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Hoopa can do anything!
talkingtree note: The Checks and Counters section is to be added to the Diancie analysis, not meant as standalone replacements. The Overview replaces what's currently there. Aside from those, the rest of the analysis is a standard single-set addition.
[OVERVIEW]
Diancie shines in USM as a different sort of Trick Room setter. It has high natural bulk paired with a strong STAB move in Diamond Storm while also possessing a rare Rock / Fairy typing for a Trick Room setter, as most of which are Psychic-types. This typing is important because it leaves common anti-Trick Room Pokemon, such as Hoopa-U and Tyranitar, less effective versus Diancie. Diancie also has the ability to exert offensive pressure after it sets up Trick Room, hitting both opposing Pokemon with Diamond Storm or threatening anti-Trick Room Pokemon like Scrafty and Hoopa-U with Moonblast. While regular Diancie is a solid choice, it can also opt to hold Diancite and Mega Evolve to perform a different role entirely. Mega Diancie boasts high attacking and Speed stats in exchange for lesser defensive stats, becoming a formidable late-game cleaner thanks to its decent speed and nearly perfect coverage.
While Diancie's Rock / Fairy typing is nearly unique, it is not the most solid typing defensively, as it is weak to Water, Ground, and Steel-type attacks, all of which are common in the DOU metagame. Diancie also is often outclassed as a Trick Room setter by the more powerful Hoopa-U, by Gothitelle with its good bulk and utility, and by another differently typed and powerful Trick Room setter in Stakataka. Mega Diancie also sees lots of competition from the Island Guardians as Fairy-types and is hindered by the prominence of Mega Metagross in the DOU metagame.
[SET]
name: Mega Mixed Attacker
move 1: Diamond Storm
move 2: Moonblast
move 3: Earth Power / Substitute
move 4: Protect
item: Diancite
ability: Clear Body
nature: Hasty
evs: 28 HP / 140 Atk / 68 SpA / 20 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Diamond Storm is a great STAB move for Mega Diancie, as it hits both targets and has a good chance to raise Diancie's Defense by 2 stages for each hit. Moonblast is Diancie's other STAB option, as it covers Fighting-types like Scrafty and Terrakion and Dark-types like Tyranitar, while ensuring Diancie still has a strong STAB attack if it is affected by Intimidate. Earth Power allows Diancie to hit Steel-types like Aegislash and Stakataka, which resist both of its STAB moves. Substitute can be used in place of Earth Power to take advantage of free turns given when Diancie forces opposing Pokemon to switch out or use Protect. Diancie will be immune to Intimidate and other stat drops while behind a Substitute, which makes Landorus-T a much less viable switch-in. Nature Power is an option that gives Diancie some more flexibility, giving it a way to damage certain threats like Celesteela and Tapu Fini in Electric Terrain or Gastrodon and Swampert in Grassy Terrain. However, this is usually less reliable than Earth Power. Protect is a great move in Doubles, and Diancie is no exception to this rule, being able to stall out opposing speed control and field conditions while also allowing its partner to handle certain threats.
Set Details
========
28 HP and 20 Special Defense EVs are used in order to survive a Thunderbolt from Life Orb Tapu Koko in Electric Terrain. 68 Special Attack EVs allow Mega Diancie to OHKO maximum HP Heatran and uninvested Tapu Koko with Earth Power after one round of Life Orb recoil. Maximum Speed investment with a boosting nature is necessary to ensure Mega Diancie can outspeed everything slower than base 110 Speed and tie with Mega Metagross. The remaining EVs are placed into Attack to ensure that maximum damage is done with Diamond Storm. A Hasty nature is used in order to avoid lowering either offensive stat, and the drop in Defense is mitigated by Diamond Storm's ability to boost it.
Usage Tips
========
It can be advantageous to postpone Mega Evolution if regular Diancie's bulk is more valuable than the boost in its Attacking and Speed stats. It can also avoid Attack drops from Intimidate in its base forme thanks to Clear Body, so it is important to pay close attention to the current game state in order to keep Diancie as threatening as possible. Mega Diancie shines its brightest when it is using its great offensive stats and coverage to place large amounts of pressure on the opposing Pokemon. If Diancie does not threaten the foes with large amounts of damage, it's not worth leaving on the field. Mega Diancie's average defensive stats and poor defensive typing can make it difficult to actively switch in on opposing attacks. Therefore, it is best when switched in after a pivot move, like Genesect's U-turn, or after one of your other Pokemon is knocked out.
Team Options
========
Checks to Landorus-T, such as Tapu Fini, Kyurem-B, and Milotic are incredibly important on teams with Mega Diancie. Landorus-T can lower Mega Diancie's Attack with Intimidate, and outspeed it with a Choice Scarf all the while comfortably taking a -1 Diamond Storm and knocking out Diancie with Earthquake or Earth Power. Bulky Water-types, namely Tapu Fini, can comfortably take Diancie's attacks and do large damage in return, so a strong Electric-type like Tapu Koko or a strong Grass-type like Shaymin-S or Tapu Bulu is a good choice to pair with Mega Diancie. Mega Diancie by itself is incredibly weak to rain teams, as it is outsped and OHKOed by both Mega Swampert and Kingdra, the premier rain sweepers in Doubles OU. Good partners to assist in this matchup include Tapu Fini, Kyurem-B, and Tapu Bulu. Also, having a Pokemon with Tailwind such as Zapdos or a way to control the weather with a Pokemon like Alolan Ninetales can help mitigate the threat of rain teams. In a combination of the last three points, Tapu Bulu is a great partner for Mega Diancie. It is a soft check to Landorus-T because Grassy Terrain weakens Earthquake, and it beats Water-types, which helps versus rain and Tapu Fini. Even though Mega Diancie can carry Earth Power, checks for Steel-types like Aegislash, Celesteela, and Mega Metagross are very important. Mega Diancie will not pick up OHKOs versus any of these Pokemon, and it risks the Speed tie with Metagross. Strong Fire-types like Heatran or Ground-types like Landorus-T can perform this role. Steel-type Pokemon, such as Aegislash, Ferrothorn, and Celesteela, work well as partners for Mega Diancie, as they all resist Grass, Ferrothorn is neutral to Ground and resists Water, and Celesteela is immune to Ground, meaning they all can provide a good defensive switch-in for threats to Mega Diancie, while Diancie beats threatening Fire-types like Mega Charizard Y. Grass-type Pokemon like Tapu Bulu are major threats to Mega Diancie, so a Pokemon that beats Grass-types like Kyurem-B, Heatran, or Ferrothorn works well. Mega Diancie shines its brightest on more offensive teams, like Tapu Lele + Psychic-type + rain archetypes, that can efficiently and reliably deal with the threats that beat it. Mega Diancie pairs well with the potent defensive core of Zapdos and Tapu Fini, as it will benefit greatly from speed and Terrain control.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Checks and Counters
===================
**Faster Pokemon**: Pokemon like Deoxys-A, Tapu-Koko, and rain sweepers like Kingdra and Mega Swampert threaten to outspeed and do large damage to Mega Diancie, as Diancie's defensive stats are decreased upon Mega Evolving and it has no priority to handle faster Pokemon.
**Opposing Speed Control**: Opposing teams with rain, Trick Room, or Tailwind can thwart Mega Diancie's cleaning capabilities, as it does not have the bulk needed to take multiple hits if it is being outsped by both foes.
[OVERVIEW]
Diancie shines in USM as a different sort of Trick Room setter. It has high natural bulk paired with a strong STAB move in Diamond Storm while also possessing a rare Rock / Fairy typing for a Trick Room setter, as most of which are Psychic-types. This typing is important because it leaves common anti-Trick Room Pokemon, such as Hoopa-U and Tyranitar, less effective versus Diancie. Diancie also has the ability to exert offensive pressure after it sets up Trick Room, hitting both opposing Pokemon with Diamond Storm or threatening anti-Trick Room Pokemon like Scrafty and Hoopa-U with Moonblast. While regular Diancie is a solid choice, it can also opt to hold Diancite and Mega Evolve to perform a different role entirely. Mega Diancie boasts high attacking and Speed stats in exchange for lesser defensive stats, becoming a formidable late-game cleaner thanks to its decent speed and nearly perfect coverage.
While Diancie's Rock / Fairy typing is nearly unique, it is not the most solid typing defensively, as it is weak to Water, Ground, and Steel-type attacks, all of which are common in the DOU metagame. Diancie also is often outclassed as a Trick Room setter by the more powerful Hoopa-U, by Gothitelle with its good bulk and utility, and by another differently typed and powerful Trick Room setter in Stakataka. Mega Diancie also sees lots of competition from the Island Guardians as Fairy-types and is hindered by the prominence of Mega Metagross in the DOU metagame.
[SET]
name: Mega Mixed Attacker
move 1: Diamond Storm
move 2: Moonblast
move 3: Earth Power / Substitute
move 4: Protect
item: Diancite
ability: Clear Body
nature: Hasty
evs: 28 HP / 140 Atk / 68 SpA / 20 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Diamond Storm is a great STAB move for Mega Diancie, as it hits both targets and has a good chance to raise Diancie's Defense by 2 stages for each hit. Moonblast is Diancie's other STAB option, as it covers Fighting-types like Scrafty and Terrakion and Dark-types like Tyranitar, while ensuring Diancie still has a strong STAB attack if it is affected by Intimidate. Earth Power allows Diancie to hit Steel-types like Aegislash and Stakataka, which resist both of its STAB moves. Substitute can be used in place of Earth Power to take advantage of free turns given when Diancie forces opposing Pokemon to switch out or use Protect. Diancie will be immune to Intimidate and other stat drops while behind a Substitute, which makes Landorus-T a much less viable switch-in. Nature Power is an option that gives Diancie some more flexibility, giving it a way to damage certain threats like Celesteela and Tapu Fini in Electric Terrain or Gastrodon and Swampert in Grassy Terrain. However, this is usually less reliable than Earth Power. Protect is a great move in Doubles, and Diancie is no exception to this rule, being able to stall out opposing speed control and field conditions while also allowing its partner to handle certain threats.
Set Details
========
28 HP and 20 Special Defense EVs are used in order to survive a Thunderbolt from Life Orb Tapu Koko in Electric Terrain. 68 Special Attack EVs allow Mega Diancie to OHKO maximum HP Heatran and uninvested Tapu Koko with Earth Power after one round of Life Orb recoil. Maximum Speed investment with a boosting nature is necessary to ensure Mega Diancie can outspeed everything slower than base 110 Speed and tie with Mega Metagross. The remaining EVs are placed into Attack to ensure that maximum damage is done with Diamond Storm. A Hasty nature is used in order to avoid lowering either offensive stat, and the drop in Defense is mitigated by Diamond Storm's ability to boost it.
Usage Tips
========
It can be advantageous to postpone Mega Evolution if regular Diancie's bulk is more valuable than the boost in its Attacking and Speed stats. It can also avoid Attack drops from Intimidate in its base forme thanks to Clear Body, so it is important to pay close attention to the current game state in order to keep Diancie as threatening as possible. Mega Diancie shines its brightest when it is using its great offensive stats and coverage to place large amounts of pressure on the opposing Pokemon. If Diancie does not threaten the foes with large amounts of damage, it's not worth leaving on the field. Mega Diancie's average defensive stats and poor defensive typing can make it difficult to actively switch in on opposing attacks. Therefore, it is best when switched in after a pivot move, like Genesect's U-turn, or after one of your other Pokemon is knocked out.
Team Options
========
Checks to Landorus-T, such as Tapu Fini, Kyurem-B, and Milotic are incredibly important on teams with Mega Diancie. Landorus-T can lower Mega Diancie's Attack with Intimidate, and outspeed it with a Choice Scarf all the while comfortably taking a -1 Diamond Storm and knocking out Diancie with Earthquake or Earth Power. Bulky Water-types, namely Tapu Fini, can comfortably take Diancie's attacks and do large damage in return, so a strong Electric-type like Tapu Koko or a strong Grass-type like Shaymin-S or Tapu Bulu is a good choice to pair with Mega Diancie. Mega Diancie by itself is incredibly weak to rain teams, as it is outsped and OHKOed by both Mega Swampert and Kingdra, the premier rain sweepers in Doubles OU. Good partners to assist in this matchup include Tapu Fini, Kyurem-B, and Tapu Bulu. Also, having a Pokemon with Tailwind such as Zapdos or a way to control the weather with a Pokemon like Alolan Ninetales can help mitigate the threat of rain teams. In a combination of the last three points, Tapu Bulu is a great partner for Mega Diancie. It is a soft check to Landorus-T because Grassy Terrain weakens Earthquake, and it beats Water-types, which helps versus rain and Tapu Fini. Even though Mega Diancie can carry Earth Power, checks for Steel-types like Aegislash, Celesteela, and Mega Metagross are very important. Mega Diancie will not pick up OHKOs versus any of these Pokemon, and it risks the Speed tie with Metagross. Strong Fire-types like Heatran or Ground-types like Landorus-T can perform this role. Steel-type Pokemon, such as Aegislash, Ferrothorn, and Celesteela, work well as partners for Mega Diancie, as they all resist Grass, Ferrothorn is neutral to Ground and resists Water, and Celesteela is immune to Ground, meaning they all can provide a good defensive switch-in for threats to Mega Diancie, while Diancie beats threatening Fire-types like Mega Charizard Y. Grass-type Pokemon like Tapu Bulu are major threats to Mega Diancie, so a Pokemon that beats Grass-types like Kyurem-B, Heatran, or Ferrothorn works well. Mega Diancie shines its brightest on more offensive teams, like Tapu Lele + Psychic-type + rain archetypes, that can efficiently and reliably deal with the threats that beat it. Mega Diancie pairs well with the potent defensive core of Zapdos and Tapu Fini, as it will benefit greatly from speed and Terrain control.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Checks and Counters
===================
**Faster Pokemon**: Pokemon like Deoxys-A, Tapu-Koko, and rain sweepers like Kingdra and Mega Swampert threaten to outspeed and do large damage to Mega Diancie, as Diancie's defensive stats are decreased upon Mega Evolving and it has no priority to handle faster Pokemon.
**Opposing Speed Control**: Opposing teams with rain, Trick Room, or Tailwind can thwart Mega Diancie's cleaning capabilities, as it does not have the bulk needed to take multiple hits if it is being outsped by both foes.
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