EV investment into Attack allows Kartana to hit as hard as possible. Maximum Speed investment with a Jolly nature allows it to outspeed most of the metagame and Speed tie with Alolan Ninetales. 4 EVs in HP give Kartana 1 more HP. An alternative EV spread in 212 Atk / 100 SpD / 196 Spe with a Jolly nature is useful if outspeeding Terrakion is unneeded. It survives Timid Tapu Koko's Life Orb-boosted Thunderbolt and outspeeds Thundurus-T.

* Kartana is a nice late-game cleaner because it easily KOes weakened Pokemon and gets a +1 Attack boost, letting it KO the remaining foes more easily. Before using Kartana, you must try to eliminate Fire-types. Pairing it with Water- and Rock-type Pokemon helps with this.

* If you run Tailwind, you can use Kartana as a lead to provide speed control in the early-game.

* It's a good idea to bring in Kartana through slow Volt Switch or U-turn from the likes of Rotom-W and Pelipper.

* Water-type Pokemon such as Tapu Fini, Pelipper, Politoed, Gyarados, and Milotic are strong options to support Kartana, as they can take down Fire-type Pokemon. The Pokemon mentioned here all provide additional utility. Tapu Fini's Misty Terrain blocks status, allowing Kartana to switch into a Scald and not fear getting burned if it has to. Pelipper and Politoed provide rain support to further dissuade the use of Fire-type Pokemon. Keep in mind, however, that Pelipper also commonly holds Focus Sash, creating a conflict with this Kartana set due to Item Clause. Gyarados provides the generally useful Intimidate support, while Milotic deters the use of opposing Intimidate. Tapu Fini, Gyarados, and Pelipper also all resist Fighting, covering Kartana's only other weakness. In return, Kartana can remove the especially troublesome Gastrodon for many of these Water-type Pokemon with Leaf Blade.

* Rock-types such as Tyranitar also provide additional coverage against Fire-type Pokemon, while Kartana takes care of Water- and Ground-type Pokemon for them.

* Fire-types such as Mega Charizard Y and Incineroar are decent teammates. They check Steel-types such as Aegislash, which Kartana can't touch, while Kartana threatens Rock- and Ground-types such as Tyranitar in return.
 
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Adamant Zoroark

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Not QC and I don’t mean to sound too harsh here - I find it strange how this analysis doesn’t even mention Tailwind, which is an USUM tutor move on Kartana.

Whether or not to slash it is up to QC, but I think it warrants at least a mention.

Also, minor note: Moves like Protect and Detect are always listed as move 4 on VGC analyses. Just a convention.
 

Egor

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Not QC and I don’t mean to sound too harsh here - I find it strange how this analysis doesn’t even mention Tailwind, which is an USUM tutor move on Kartana.

Whether or not to slash it is up to QC, but I think it warrants at least a mention.

Also, minor note: Moves like Protect and Detect are always listed as move 4 on VGC analyses. Just a convention.
Thank you!
 
Speaking of tailwind, I've seen a lot of Z-flying tailwind since it means Leaf Blade is guaranteed to Crit. A lot of people also run tailwind over smart strike since most fairies are hit about as hard by a crit leaf blade as a smart strike. That's probably worth mentioning as well.
 

Egor

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Speaking of tailwind, I've seen a lot of Z-flying tailwind since it means Leaf Blade is guaranteed to Crit. A lot of people also run tailwind over smart strike since most fairies are hit about as hard by a crit leaf blade as a smart strike. That's probably worth mentioning as well.
I can't slash Sash with Flyinium Z because set is called Focus Sash, and without Sash Kartana can be easily ohkoed. And I can't slash Tailwind with Smart Strike because without Flyinium Z there is no guaranteed crit, and Smart Strike hits Fairy-types harder, than non-crit Leaf Blade
 

Adamant Zoroark

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I can't slash Sash with Flyinium Z because set is called Focus Sash, and without Sash Kartana can be easily ohkoed. And I can't slash Tailwind with Smart Strike because without Flyinium Z there is no guaranteed crit, and Smart Strike hits Fairy-types harder, than non-crit Leaf Blade
Markus Stadter ran Leaf Blade / Sacred Sword / Tailwind / Detect @ Sash at the Frankfurt MSS, where he placed second. Obviously that in itself doesn't say that much regarding what should and shouldn't be on an analysis (seeing as Randy Kwa won Portland 2016 with Espeon and a player top cut Salt Lake City in VGC17 with a non-Thick Club Marowak), but to add support to his call: Smart Strike is, in all honestly, the worst of Kartana's attacks.

Firstly, 70 Base Power is just dreadful by any measure. It's only moderately stronger in terms of BP than Scizor's Bullet Punch, which is terrible for an attack that does not have increased priority. Kartana without Smart Strike misses having it against anything that resists both Leaf Blade and Sacred Sword (Amoonguss, Tapu Bulu, and Naganadel come to mind, although the former isn't doing much back and the latter outspeeds anyway), while Kartana sans-Detect finds a lot more scenarios where it wishes that it had it (it's just an all-around useful move, say for example to get chip damage to get something like Tapu Fini into guaranteed KO range, or for temporary protection against your opponent's Charizard-Y). This isn't to say that Detect-less Kartana *can't* work (after all, sets like Assault Vest and Choice Scarf were used every now and then last year); just that, although neither is really *ideal*, Kartana would much rather drop Smart Strike than Detect.

Also, the set name "Focus Sash" isn't set in stone. If QC thinks another item should be slashed alongside Focus Sash, the set name can easily be changed to something like "All-Out Attacker" without affecting the analysis otherwise. Some items that may be worthy of mentions (possibly slashes, but again that's not my call) include Fightinium Z (All-Out Pummeling OHKOes 4/0 Heatran and gets pretty close to nailing Ferrothorn too iirc) and Flyinium Z (for reasons stated by ck49 already).

EDIT: Also, I literally just noticed this - If I'm being honest, mentioning entry hazards in a VGC analysis kind of shows a lack of knowledge (the nature of the format itself just doesn't lend itself to entry hazard usage). Again, I don't wanna sound harsh here, but I'd remove any entry hazard mention if I were you.
 
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Egor

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Could I wait for QC check?
 
I'm not QC but Sand from Gigalith or Tyranitar doesn't boost Kartana's special defense. That is only for Rock-types.
 

Egor

нет, товарищ генерал, это вы даёте
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Could I wait for QC check?
 
Even though I am not QC, there are quite a few things I need to point out so please take note of what I have to say.​
Overview​
-Almost nobody is running Garchomp, let alone Fire Fang Garchomp in 2018. Gyarados also is not a threat at all to Kartana, Landorus is a much more noteworthy mention (Kartana can make Landorus EQs 3HKOs)​
-Kartana's Special Defense may be lack luster, but in this format Kartana users compensate by adding bulk to their Kartana. You would be surprised as to the heavy HP and SpD investment common to most Z Move Kartanas​
-You did not mention Kartana's role anywhere in this analysis.? It fulfills a niche in vgc2018 being able to bypass rage powder and hitting Chansey/Curse Lax/Tyranitar/Fini for hefty damage​
Set Issues​
-Practically no one, and I mean 0.0001% of people run Smart Strike Kartana.​
-Smart Strike really only sees usage on Scarf Kartana, a set that has fallen out of favor because of Landorus Intimidates hindering its ability to pick up any meaningful knock outs.​
-Knock Off, Substitute, and Night Slash are all moves that you did not touch upon​
-Night Slash competes with Sacred Sword's moveslot, as Flyinium Kartana do not like being walled by Metagross and Marowak​
-Substitute and Knock Off are common moves run in place of the Smart Strike/Tailwind slot; Substitute and Knock Off are often run on Grassium Z / Focus Sash Kartana respectively​
-Special Mention of Scope Lens Kartana and Enosh' Kartana​
-4/252/252 Is really not an ideal spread, there are so many things Kartana can survive with Special Defense and HP Investment​
-This is because Kartana's attack stat is so naturally enormous that it can afford to take out EV's to supplement its poor defenses​
For Example, 44 HP / 84 Atk / 4 Def / 124 SpD / 252 Spe Jolly Kartana​
-Survives Timid 252 Salamence Hyper Voice​
-Survives Timid 252 Life Orb Tapu Koko Thunderbolt in Terrain​
-Survives Modest 252 Tapu Lele Psychic in Terrain​
-Survives Modest 252 Tapu Fini Ice Beam​
-There are also Pinch Berry Kartana Spreads specifically geared around Tailwind and outspeeding Max Speed Landorus; Fightinium Z is very rare​
Set Notes​
-There are alot more moves/Items to cover than the ones listed​
-You neglected to mention Kartana's main team/archetype currently present in vgc2018: Char Y, Tapu Koko, Landorus, Kartana​
-This four mon core is the most common usage of Kartana, followed by Manectric teams. Please elaborate on why​
-No one runs Nihilego or Gigalith in this format; Tyranitar outclasses both as a rock type and sand setter.​
-Metagross is the most common Pokemon in the format currently, it outspeeds Kartana and can be an incredible nuisance, please mention its matchup​
-Zapdos is also incredibly common, competing with Kartana as both a Tailwind Setter and threat to bulky water, would be nice to see the reasoning for Kartana usage over Zapdos​
 
Last edited:

Egor

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OK, I'll totally rewrite this analysis
 
Overview
  • Bullet points 1, 2, and 4 are the kind of sentences you want to avoid in an overview. Remember that Kartana's stats are listed at the top of the SmogDex anyway, so you need to be talking about them within the context of the metagame if you're going to bring them up at all.
    • For example, list some Pokemon common in the metagame that 109 Speed lets it outpace, and why that's important.
    • Gyarados and Garchomp are partly relics of VGC17; in fact, this is a bit of a theme with this analysis. Combine bullet points two and four as they both discuss taking hits, and list better examples of foes Kartana has little trouble switching in on or walling. (See Viability Rankings).
  • Kartana faces competition as a Grass-type/All-out Attacker, so list some examples of similar alternatives that're more appropriate on certain teams.
Set
  • Should be changed to:
@ Focus Sash / Flyinium Z / Grassium Z​
- Leaf Blade​
- Sacred Sword / Smart Strike​
- Tailwind / Smart Strike​
- Detect​
  • Fightinium Z doesn't see much usage, and Tailwind is good even without Flyinium Z. The above also allows for dropping Sacred Sword.
Set Comments
  • Leaf Blade's increased crit chance is notable with Z-Tailwind as they're then guaranteed. Note this when talking about Leaf Blade or Flyinium Z.
  • Remove mention of Minimize Muk. Can you list some examples of Fairy- and Rock-types Smart Strike hits? Just two important ones will do.
  • With respect to Sacred Sword, spell out that it hitting Steel-types is valuable because they resist both of Kartana's STABs.
  • Add a mention of Knock Off, since it's a pretty decent other option, although don't add it to the set.
  • Focus Sash also increases the chance Tailwind gets set up, so mention that.
  • Remove the bullet point about Beast Boost. You talk about this later more organically in your "Kartana is a late-game cleaner..." point.
  • Combine all the bullet points about items into a single one. Remember to remove Fightinium Z.
  • The last bullet point is fine, but the examples are not. Again, these Pokemon were relevant in VGC17, but not so much this year. Find some others.

Post when implemented.
 

Egor

нет, товарищ генерал, это вы даёте
is a Social Media Contributor Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnus
RoAPL Champion
Overview
  • Bullet points 1, 2, and 4 are the kind of sentences you want to avoid in an overview. Remember that Kartana's stats are listed at the top of the SmogDex anyway, so you need to be talking about them within the context of the metagame if you're going to bring them up at all.
    • For example, list some Pokemon common in the metagame that 109 Speed lets it outpace, and why that's important.
    • Gyarados and Garchomp are partly relics of VGC17; in fact, this is a bit of a theme with this analysis. Combine bullet points two and four as they both discuss taking hits, and list better examples of foes Kartana has little trouble switching in on or walling. (See Viability Rankings).
  • Kartana faces competition as a Grass-type/All-out Attacker, so list some examples of similar alternatives that're more appropriate on certain teams.
Set
  • Should be changed to:
@ Focus Sash / Flyinium Z / Grassium Z​
- Leaf Blade​
- Sacred Sword / Smart Strike​
- Tailwind / Smart Strike​
- Detect​
  • Fightinium Z doesn't see much usage, and Tailwind is good even without Flyinium Z. The above also allows for dropping Sacred Sword.
Set Comments
  • Leaf Blade's increased crit chance is notable with Z-Tailwind as they're then guaranteed. Note this when talking about Leaf Blade or Flyinium Z.
  • Remove mention of Minimize Muk. Can you list some examples of Fairy- and Rock-types Smart Strike hits? Just two important ones will do.
  • With respect to Sacred Sword, spell out that it hitting Steel-types is valuable because they resist both of Kartana's STABs.
  • Add a mention of Knock Off, since it's a pretty decent other option, although don't add it to the set.
  • Focus Sash also increases the chance Tailwind gets set up, so mention that.
  • Remove the bullet point about Beast Boost. You talk about this later more organically in your "Kartana is a late-game cleaner..." point.
  • Combine all the bullet points about items into a single one. Remember to remove Fightinium Z.
  • The last bullet point is fine, but the examples are not. Again, these Pokemon were relevant in VGC17, but not so much this year. Find some others.

Post when implemented.
Implemented
 
Overview
  • Mega Charizard Y isn't a good example of something Kartana can outspeed, because it can't threaten it back. I was thinking more along the lines of Terrakion, which Kartana naturally outspeeds by one point.
  • Combine bullet points four and five as they both talk about Kartana having issues with special attackers.
  • I agree with ansena with respect to Kartana facing competition from Zapdos as a Tailwind setter and check to opposing Water-types, so add that into the last bullet point.
Set
  • I think "Physical Attacker" is a better name for the set, as Tailwind conflicts with the "All-out" part.
Set Comments
  • Move Smart Strike and Detect's bullet points to underneath Tailwind. We basically want them in the order they're listed on the set, with Smart Strike going just above Detect because it's slashed on multiple moves.
  • Tailwind's description could use a little elaboration. Write specifically that it doubles Speed for three turns, and that this is most useful for helping middling-Speed teammates outpace faster foes.
  • Cite a spread of Jolly + 212 Atk / 100 SpD / 196 Spe as being useful if outspeeding Terrakion is unneeded. It survives Timid Tapu Koko's Life Orb-boosted Thunderbolt and outspeeds Thundurus-T.
  • Fire-types such as Mega Charizard Y and Incineroar should be listed as good teammates, the latter being particularly so on teams with Mega Gardevoir. They check Steel-types such as Aegislash which Kartana can't touch, while Kartana threatens Rock- and Ground-types such as Tyranitar in return.

This should be the last check! I'll look over your implementation and stamp this.
 

Egor

нет, товарищ генерал, это вы даёте
is a Social Media Contributor Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnus
RoAPL Champion
Overview
  • Mega Charizard Y isn't a good example of something Kartana can outspeed, because it can't threaten it back. I was thinking more along the lines of Terrakion, which Kartana naturally outspeeds by one point.
  • Combine bullet points four and five as they both talk about Kartana having issues with special attackers.
  • I agree with ansena with respect to Kartana facing competition from Zapdos as a Tailwind setter and check to opposing Water-types, so add that into the last bullet point.
Set
  • I think "Physical Attacker" is a better name for the set, as Tailwind conflicts with the "All-out" part.
Set Comments
  • Move Smart Strike and Detect's bullet points to underneath Tailwind. We basically want them in the order they're listed on the set, with Smart Strike going just above Detect because it's slashed on multiple moves.
  • Tailwind's description could use a little elaboration. Write specifically that it doubles Speed for three turns, and that this is most useful for helping middling-Speed teammates outpace faster foes.
  • Cite a spread of Jolly + 212 Atk / 100 SpD / 196 Spe as being useful if outspeeding Terrakion is unneeded. It survives Timid Tapu Koko's Life Orb-boosted Thunderbolt and outspeeds Thundurus-T.
  • Fire-types such as Mega Charizard Y and Incineroar should be listed as good teammates, the latter being particularly so on teams with Mega Gardevoir. They check Steel-types such as Aegislash which Kartana can't touch, while Kartana threatens Rock- and Ground-types such as Tyranitar in return.

This should be the last check! I'll look over your implementation and stamp this.
Implemented
 

Egor

нет, товарищ генерал, это вы даёте
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Ready for the second check
 

P Squared

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GP 1/1
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[OVERVIEW]

* Kartana's base 109 Speed allows it to outpace threats such as Terrakion, (remove comma) and Hydreigon.

* Its decent defensive typing and good physical bulk allow allows it to switch into some strong physical attacks from the likes of Landorus-T and Mega Kangaskhan, but note that Kartana has a trouble to switching into attacks from Mega Metagross.

* Beast Boost allows Kartana to snowball from KOs KOes.

* Unfortunately, Kartana's base 31 Special Defense is terrible. Kartana is OHKOed by any neutral special attack and, in some cases, by resisted attacks as well. It Kartana is also checked by faster special attackers such as Tapu Koko and Gengar; Gengar's Shadow Ball easily OHKOes Kartana, and as does Life Orb Tapu Koko's Thunderbolt under Electric Terrain also OHKOes Kartana.

* Kartana's moves don't have has not very high Base Power, balancing out its tremendous Attack stat and making it susceptible to Intimidate.

* Kartana faces competition from Mega Metagross as an all-out attacker, from Tapu Bulu as an offensive Grass-type, (add comma) and from Zapdos as a Tailwind setter and check to opposing Water-types.

[SET]
name: Physical Attacker
move 1: Leaf Blade
move 2: Sacred Sword / Smart Strike
move 3: Tailwind / Smart Strike
move 4: Detect
item: Focus Sash / Flyinium Z / Grassium Z
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

* Leaf Blade is Kartana's main STAB move and its strongest move in this set. It and can hit Water- and Ground-types for heavy damage. After Z-Tailwind, (add comma) this attack is does a guaranteed to be a critical hit.

* Sacred Sword is Kartana's coverage move. Its opportunity to hard, (add comma) hitting Steel-types, which is viable because they resist all Kartana's STAB moves, very hard.

* Tailwind is pretty good option. It that doubles your team's Speed for all your team for three turns. It's most useful to help middling-Speed teammates outpace faster threats.

* Smart Strike is second STAB move. It can hit Fairy-types such as Tapu Lele and Mega Gardevoir.

* Detect protects Kartana from double targets and scouts for Fire-type moves such as Celesteela's Flamethrower. If Kartana is double targeted, Detect will help Kartana to stay alive and will give its teammates to Pokemon, paired with Kartana, a free turn.

* Knock Off is also a decent option because it provides some utility and good coverage, which allows Kartana to hit Mega Metagross and Cresselia to for super effective damage.

* Focus Sash prevents Kartana's ?? from being KOed by a single powerful special attack and allows Kartana to revenge kill. It also increases the chance of Tailwind setup. Flyinium Z is used using with Tailwind to raise the critical hit ratio and provide speed control for your team. Grassium Z is necessary for use 175-Base Power STAB Bloom Doom, which can OHKO Tapu Koko and Gengar on a predicted switch or under Tailwind.

* Maximum EV investment into Attack allows Kartana to hit as hard as possible. Maximum Speed EV investment into Speed with a Jolly nature allows it to outspeed most of the metagame and has a Speed tie with Alolan Ninetales. 4 EVs in HP give Kartana 1 more HP add one hit point to Kartana. An alternative EV spread in 212 Atk / 100 SpD / 196 Spe with a Jolly nature is useful if outspeeding Terrakion is unneeded. It survives Timid Tapu Koko's Life Orb-boosted Thunderbolt and outspeeds Thundurus-T.

* Kartana is a nice late-game cleaner because it easily KOes weakened Pokemon with low HP, and gets a +1 Attack boost, letting it and KOes the remaining foes more easily. Before using Kartana, you must try to eliminate Fire-types. Pairing it with Water- and Rock-type Pokemon helps with this.

* If you run Tailwind, you can use Kartana as a lead to provide speed control in the early-game.

* It's a good idea to bring in Kartana through slow Volt Switch or U-turn from the likes of Rotom-W and Pelipper.

* Water-type Pokemon such as Tapu Fini, Pelipper, Politoed, Gyarados, and Milotic are strong options to support Kartana, as they can take down Fire-type Pokemon. The Pokemon mentioned here all provide additional utility. Tapu Fini's Misty Terrain blocks status, allowing Kartana to switch into a Scald and not fear getting burned if it has to. Pelipper and Politoed provide rain support to further dissuade the use of Fire-type Pokemon. Keep in mind, however, that Pelipper also commonly holds Focus Sash, creating a conflict with this Kartana set due to Item Clause. Gyarados provides the generally useful Intimidate support, while Milotic deters the use of opposing Intimidate. Tapu Fini, Gyarados, and Pelipper also all resist Fighting, covering Kartana's only other weakness. In return, Kartana can remove the especially troublesome Gastrodon for many of these Water-type Pokemon with Leaf Blade.

* Rock-types such as Tyranitar also provide additional coverage against Fire-type Pokemon, while Kartana takes care of Water- and Ground-type Pokemon for them.

* Fire-types such as Mega Charizard Y and Incineroar are decent teammates. They check Steel-types such as Aegislash, (add comma) which Kartana can't touch, while Kartana threatens Rock- and Ground-types such as Tyranitar in return.
 
Last edited:

Egor

нет, товарищ генерал, это вы даёте
is a Social Media Contributor Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnus
RoAPL Champion
short <1 min video explaining how to implement a GP check correctly: http://spo.ink/gpvideo

GP 1/1
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remove comment

[OVERVIEW]

* Kartana's base 109 Speed allows it to outpace threats such as Terrakion, (remove comma) and Hydreigon.

* Its decent defensive typing and good physical bulk allow allows it to switch into some strong physical attacks from the likes of Landorus-T and Mega Kangaskhan, but note that Kartana has a trouble to switching into attacks from Mega Metagross.

* Beast Boost allows Kartana to snowball from KOs KOes.

* Unfortunately, Kartana's base 31 Special Defense is terrible. Kartana is OHKOed by any neutral special attack and, in some cases, by resisted attacks as well. It Kartana is also checked by faster special attackers such as Tapu Koko and Gengar; Gengar's Shadow Ball easily OHKOes Kartana, and as does Life Orb Tapu Koko's Thunderbolt under Electric Terrain also OHKOes Kartana.

* Kartana's moves don't have has not very high Base Power, balancing out its tremendous Attack stat and making it susceptible to Intimidate.

* Kartana faces competition from Mega Metagross as an all-out attacker, from Tapu Bulu as an offensive Grass-type, (add comma) and from Zapdos as a Tailwind setter and check to opposing Water-types.

[SET]
name: Physical Attacker
move 1: Leaf Blade
move 2: Sacred Sword / Smart Strike
move 3: Tailwind / Smart Strike
move 4: Detect
item: Focus Sash / Flyinium Z / Grassium Z
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

* Leaf Blade is Kartana's main STAB move and its strongest move in this set. It and can hit Water- and Ground-types for heavy damage. After Z-Tailwind, (add comma) this attack is does a guaranteed to be a critical hit.

* Sacred Sword is Kartana's coverage move. Its opportunity to hard, (add comma) hitting Steel-types, which is viable because they resist all Kartana's STAB moves, very hard.

* Tailwind is pretty good option. It that doubles your team's Speed for all your team for three turns. It's most useful to help middling-Speed teammates outpace faster threats.

* Smart Strike is second STAB move. It can hit Fairy-types such as Tapu Lele and Mega Gardevoir.

* Detect protects Kartana from double targets and scouts for Fire-type moves such as Celesteela's Flamethrower. If Kartana is double targeted, Detect will help Kartana to stay alive and will give its teammates to Pokemon, paired with Kartana, a free turn.

* Knock Off is also a decent option because it provides some utility and good coverage, which allows Kartana to hit Mega Metagross and Cresselia to for super effective damage.

* Focus Sash prevents Kartana's ?? from being KOed by a single powerful special attack and allows Kartana to revenge kill. It also increases the chance of Tailwind setup. Flyinium Z is used using with Tailwind to raise the critical hit ratio and provide speed control for your team. Grassium Z is necessary for use 175-Base Power STAB Bloom Doom, which can OHKO Tapu Koko and Gengar on a predicted switch or under Tailwind.

* Maximum EV investment into Attack allows Kartana to hit as hard as possible. Maximum Speed EV investment into Speed with a Jolly nature allows it to outspeed most of the metagame and has a Speed tie with Alolan Ninetales. 4 EVs in HP give Kartana 1 more HP add one hit point to Kartana. An alternative EV spread in 212 Atk / 100 SpD / 196 Spe with a Jolly nature is useful if outspeeding Terrakion is unneeded. It survives Timid Tapu Koko's Life Orb-boosted Thunderbolt and outspeeds Thundurus-T.

* Kartana is a nice late-game cleaner because it easily KOes weakened Pokemon with low HP, and gets a +1 Attack boost, letting it and KOes the remaining foes more easily. Before using Kartana, you must try to eliminate Fire-types. Pairing it with Water- and Rock-type Pokemon helps with this.

* If you run Tailwind, you can use Kartana as a lead to provide speed control in the early-game.

* It's a good idea to bring in Kartana through slow Volt Switch or U-turn from the likes of Rotom-W and Pelipper.

* Water-type Pokemon such as Tapu Fini, Pelipper, Politoed, Gyarados, and Milotic are strong options to support Kartana, as they can take down Fire-type Pokemon. The Pokemon mentioned here all provide additional utility. Tapu Fini's Misty Terrain blocks status, allowing Kartana to switch into a Scald and not fear getting burned if it has to. Pelipper and Politoed provide rain support to further dissuade the use of Fire-type Pokemon. Keep in mind, however, that Pelipper also commonly holds Focus Sash, creating a conflict with this Kartana set due to Item Clause. Gyarados provides the generally useful Intimidate support, while Milotic deters the use of opposing Intimidate. Tapu Fini, Gyarados, and Pelipper also all resist Fighting, covering Kartana's only other weakness. In return, Kartana can remove the especially troublesome Gastrodon for many of these Water-type Pokemon with Leaf Blade.

* Rock-types such as Tyranitar also provide additional coverage against Fire-type Pokemon, while Kartana takes care of Water- and Ground-type Pokemon for them.

* Fire-types such as Mega Charizard Y and Incineroar are decent teammates. They check Steel-types such as Aegislash, (add comma) which Kartana can't touch, while Kartana threatens Rock- and Ground-types such as Tyranitar in return.
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