[OVERVIEW]
- High Attack and Speed allow Weavile to greatly threaten offense and act as a general revenge killer.
- Access to priority allows it to revenge kill Speed-boosting threats, such as Rock Polish Landorus, Dragon Dance Zygarde, and Rock Polish Landorus-T.
- Its fantastic STAB combination is resisted only by a few notable Pokemon.
- Outright underwhelming bulk plus susceptibility to priority leaves it vulnerable at times.
- Weakness to Stealth Rock and Life Orb recoil will very quickly whittle its HP.
name: Life Orb
move 1: Knock Off
move 2: Icicle Crash
move 3: Ice Shard
move 4: Poison Jab / Swords Dance / Pursuit
item: Life Orb
ability: Pressure
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
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- Knock Off is Weavile's primary STAB move, dealing sizable damage to even Pokemon that resist it while removing items.
- Icicle Crash targets common metagame threats weak to Ice-type attacks such as Garchomp, both Landorus formes, Latios, and Latias.
- Ice Shard is crucial Ice-type priority that preys on Pokemon 4x weak to Ice-type attacks and can be used to pick off faster, weakened threats.
- Poison Jab preys on Fairy-type Pokemon that will commonly switch into Weavile, such as Tapu Fini, Clefable, and Azumarill.
- Swords Dance allows Weavile to serve as a threatening sweeper, but usage is very prediction-reliant given Weavile's frailty.
- Pursuit is useful when a teammate benefits from the removal of Psychic- and Ghost-types, such as Latios, Latias, and Gengar.
- Low Kick is another option in the final slot that targets Heatran, Tyranitar, Ferrothorn, and opposing Weavile.
Set Details
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- Maximum Attack and Speed investment capitalizes on Weavile's strengths.
- Life Orb further boosts Weavile's power while not restricting its move selection like a Choice Band.
- Jolly nature enables Weavile to make the most out of its stellar base 125 Speed stat.
- Pressure is used over Pickpocket to avoid taking unwanted items.
Usage Tips
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- Given its low bulk, Weavile should be played as a revenge killer, brought in after something has been KOed or via VoltTurn support.
- Spam Knock Off early-game to cripple checks and counters.
- While not entirely necessary, if using a team with entry hazard removal, removing hazards from your side of the field will greatly increase Weavile's longevity.
Team Options
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- Teammates capable of dealing with obnoxious Fairy-types such as Tapu Fini, Klefki, and Clefable are appreciated; examples would be Jirachi, Kartana, Mega Scizor, and Heatran.
- Keldeo is a massive pain to Weavile, so something capable of stomaching its STAB combination is ideal; examples include Latios, Latias, Starmie, Tapu Fini, and Mega Venusaur.
- Latios, Latias, Tapu Fini, and Starmie are all able to remove hazards from the field for Weavile.
- Pokemon that appreciate the removal of Latios and Latias via Pursuit such as Landorus lacking Knock Off, Keldeo, Mega Charizard Y, Manaphy, Breloom, and Mega Venusaur make for good teammates.
- Bisharp and other Dark-type Pokemon can form a Dark-spam core capable of overwhelming Dark-resistant Pokemon.
- Rotom-W can help check Mega Scizor, Choice Scarf Jirachi, and Sand Rush Excadrill while also providing Volt Switch support.
- Tapu Koko potentially provides VoltTurn support and can threaten Keldeo, Azumarill, Tapu Fini, and Skarmory.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
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- Iron Tail can punish Fairy-types but has low accuracy and is thus unreliable.
- Taunt can annoy more passive answers to Weavile that rely on recovery for longevity, such as Clefable and Skarmory.
Checks and Counters
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**Pokemon Resistant To Weavile's STAB moves**: Keldeo, Tapu Fini, Azumarill, Cobalion, Klefki, Magearna, and Mega Gyarados all resist Weavile's STAB moves and thus make decent switch-ins, depending on Weavile's final moveslot.
**Bulky Steel-types and Fairy-types**: Skarmory, Celesteela, and Ferrothorn possess enough raw bulk to withstand Weavile's attacks and threaten it with their Steel-type STAB moves. Mega Scizor resists Ice-type attacks and doesn't take boosted damage from Knock Off. Clefable is also generally capable of beating Weavile should it be sufficiently healthy.
**Priority**: Bullet Punch from Mega Scizor and Mega Metagross are easily capable of KOing Weavile, while other priority such as Azumarill's Aqua Jet is capable of doing so after a bit of prior damage.
**Faster Pokemon**: Tapu Koko and certain Choice Scarf users, such as Keldeo, Terrakion, Tapu Lele, and Jirachi, are able to outpace and threaten Weavile with their coverage.
**Residual Damage**: Life Orb, a Stealth Rock weakness, and a susceptibility to both Spikes and Toxic Spikes greatly wear down Weavile over the course of a match. Life Orb recoil and the presence of Stealth Rock alone is often the reason Weavile will faint.
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