[OVERVIEW]
Diancie is a great Trick Room setter and attacker due to its great bulk and decent offensive stats. Diancie's ability Clear Body gives it an immunity to Intimidate, which is a common problem for most physical attackers. A Rock / Fairy typing is unique for a Trick Room setter, making Diancie not weak to the Pokemon that usually beat Trick Room teams, such as Marshadow and Tyranitar. Diancie's signature move, Diamond Storm, enables it to both hit foes hard and raise its Defense drastically, which makes it harder to take down after boosts. However, Diancie is weak to Ground- and Water-type attacks, two common type that, when backed with Diancie's low base HP, give it a bad matchup against rain. Diancie also deals next to no damage against Steel-types.
[SET]
name: Offensive Trick Room
move 1: Diamond Storm
move 2: Moonblast
move 3: Trick Room
move 4: Protect
item: Stone Plate / Weakness Policy
ability: Clear Body
nature: Brave
evs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
ivs: 0 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Diamond Storm is a spammable STAB move that has high accuracy, high Base Power, and a high chance to sharply raise Defense for each foe it hits. STAB Moonblast adds to the coverage, allowing Diancie to hit relevant Pokemon such as Mega Salamence, Hydreigon, and Terrakion and making it only walled by Steel-types. Given Diancie's low base Speed, Trick Room is essential speed control for it and its teammates, giving them a way to takeadavantage advantage of their low Speed stats. Lastly, Protect is used for scouting the foe's moves, shielding Diancie while its ally deals with a threat, or stalling out field effects.
Set Details
========
Clear Body is the only ability for Diancie, giving it immunity to Intimidate. Maximum investment in HP and Attack lets Diancie hit harder and survive longer. A Brave nature and 0 Speed IVs are preferred to keep Diancie's Speed as low as possible. Stone Plate is preferred over Life Orb because Diamond Storm is the most used move and Life Orb recoil will affect Diancie's longevity. Weakness Policy is an option to make Diancie a solid sweeper, as Diamond Storm's Defense boosts can help it survive most super effective hits and it can then score some KOs in return.
Usage Tips
========
Diancie's vulnerability to common Pokemon makes it work best mid- or late-game after its threats have been eliminated or weakened. The only Pokemon that resist Diancie's STAB combination are Steel-types, so get rid of those immediately, and Diancie will be granted a paved road to finish the game. Diancie's bulk allows it to survive a super effective hit in a pinch and still be able to set Trick Room. Still, Diancie can be worn down pretty easily if double targeted with strong STAB moves, so using Protect on the turn it is supposed to set up Trick Room can be a good bait to give Diancie's partner a free hit or even KO on a foe. Potential Taunt users such as Tapu Koko and Tapu Lele can be 2HKOed by Diamond Storm. Diancie can be a good switch-in for certain resisted attacks such as Mega Salamence's Double-Edge and Hoopa's Hyperspace Fury. However, switching in too often isn't wise due to it lacking a recovery move.
Team Options
========
Fake Out and redirection support from Scrafty and Amonguss, respectively, prevents Diancie from being double targeted and lets it set Trick Room more safely. Amoonguss can take advantage of Trick Room, since it is very slow and able to spam Spore. Steel-type checks such as Mega Charizard Y, Mega Camerupt, Volcanion, Heatran, Scrafty, and Snorlax help Diancie's matchups a lot. The aforementioned Fire-types also help greatly against opposing Amoonguss, which can Spore Diancie before Trick Room goes up or Spore everything once Trick Room is set. Tapu Fini makes a great teammate, as it can alleviate the rain matchup, use Heal Pulse on Diancie to heal it back up if necessary, and provide Misty Terrain to stop Amoonguss from using Spore or prevent unlikely burns. Tapu Bulu is another great teammate for Diancie, as it can neutralize Earthquake damage and give indirect healing for Diancie thanks to Grassy Surge. Lastly, other Trick Room setters are mandatory for a full Trick Room team. Hoopa can be a good setter, since it doesn't let foes use Protect to stall out Trick Room turns. Porygon2, Bronzong, or Mew is useful for using Trick Room on the same turn Diancie uses it when there is one Trick Room turn left. Since most foes will use Protect to stall out Trick Room's effects, doing this will create a new Trick Room.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
========
Though entry hazards are rare and less helpful in Doubles matches, Diancie can be an effective user of Stealth Rock to help out teams that are weak to Mega Charizard Y or need chip damage to take down a Pokemon. Life Orb offers more raw power and enables Diancie to get several 2HKOs that Stone Plate doesn't, such as on Landorus-T and Tyranitar, but it will affect Diancie's longevity. Rockium Z is an option that can create a hole against the bulkiest threats that don't resist Rock while also bypassing Wide Guard. Earth Power is an option to hit Steel-types super effectively; however, Diancie is unlikely to land an OHKO even on super effective hits. Iapapa Berry is good for improving Diancie's longevity, as it lacks a recovery move.
Checks and Counters
========
**Steel-types**: Steel-types resist Diancie's STAB combination, meaning Pokemon such as Mega Metagross, Ferrothorn, Celesteela, Genesect, Aegislash, and Excadrill can safely switch in and OHKO it with their STAB moves. A special mention goes to Mega Scizor because it has access to priority Bullet Punch, which isn't affected by Trick Room.
**Ground-types**: Landorus-T and Zygarde are able to hit Diancie super effectively and take little damage from Diamond Storm. However, Diancie can gain several Defense boosts before taking damage from their Earthquake or Thousand Arrows.
**Water-types**: Rain sweepers such as Kingdra, Ludicolo, and Mega Swampert can OHKO Diancie with their rain-boosted STAB attacks. Azumarill can use Belly Drum in front of Diancie and then use +6 priority Aqua Jet to KO it. Bulky Water-types like Milotic and Tapu Fini can 2HKO Diancie without taking too much damage.
**Grass-types**: Tapu Bulu, Mega Venusaur, and Ferrothorn are able to tank Diancie's moves and beat it with their own STAB moves. Amoonguss's terrible Speed enables it to outspeed Diancie under Trick Room, use Clear Smog to get rid of Diancie's stat boosts, and spam Spore.
**Wide Guard**: Wide Guard users such as Celesteela, Aegislash, and Araquanid prevent Diamond Storm from doing damage, and they are commonly used beside Rock-weak teammates to preclude Rock Slide.
Diancie is a great Trick Room setter and attacker due to its great bulk and decent offensive stats. Diancie's ability Clear Body gives it an immunity to Intimidate, which is a common problem for most physical attackers. A Rock / Fairy typing is unique for a Trick Room setter, making Diancie not weak to the Pokemon that usually beat Trick Room teams, such as Marshadow and Tyranitar. Diancie's signature move, Diamond Storm, enables it to both hit foes hard and raise its Defense drastically, which makes it harder to take down after boosts. However, Diancie is weak to Ground- and Water-type attacks, two common type that, when backed with Diancie's low base HP, give it a bad matchup against rain. Diancie also deals next to no damage against Steel-types.
[SET]
name: Offensive Trick Room
move 1: Diamond Storm
move 2: Moonblast
move 3: Trick Room
move 4: Protect
item: Stone Plate / Weakness Policy
ability: Clear Body
nature: Brave
evs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
ivs: 0 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Diamond Storm is a spammable STAB move that has high accuracy, high Base Power, and a high chance to sharply raise Defense for each foe it hits. STAB Moonblast adds to the coverage, allowing Diancie to hit relevant Pokemon such as Mega Salamence, Hydreigon, and Terrakion and making it only walled by Steel-types. Given Diancie's low base Speed, Trick Room is essential speed control for it and its teammates, giving them a way to take
Set Details
========
Clear Body is the only ability for Diancie, giving it immunity to Intimidate. Maximum investment in HP and Attack lets Diancie hit harder and survive longer. A Brave nature and 0 Speed IVs are preferred to keep Diancie's Speed as low as possible. Stone Plate is preferred over Life Orb because Diamond Storm is the most used move and Life Orb recoil will affect Diancie's longevity. Weakness Policy is an option to make Diancie a solid sweeper, as Diamond Storm's Defense boosts can help it survive most super effective hits and it can then score some KOs in return.
Usage Tips
========
Diancie's vulnerability to common Pokemon makes it work best mid- or late-game after its threats have been eliminated or weakened. The only Pokemon that resist Diancie's STAB combination are Steel-types, so get rid of those immediately, and Diancie will be granted a paved road to finish the game. Diancie's bulk allows it to survive a super effective hit in a pinch and still be able to set Trick Room. Still, Diancie can be worn down pretty easily if double targeted with strong STAB moves, so using Protect on the turn it is supposed to set up Trick Room can be a good bait to give Diancie's partner a free hit or even KO on a foe. Potential Taunt users such as Tapu Koko and Tapu Lele can be 2HKOed by Diamond Storm. Diancie can be a good switch-in for certain resisted attacks such as Mega Salamence's Double-Edge and Hoopa's Hyperspace Fury. However, switching in too often isn't wise due to it lacking a recovery move.
Team Options
========
Fake Out and redirection support from Scrafty and Amonguss, respectively, prevents Diancie from being double targeted and lets it set Trick Room more safely. Amoonguss can take advantage of Trick Room, since it is very slow and able to spam Spore. Steel-type checks such as Mega Charizard Y, Mega Camerupt, Volcanion, Heatran, Scrafty, and Snorlax help Diancie's matchups a lot. The aforementioned Fire-types also help greatly against opposing Amoonguss, which can Spore Diancie before Trick Room goes up or Spore everything once Trick Room is set. Tapu Fini makes a great teammate, as it can alleviate the rain matchup, use Heal Pulse on Diancie to heal it back up if necessary, and provide Misty Terrain to stop Amoonguss from using Spore or prevent unlikely burns. Tapu Bulu is another great teammate for Diancie, as it can neutralize Earthquake damage and give indirect healing for Diancie thanks to Grassy Surge. Lastly, other Trick Room setters are mandatory for a full Trick Room team. Hoopa can be a good setter, since it doesn't let foes use Protect to stall out Trick Room turns. Porygon2, Bronzong, or Mew is useful for using Trick Room on the same turn Diancie uses it when there is one Trick Room turn left. Since most foes will use Protect to stall out Trick Room's effects, doing this will create a new Trick Room.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
========
Though entry hazards are rare and less helpful in Doubles matches, Diancie can be an effective user of Stealth Rock to help out teams that are weak to Mega Charizard Y or need chip damage to take down a Pokemon. Life Orb offers more raw power and enables Diancie to get several 2HKOs that Stone Plate doesn't, such as on Landorus-T and Tyranitar, but it will affect Diancie's longevity. Rockium Z is an option that can create a hole against the bulkiest threats that don't resist Rock while also bypassing Wide Guard. Earth Power is an option to hit Steel-types super effectively; however, Diancie is unlikely to land an OHKO even on super effective hits. Iapapa Berry is good for improving Diancie's longevity, as it lacks a recovery move.
Checks and Counters
========
**Steel-types**: Steel-types resist Diancie's STAB combination, meaning Pokemon such as Mega Metagross, Ferrothorn, Celesteela, Genesect, Aegislash, and Excadrill can safely switch in and OHKO it with their STAB moves. A special mention goes to Mega Scizor because it has access to priority Bullet Punch, which isn't affected by Trick Room.
**Ground-types**: Landorus-T and Zygarde are able to hit Diancie super effectively and take little damage from Diamond Storm. However, Diancie can gain several Defense boosts before taking damage from their Earthquake or Thousand Arrows.
**Water-types**: Rain sweepers such as Kingdra, Ludicolo, and Mega Swampert can OHKO Diancie with their rain-boosted STAB attacks. Azumarill can use Belly Drum in front of Diancie and then use +6 priority Aqua Jet to KO it. Bulky Water-types like Milotic and Tapu Fini can 2HKO Diancie without taking too much damage.
**Grass-types**: Tapu Bulu, Mega Venusaur, and Ferrothorn are able to tank Diancie's moves and beat it with their own STAB moves. Amoonguss's terrible Speed enables it to outspeed Diancie under Trick Room, use Clear Smog to get rid of Diancie's stat boosts, and spam Spore.
**Wide Guard**: Wide Guard users such as Celesteela, Aegislash, and Araquanid prevent Diamond Storm from doing damage, and they are commonly used beside Rock-weak teammates to preclude Rock Slide.
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