NU Omastar

[OVERVIEW]

Omastar is a threatening offensive lead that is able to punish opposing leads in Archeops, Steelix, and Garbodor with powerful STAB Water-type attacks. Omastar gets access to multiple forms of entry hazards in Spikes, Toxic Spikes, and Stealth Rock. Its ability Weak Armor lets it outspeed almost any Pokemon in the metagame after a physical hit, allowing it to get off additional entry hazards or dish out damage with Surf or Scald. However, below-average HP and Special Defense along with weaknesses to common Grass- and Fighting-type moves force Omastar to use Focus Sash. Omastar can function as a setup sweeper thanks to Shell Smash but faces stiff competition with Barbaracle, which has better coverage options. Omastar's Swift Swim sets also leave much to be desired, as Kabutops and Ludicolo combined have much better offensive capabilities and synergy than what Omastar has to offer. Omastar also faces competition from other leads and hazard stackers such as Archeops, Qwilfish, and Garbodor, as they all have something to offer over Omastar in the form of greater Speed, access to Taunt, or better defensive capabilities.

[SET]
name: Lead
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Spikes
move 3: Surf / Scald
move 4: Shell Smash
item: Focus Sash
ability: Weak Armor
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Stealth Rock is the most vital entry hazard and heavily damages common hazard removers in Golbat and Cryogonal. Spikes gives Omastar the ability to stack entry hazards to quickly whittle the opponent's Pokemon down for fast attackers to finish them off. Surf is the preferred STAB move for its ability to OHKO Xatu at +2. Scald can be used for its chance to burn opposing leads such as Archeops, bypassing their Focus Sashes and allowing Omastar to beat them. Hydro Pump can be used for more firepower and to OHKO Hitmontop after a Shell Smash, but lacks the accuracy to be consistent as well as a chance to burn the target. Shell Smash is used to let Omastar beat hazard removers before they can do their job. At +2, Omastar can OHKO Xatu, 2HKO physically defensive Golbat, and 2HKO Cryogonal with Surf. Ice Beam can be used over Spikes, as a +2 Ice Beam can OHKO any Grass-type bar Virizion and can 2HKO specially defensive Golbat. Toxic Spikes can also be used over Spikes to give Omastar a major advantage against bulkier setup sweepers such as Meloetta.

Set Details
========

A Timid nature and 252 Speed and Special Attack EVs maximize Omastar's offense and Speed. Weak Armor, once activated, lets Timid Omastar outspeed Accelgor, Choice Scarf Hitmonlee, and Rotom-C. Focus Sash gives Omastar the ability to survive any one attack, including Fighting-type moves and special attacks from strong pivots such as Rotom-C, and therefore set up more entry hazards or get off an additional attack if the opposing Pokemon doesn't have a priority move to finish it off.


Usage Tips
========
Lead with Omastar when there are no Pokemon that can disrupt or prevent its setup, such as Encore Whimsicott, Sleep Powder users like Lilligant and Vivillon, and Trick Choice Scarf Rotom-C. Other Pokemon such as Cinccino, which can OHKO Omastar despite Focus Sash, must also be accounted for. If Xatu or an entry hazard remover such as Hitmonlee or Golbat is on the opponent's team, you can instantly apply pressure by either setting up an entry hazard against a hazard remover or attempting to lure these Pokemon out by setting up entry hazards and then using Shell Smash on the switch, giving Omastar the offensive capacity to OHKO them. Ideal Pokemon to set hazards against are physical attackers such as Drapion, Sneasel, and Emboar. Using Volt Switch or U-turn from teammates can give Omastar an easier time getting opportunities to set up entry hazards. Once the needed amount of entry hazards has been set, focusing on keeping hazards up is of the utmost importance. If the pressure needed to preserve Omastar's hazards can be kept up, checks to your Pokemon will be worn down to the point where they can no longer consistently wall your Pokemon's attacks.


Team Options
========
Pokemon that punish or prevent entry hazard removal, such as Braviary to punish Defog and a Ghost-type like Spiritomb or Mismagius to prevent Rapid Spin, are the most recommendable partners for Omastar. Many Pokemon that are immune to or resist Water-type moves, such as Seismitoad, Vaporeon, Toxicroak, Liligant, and Virizion, can check or set up on Omastar. Because of this, using fast and powerful attackers such as Rotom-C, Sceptile, and Meloetta is helpful to easily threaten to OHKO these Pokemon. Meloetta and Rotom-C in particular are exceptionally helpful because of their ability to pivot, and they take major advantage of having their answers whittled down by Omastar's entry hazards. Other offensive threats that take advantage of Omastar’s entry hazard stacking, such as Sneasel, Emboar, and setup sweepers like Houndoom and Delphox, can become serious problems to the opponent once more than one form of entry hazard has been placed.


[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Knock Off can be used to remove opposing Pokemon's valuable items such as Golbat's Eviolite and Slowking's Assault Vest, but this wastes a valuable turn Omastar could have used to set an entry hazard, and Knock Off takes up a moveslot needed to boost Omastar's offensive presence with Shell Smash or Ice Beam. A defensive entry hazard setter set with Shuca Berry and Shell Armor is an option, as this set gives Omastar the capacity to switch into physical attackers like Drapion and Rhydon and set entry hazards while threatening to burn them with Scald. However, this is typically done better by bulkier entry hazard setters such as Qwilfish, Garbodor, Steelix, and Rhydon, which generally have more things to switch into. An offensively oriented Shell Smash set can be put to good use but is generally done better by Barbaracle. A Swift Swim sweeper set with Life Orb can be used but generally isn't recommended thanks to common Snow Warning users, multiple popular switch-ins to Water-type attacks, and the more preferred duo of Kabutops and Ludicolo, which do anything this set tries to achieve more effectively.


Checks and Counters
===================

**Grass-type Pokemon**: Grass-types such as Virizion, Whimsicott, Sceptile, and Rotom-C have an easy time getting around Omastar thanks to their resistance to Water and 4x super effective STAB moves. Trick Choice Scarf Rotom-C, Encore Whimsicott, and Sleep Powder Lilligant in particular are worrisome because they can disrupt Omastar's capacity to set up a Shell Smash or entry hazards. Any of the above do need to beware of Ice Beam, as it could do heavy damage to them.

**Fighting-type Pokemon**: Common Fighting-type Pokemon such as Hitmonlee, Virizion, Toxicroak, and Machamp all have advantages against Omastar. Hitmonlee and Hitmontop hit Omastar with super effective STAB attacks and can finish it off with Rapid Spin while removing its set entry hazards. Virizion and Toxicroak use Omastar as setup bait, and Machamp can activate Guts by forcing Omastar to use its Focus Sash only to finish it off with Bullet Punch. Bar Virizion and Toxicroak, however, these Fighting-types can't reliably switch into Omastar without risking a Shell Smash and taking a boosted Surf.

**Electric-type Pokemon**: In addition to Rotom-C, other Electric-types such as Rotom, Vikavolt, Lanturn, and Alolan Raichu can use Volt Switch to bring Omastar down to its Focus Sash while pivoting into an entry hazard remover. Choice Scarf Rotom can even outspeed +2 Omastar.

**Entry Hazard Removers**: The aforementioned Hitmonlee and Hitmontop are able to remove Omastar's entry hazards as well as threaten to take it out at the same time. Cryogonal does this even better by also having reliable recovery, great Special Defense to reliably take Surf, and Freeze-Dry to take Omastar down to its Focus Sash. Specially defensive Golbat is able to come in on Omastar's attacks and remove stacked entry hazards safely. In addition, If Golbat is using a faster set with Taunt, it shuts down almost anything Omastar can do against it.

**Xatu**: Xatu is the tier's best entry hazard preventer thanks to Magic Bounce bouncing back any entry hazards. Xatu also has a solid Speed tier and can pressure Omastar with Grass Knot and Thunder Wave. However, Xatu can't reliably switch into Omastar without risking it using Shell Smash, after which Surf OHKOes Xatu. This makes it very hard for Xatu to check Omastar.

**Cinccino**: While not the most common, Cinccino deserves a special mention thanks to Skill Link and Bullet Seed giving it the unique ability to KO Omastar in one turn even with its Focus Sash intact. It must watch out, however, as its below average defenses mean it can't switch into even unboosted attacks from Omastar without taking heavy damage.
 
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SPACE FORCE meeps

LAW & ORDER!
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not qc but i have fair experience using omastar so just some thoughts, still ultimately up to qc discretion tho

i think sr should be the only move listed for moveslot 1, it's a perfectly reliable setter so i don't feel it's too necessary to have another slot dedicated to setting up hazards, especially considering this type of set will be used on offensive/hyper offensive teams.

moveslot 4 i think shell smash should definitely be listed, maybe as ice beam / shell smash / toxic spikes (shell smash could even be listed first). shell smash is very useful particularly vs potential xatu switch-ins, as scald can ohko xatu at +2. it's also good for pressuring golbat and cryogonal, as phys def variants of golbat are 2hko'd by +2 scald, and offensive cryogonals are also 2hko'd, which can give omastar more freedom to setup hazards.

i think timid should be the only nature listed, the speed threshold at +2 is especially important as with timid, omastar is able to outspeed up to base speed 89 at +1, which includes rotom-c, sawk, medicham, braviary, hitmonlee, etc., while modest +2 cannot outspeed any of these (also timid +2 outspeeds accelgor), so the additional speed is useful for setting up one last layer of hazards before dying.


i'm not sure if listing a shell smash set is really neccesary, i feel like it's outclassed by barbaracle as a shell smash sweeper, which is faster and more reliable at beating bulky waters, something that omastar struggles to do. the only advantage omastar has is being able to ohko cofagrigus. set may be better off being listed in oo, with the mention that the role is generally performed better by barbaracle
 
Deslash Toxic Spikes and just keep it mentioned in the moves section. Make sure to bring up that it should be used as an alternative to Spikes too because triple hazards is unnecessary and two hazards should be enough to cover all matchups anyways. Timid > Modest too for the reasons meeps listed above.

1/3
 

erisia

Innovative new design!
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I kind of disagree about not having a Shell Smash set or an offensive one in general. Shell Smash + Hydro Vortex is pretty much impossible to tank unless you have a Water-immunity or a Ludicolo or something dumb. Being a powerful special attacker is also a decent niche over Barbaracle and Kabutops. I think I'd prefer a Shell Smash set to a Rain set since Kabutops + Ludicolo is generally better since it doesn't stack as many weaknesses (mention this in OO regardless of what happens), but I haven't used this enough to really commit to it. Could we have some other people weigh in on this?

You also need to mention Weak Armor in the Overview; outspeeding most unboosted Pokemon after taking a hit is a large part of Omastar's niche since it usually lets it get an extra layer up compared to stuff like Garbodor / Qwilfish. You also need to mention its Grass-type weakness in the Overview alongside its poor special bulk.

Mention in OO that the defensive set should use Shell Armor since it's too slow to really take advantage of Speed boosts without investment and immunity to crits is a nice quality of life improvement.
 

Colonel M

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Hey there.

I really think the set should look like this:

[SET]
name: Lead
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Spikes
move 3: Surf / Scald
move 4: Shell Smash / Ice Beam
item: Focus Sash
ability: Weak Armor
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 Def / 252 Spe

- Omastar has two really big niches over a lot of suicide leads like Weak Armor Kabutops and Weak Armor Garbodor. First, Omastar obviously has Stealth Rock and Spikes. Secondly, it can quickly threaten a lot of things with Shell Smash since it boosts Speed and Special Attack - which means Omastar is less reliant on Weak Armor.
- This literally can beat Xatu with a boosted Surf:

+2 252 SpA Omastar Surf vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Xatu: 361-426 (108 - 127.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Which means you can get hazards freely on the next turn so long as your opponent didn't use U-turn / Volt Switch on Omastar / etc. Scald is still an option if you want to gamble a chance of making Steelix useless, but it can fail to OHKO Xatu after Shell Smash and the burn has to be part of a high roll too on Steelix. This is probably best alongside Ice Beam.

I can't say I've personally used Hydro Pump, but one advantage Hydro Pump has over Surf is that it has a guaranteed chance to 2HKO Slowbro provided they don't have Leftovers (+2 252 SpA Omastar Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Slowbro: 197-232 (50 - 58.8%) -- 74.6% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery), but the accuracy issue is kind of bad. I'd just place this move in Moves.

Either way, I think Stealth Rock / Spikes / Surf / Shell Smash is the best set, and it should be reflected first. What's in the slashes from there is kind of irrelevant IMO.
 
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SPACE FORCE meeps

LAW & ORDER!
is a Tiering Contributoris a Past SCL Champion
ok i'm qc now!

so i still haven't seen enough success from shell smash sweeping omastar for it to warrant its own set, barbaracle is definitely the more potent rock/water shell smash sweeper, and turtonator is emerging as a more solid special shell smash sweeper. i really don't see what advantages there are to using omastar over barbaracle as a shell smash sweeper outside of ohkoing vileplume (which barbaracle can do with z-stone edge anyways)

-----------------------

under usage tips i feel you should mention in general it's unsafe to lead omastar when the opponent has a fast grass-type such as sceptile/whimsicott, or cincinno as they can either limit or prevent omastar from setting up hazards. also explain how omastar should be played if it is not used as a lead, such as switching in on weaker physical attacks like knock off from drapion, or omastar can be brought in with u-turn/volt switch support, which may allow for omastar to more comfortably setup hazards

-----------------------

some stuff in regards to the c&c section: i think with the solid prevalence of grass-types in the tier, the "grass-type coverage" section should be "grass-type pokemon", especially because relatively, cinccino and xatu with grass knot are relatively uncommon compared to pokemon like sceptile or whimsicott, neither of which are currently explicitly mentioned in your analysis. of course mention that they should be wary of ice beam, since whimsicott has a chance to be ohko'd and sceptile takes a healthy amount of damage as well.

although i do think both cinccino and xatu still deserve mention as their own subsections. for xatu, mention that with proper prediction it can bounce back hazards, and they may also use grass knot to dent omastar and prevent it from setting up hazards. and for cinccino, just mention how i cant pressure omastar with access to bullet seed, completely preventing it from setting up hazards.

i'd also add a c&c subsection for electric-types, since there are a decent number of relevant ones outside of rotom-mow, such as rotom-n, vikavolt, and eelektross, all of which are capable of pivoting and preventing omastar from setting up multiple layers of hazards

golbat deserves a mention in the hazard removers section as well since it is the tier's premier defogger, and spdef variants are capable of toxic stalling omastar (even physdef variants can if they switch-in as omastar sets up rocks).

so there are a number of subsections, so in regards to how prevalent and how threatening they are to omastar, i'd make the list in this order: grass-type pokemon, fighting-type pokemon, electric-type pokemon, hazard removers, xatu, cincinno


looks good otherwise, 2/3 once changes are implemented
 

Punchshroom

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[OVERVIEW]

Omastar is a threatening offensive lead able to punish opposing leads in Archeops, Steelix and Garbodor with powerful STAB Water attacks. As an Offensive lead Omastar gets access to multiple forms of entry hazards in Spikes, Toxic Spikes and Stealth Rocks. The ability Weak Armor lets you outspeed almost any pokemon in the metagame after a physical hit allowing you to get off additional entry hazards. Below average Health, Special Defense and 4x weakness to Grass makes it prone to any special attacker forcing it to use a Focus Sash. Omastar can function as a set up sweeper thanks to the move Shell Smash but faces stiff competition with Barbaracle who has better coverage options. Omastar also faces competition from other leads and hazard stackers such as Archeops, Garbodor and Qwilfish as they all have something else to offer over Omastar.
- Mention that the newfound Speed granted by Weak Armor may also allow Omastar to get off additional damage.
- You might as well also list Omastar's Swift Swim competition in Kabutops and Ludicolo, which have untouchable Speed in the Rain and complement each other better than Omastar can.
- Those are not reasons Omastar uses Focus Sash; it'd use Sash regardless to survive Fighting-types too, as well as better make use of Weak Armor. However, you can mention those negative traits as reasons that hold back Omastar's defensive viability, making it hard to use its resistances and leave it defensively vulnerable to a lot of common attackers (not just limited to Grass-types).
- What specifically do they offer over Omastar? (immediate Speed, Taunt, greater defensive merit)

[SET]
name: Lead
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Spikes
move 3: Surf / Scald
move 4: Shell Smash / Ice Beam
item: Focus Sash
ability: Weak Armor
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 Def / 252 Spe

Ngl, I can't see the point of Ice Beam on a non-Shell Smash Omastar, or the point of using a non-Shell Smash Omastar in the first place; if anything you should've slashed Ice Beam after Spikes. However, Ice Beam doesn't outweigh the usefulness of any of these moves to warrant being slashed, so I'd just list Ice Beam in Moves.

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Stealth Rock is the most vital form of entry hazard as it damages common hazard removers in Golbat and Cryogonal. Spikes give you the ability to stack entry hazards when the opportunity is given. These will quickly whittle the opponents pokemon down for fast attackers to finish them off. Surf is the preferred STAB for its ability to OHKO Xatu at +2. Scald can be used for its chance to burn opposing leads such as Archeops their Focus Sash allowing you to beat them instantly. Hydro Pump can be used for more firepower but lacks accuracy as well as a chance to burn the opponent. Shell Smash is used to beat hazard removers before they can do their job. At +2 you can OHKO Xatu, 2HKO Defensive Golbat and 2HKO Cryogonal with a STAB water move. Ice Beam can be preferred over Shell Smash as it can 2HKO any Grass type pokemon bar Virizion and still heavily damage Xatu. Toxic spikes can be used over Spikes as it would give you a major advantage against bulkier set up pokemon such as Meloetta.
- An example of Hydro Pump's power being relevant is its ability to OHKO Hitmontop after a Shell Smash, but obviously emphasize that its imperfect accuracy can reduce Omastar's overall consistency.
- Call it physically defensive Golbat; your phrasing may lead viewers to believe that +2 Surf can 2HKO specially defensive Golbat (which it doesn't), or that there is an "offensive" Golbat variant.
- Note that Ice Beam can 2HKO specially defensive Golbat after +2, but is only really worth considering should the team have a substantial Virizion weakness, and is unnecessary otherwise.

Set Details
========
Timid Nature and 252 Speed and Special Attack EV investment maximizes your offense and speed. The Timid Nature is preferred as it lets you out speed neutral nature Aurorus but also uninvested Golbat, Uxie and Xatu. With Weak Armor active you even outspeed Scarfed Hitmonlee and Accelgor. Weak Armor is the preferred ability as it doubles your speed after being hit by U-turn or other physical attacks. Focus Sash gives you the ability to survive special attacks from strong pivots such as Rotom-Mow to still place an entry hazard down.
- I don't think any of these Pokemon would be outslowing Omastar; they tend to run enough Speed for mons like Adamant Emboar and ironically Omastar itself. Honestly, Omastar's nature lends itself more towards outspeeding foes after a Shell Smash / Weak Armor boost, as it allows it to outrun Pokemon such as Choice Scarf Rotom-Mow, as well as Choice Scarf Hitmonlee and Accelgor like you've already mentioned.
- Focus Sash lets Omastar survive attacks in general, especially against Fighting-types as Weak Armor allows Omastar to get off two attacks against them, unless they have priority moves.


Usage Tips
========
Lead this when no Grass type pokemon such as Rotom-Mow, Whimsicott or Sceptile are on the opponents team as they can very easily force you into your Focus Sash. Other pokemon such as Cincinno must also be accounted for as it can OHKO past Focus Sash. If an Xatu or Hazard remover such as Hitmonlee or Golbat is on the opponents team you should prioritize removing it before starting to stack entry hazards. Ideal pokemon to set hazards on are physical attackers such as Drapion. As Omastar can't set entry hazards on anything using partners with Volt-Switch/U-turn should give you an easier time getting those opportunities. Once the needed or possible amount of entry hazards have been set, focusing on keeping them up is of utter most importance. Constantly having pokemon on the field to pressure any hazard remover or have pokemon in the back to discourage hazard removal from ever taking place will give you a win condition in the long run. If this pressure can be kept, many pokemon on your team would start to see any opposing checks worn down to the point where they can no longer consistently wall your pokemons attacks.
- Pokemon forcing Omastar into its Focus Sash is no big deal; what Omastar needs to watch out for are opponents that can disrupt or thwart its setup. Specify Trick users (Rotom-Mow), Encore Whimsicott, sleep users such as Lilligant and Vivillon, and Cinccino as you've mentioned, as Pokemon that could trip it up. Faster special attackers such as Sceptile and Meloetta are of secondary concern.
- That's hardly the game plan I would go for with Omastar if I saw those Pokemon. I would either set up entry hazards to try and bait out Xatu or Golbat and then Shell Smash to threaten them, or I would just go straight for Shell Smash against their immediate switch-in and force them back out. I would probably even attempt to Shell Smash against Hitmonlee switch-ins as +2 Water STAB move OHKOes while -1 Def Omastar survives Adamant Life Orb Mach Punch with health to spare. The only entry hazard removers I would have Omastar watch out for are Cryogonal and Hitmontop, though even Hitmontop may not be a huge concern if Omastar is carrying Hydro Pump.
- Is Drapion the only one you can think of? Omastar can set up against mons like Sneasel and even Emboar, for pete's sake.
- I feel that this point is better off mentioned in Team Options if anything.

Team Options
========
Pokemon to prevent hazard removal such as Braviary to punish Defog and Ghost types like Spiritomb or Mismagius to prevent Rapid Spin are the most recommendable. Fast Offensive threats that take advantage of hazard stack such as Sneasle or Scarfed Rotom-Mow can become a serious problem once more then one form of entry hazard has been placed. Offensive Pivots such as Rotom-Mow and Meloetta can become good partners as they not only give the ability to pivot around but also whittle down their answers more effectively thanks to your entry hazards. Most set up pokemon enjoy having entry hazard stacked on the opposing side of the field. Houndoom and Delphox in particular enjoys having their answers worn by Stealth Rock and Spikes before utilizing Nasty Plot or Calm Mind respectively.
- As you may have noticed, Omastar can risk losing momentum against threats that are resistant or immune to Water, such as Seismitoad, Toxicroak, Ludicolo, Z-Celebrate Vaporeon, Lilligant, and Virizion. Pokemon that can help neutralize these threats make for good teammates.


[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
The move Knock Off can be used to remove opposing items such as Golbats Eviolite or Slowkings Assault Vest but also wastes a valuable turn you could have set an entry hazard and takes up a moveslot needed for Omastars Offensive presence with Shell Smash or Ice Beam. A defensive entry hazards setter set is a viable option with Shuca Berry as it gives you the capacity to switch into physical attackers like Drapion and set entry hazards while threatening to burn with Scald. Shell Armor is the preferred ability on this set as it doesn't lower your defenses and ensure you won't be crit by the pokemon you are meant to lay entry hazards against. An attack oriented Shell Smash set can be put to good use but is generally done better by Barbaracle. A Swift Swim weather abuser set with Life Orb can be used but generally isn't recommendable thanks to Snow Warning users, multiple water switchins as well as the more preferred duo of Kabutops and Ludicolo who do anything this set did try to achieve but more effectively.
- Note that defensive Omastar faces competition from more defensively capable entry hazard setters such as Garbodor, Qwilfish, Steelix, and Rhydon.

**Grass-type pokemon**: Grass types such as Virizion, Whimsicott, Sceptile and Rotom-Mow have an easy time getting around you thanks to 4x super effective coverage but should beware of Ice Beam as it could OHKO Whimsicott and do heavy damage to the others.
So first off it's Grass-type Pokemon. Second off is how they also resist Water-type moves, lessening their risk against Shell Smash-boosted attacks. You may also list out Trick Rotom-Mow, Encore Whimsicott, and Sleep Powder Lilligant as particular examples that can mess up Omastar,

**Fighting-type pokemon**: Common fight type pokemon such as Hitmonlee, Virizion, Toxicroak and Machamp all have advantages against Omastar. Hitmonlee and Hitmontop hit with super effective attacks and finish Omastar off with Rapid Spin while removing set entry hazards. Virizion/Toxicroak use Omastar as set up bait and Machamp can get Flame Orb going after forcing Omastar into Focus Sash only to finish it off with Bullet Punch.
Note that the Fighting-types that do not resist Water risk losing to Shell Smash if they switch in, and win primarily in a 1v1 scenario.

**Electric-type pokemon**: Besides Rotom-Mow other Electric types such as regular Rotom, Vikavolt, Lanturn and Raichu-Alola can bring Omastar down to its Focus Sash without losing on momentum thanks to Volt-Switch. Scarfed regular Rotom can even outspeed Omastar after a +2 Boost in Speed.
Well they don't exactly 'lose momentum' by spamming other Electric-type moves in the first place; I get that you really mean 'gain momentum by Volt Switching to a Pokemon with hazard removal', but you should really specify this.

**Entry Hazard Removers**: The aforementioned Hitmonlee and Hitmontop are both able to remove entry hazards Omastar placed down as well as threaten to take it out at the same time. Cryogonal does this even better by also having reliable recovery and great Special Defense to reliably take Surf whilst having Freeze Dry to put Omastar into its Focus Sash. (remove space)
Golbat can do the same thing but with Defog as Special Defensive Golbat its able to come in on your attacks and remove stacked entry hazards. With Toxic it can be a massive nuisance to deal with if Omastar isn't running Shell Smash while Taunt shuts down almost anything Omastar can do against it.
Omastar should always run Shell Smash, but do emphasize that Golbat can stop Omastar from getting past it with a faster Taunt, provided Omastar hasn't already Shell Smashed beforehand.

**Xatu**: Xatu is the tiers best entry hazard preventer thanks to the ability Magic Bounce, Bouncing back any entry hazards. Xatu also has a solid Speed tier and movepool to further pressure Omastar almost outspeeding any Omastar without any investment and dealing heavy damage to it with Grass Knot. Sadly, Xatu can't reliably switch into Omastars Surf as it 2HKO's and would OHKO after Shell Smash.
Xatu is an extremely shaky check, since the only way it even beats Omastar 1v1 is if it Thunder Waves on Omastar's Shell Smash (of which you didn't even mention); if anything the pressure is on Xatu, not Omastar.

QC 3/3
 

frenzyplant

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1/2 :)

add remove (comments)

(remember to change the tag to Copyediting. also, be wary of using "you" when you mean "Omastar", and remember that "Pokemon" is capitalized)


[OVERVIEW]

Omastar is a threatening offensive lead able to punish opposing leads in Archeops, Steelix, (comma) and Garbodor with powerful STAB Water-type attacks. As an Offensive lead (you already mention this) Omastar gets access to multiple forms of entry hazards in Spikes, Toxic Spikes, (comma) and Stealth Rock. Omastar's Rocks. The ability Weak Armor lets you it outspeed almost any Pokemon in the metagame after a physical hit, (comma) allowing you it to get off additional entry hazards or dish out damage with Surf. However, below-average Health, HP and Special Defense and along with weaknesses to common Grass- and Fighting-type pokemon moves force it Omastar to use a Focus Sash. Omastar can function as a set up setup sweeper thanks to the move Shell Smash but faces stiff competition with Barbaracle, (comma) which who (use which/that to refer to Pokemon, not who) has better coverage options. Omastar's Swift Swim ability sets also leaves much to be desired, (comma) as Kabutops and Ludicolo combined (do you mean both?) have much better offensive capabilities and synergy than synergie then Omastar has to offer. (because Swift Swim is not a main set, this may not be important to mention) Omastar also faces competition from other leads and hazard stackers such as Archeops, Qwilfish, (comma) and Garbodor, (comma) as they all have something else to offer over Omastar in the form of greater Speed, acces access to Taunt, (comma) and better defensive capabilities, respectively.

[SET]
name: Lead
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Spikes
move 3: Surf / Scald
move 4: Shell Smash
item: Focus Sash
ability: Weak Armor
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Stealth Rock is the most vital form of entry hazard as it and damages common hazard removers in Golbat and Cryogonal. Spikes gives Omastar give you (Spikes, the move, is treated as singular) the ability to stack entry hazards when the opportunity is given. These will (implied) to quickly whittle the opponents pokemon opponent's Pokemon down for fast attackers to finish them off. Surf is the preferred STAB move for its ability to OHKO Xatu at +2. Scald can be used for its chance to burn opposing leads such as Archeops, (comma) bypassing their Focus Sash and allowing you Omastar to beat them instantly. Hydro Pump can be used for more firepower to OHKO Hitmontop after a Shell Smash but lacks the accuracy to be consistent as well as lacking a chance to burn the opponent. target. Shell Smash is used to let Omastar beat hazard removers before they can do their job. At +2, (comma) you Omastar can OHKO Xatu, 2HKO physically defensive Golbat, (comma) and 2HKO Cryogonal with Surf. Ice Beam can be preferred used over Spikes, (comma) as a +2 Ice Beam it can OHKO any Grass type pokemon Grass-type Pokemon bar Virizion and can 2HKO specially defensive Golbat. Toxic spikes Spikes can also be used over Spikes as it would to give you Omastar a major advantage against bulkier set up pokemon setup sweepers such as Meloetta.

Set Details
========

Timid Nature A Timid nature and 252 Speed and Special Attack EVs maximize investment maximizes your Omastar's offense and Speed. The Timid Nature combined with Weak Armor, once activated, (commas) lets Timid Omastar outspeed Accelgor and Choice Scarf Hitmonlee and Rotom-C. you outspeed Scarfed Hitmonlee, Scarfed Rotom-Mow and Accelgor. (since the focus is on Weak Armor's boosts, move this sentence to after the next one) Weak Armor is the preferred ability as because it doubles Omastar's Speed your speed after being it is hit by U-turn or another physical attack. other physical attacks. Focus Sash gives you Omastar the ability to survive any attack, including Fighting-type moves and special attacks from strong pivots such as Rotom-Mow as well as Fighting-type moves to still place an entry hazard down Rotom-C, and set up more entry hazards or get off an additional attack if they don't the opposing Pokemon doesn't have a priority move to finish you it off.


Usage Tips
========

Lead this with Omastar when there are no pokemon Pokemon that can disrupt or prevent its setup, you from setting up such as Encore Whimsicott, Sleep Powder users in Liligant Lilligant and Vivillon, (comma) and Trick Choice Scarf Rotom-C. Choice Scarfed Rotom-Mow. Other pokemon Pokemon such as Cincinno Cinccino, which can OHKO Omastar past Focus Sash, must also be accounted for as it can OHKO past Focus Sash. If an Xatu or an entry hazard remover such as Hitmonlee or Golbat is on the opponents opponent's team, (comma) you could can instantly apply pressure by either setting up placing an entry hazard against a hazard remover Hitmonlee or Golbat or attempting attempt to lure these Pokemon out by setting up entry hazards and then using Shell Smash on the switch, (comma) up giving you Omastar the offensive capasity capacity to OHKO them before placing down entry hazards. Ideal pokemon Pokemon to set hazards on against are physical attackers such as Drapion, Sneasle Sneasel, (comma) and Emboar. As Omastar can't set entry hazards on anything, (I don't get this clause, this wording can be interpreted as "it can never set entry hazards." do you mean it is limited in its opportunities to set up?) using partners with Volt-Switch/U-turn should Volt Switch or U-turn give you Omastar an easier time getting taking advantage of those limited setup opportunities. (should this sentence go in Team Options?) Once the needed or possible amount of entry hazards have has been set, focusing on keeping them hazards up is of utter most the utmost importance. If this the pressure needed to preserve Omastar's hazards can be kept up, (for clarity) many Pokemon on your team would start to see any opposing checks to your Pokemon will be worn down to the point where they can no longer consistently wall your Pokemon's pokemons attacks.


Team Options
========

Pokemon to that punish or prevent entry hazards hazard removal, (comma) such as Braviary to punish Defog and Ghost types a Ghost-type like Spiritomb or Mismagius to prevent Rapid Spin, (comma) are the most recommendable partners for Omastar. Omastar primairly uses Water-type attack causing Many pokemon Pokemon that are immune to or resists resist Water-type moves, (comma) such as Seismitoad, Celebrate-Vaporeon, Toxicroak, Liligant, (comma) and Virizion, (comma) to be able to can check or set up on Omastar. Because of this, using fast and powerfull powerful attackers such as Rotom-Mow, Rotom-C, Sceptile, (comma) and Meloetta is helpful to can easily threaten to OHKO these pokemon. Pokemon. Meloetta and Rotom-Mow Rotom-C in particular are exceptionally helpfull in helpful because of their ability to pivot, (comma) and that they take major advantage of having their answeres answers whittled down by your Omastar's entry hazards. Other offensive threats that take advantage of Omastar's entry hazard stacking, hazards stack such as Sneasle Sneasel, and Emboar, and setup sweepers like Houndoom and Delphox, can become a serious problem to the opponent once more then than one form of entry hazard has been placed. Most set up pokemon enjoy having entry hazard stacked on the opposing side of the field. Houndoom and Delphox in particular enjoys having their answers worn by Stealth Rock and Spikes before utilizing Nasty Plot or Calm Mind respectively. (combined with previous sentence because you say essentially the same thing about non-setup and setup Pokemon)


[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

The move Knock Off can be used to remove opposing Pokemon's valuable items such as Golbat's Golbats Eviolite or Slowkings Slowking's Assault Vest, (comma) but also this wastes a valuable turn you Omastar could have set an entry hazard and Knock Off (to distinguish between "using Knock Off in battle" and "running Knock Off on the set") takes up a moveslot needed to boost Omastar's offensive for Omastars Offensive presence with Shell Smash or Ice Beam. A defensive entry hazards hazard setter set is an option with Shuca Berry and Shell Armor to prevent critical hits, (comma) as this set gives Omastar the capacity to switch into physical attackers like Drapion and Rhydon and set entry hazards while threatening to burn them with Scald. However, (comma) more commonly this is more commonly done better by bulkier entry hazards hazard setters such as Qwilfish, Garbodor, Steelix, (comma) and Rhydon that who generally have more things to switch into. An attack offensively oriented Shell Smash set can be put to good use but is generally done better by Barbaracle. A Swift Swim weather abuser sweeper set with Life Orb can be used but generally isn't recommendable recommended thanks to common Snow Warning users, multiple water switchins popular switch-ins to Water-type attacks, and as well as the more preferred duo of Kabutops and Ludicolo, (comma) which who do anything this set did try tries to achieve but more effectively.


Checks and Counters
===================

**Grass-type Pokemon**: Grass types Grass-types such as Virizion, Whimsicott, Sceptile, (comma) and Rotom-Mow Rotom-C have an easy time getting around you Omastar thanks to the water resistance their resistance to Water and 4x super effective STAB moves. coverage. Trick Choice Scarfed Rotom-Mow, Choice Scarf Rotom-C, Encore Whimsicott, (comma) and Sleep Powder Lilligant in particular are worrisome as because they can disrupt Omastars capsity Omastar's capacity to set up a Shell Smash or place down entry hazards. Any of the above do need to beware of Ice Beam, (comma) as it could do heavy damage to them.

**Fighting-type Pokemon**: Common fight type pokemon Fighting-type Pokemon such as Hitmonlee, Virizion, Toxicroak, (comma) and Machamp all have advantages against Omastar. Hitmonlee and Hitmontop hit Omastar with super effective STAB attacks and can finish Omastar it off with Rapid Spin while removing its set entry hazards. Virizion/Toxicroak Virizion and Toxicroak use Omastar as set up setup bait, (comma) and Machamp can activate Guts by get Flame Orb going after forcing Omastar into to use its Focus Sash only to finish it off with Bullet Punch. Bar Virizion and Toxicroak, (comma) however, (comma) they these Fighting-types can't reliably switch into Omastar without risking a Shell Smash and taking a boosted Surf.

**Electric-type Pokemon**: Besides Rotom-Mow other Electric types In addition to Rotom-C, other Electric-types such as regular Rotom, Vikavolt, Lanturn, (comma) and Raichu-Alola Alolan Raichu can bring Omastar down to its Focus Sash while pivoting into an entry hazard remover without losing on momentum thanks to Volt Switch. Volt-Switch, pivoting into an entry hazards remover. Scarfed regular Choice Scarf Rotom can even outspeed +2 Omastar after a +2 Boost in Speed. (is this what you mean? it's unclear whether Rotom or Omastar is boosted)

**Entry Hazard Removers**: The aforementioned Hitmonlee and Hitmontop are both able to remove Omastar's entry hazards Omastar placed down as well as threaten to take it out at the same time. Cryogonal does this even better by also having reliable recovery and great Special Defense to reliably take Surf as well as Freeze-Dry whilst having Freeze Dry to put take Omastar into down to its Focus Sash. Golbat can do the same thing but with Defog, (comma) as Special Defensive Golbat its and specially defensive Golbat is able to come in on your Omastar's attacks and remove stacked entry hazards safely. If Golbat is using a faster set with Taunt, it shuts down almost anything Omastar can do against it.

**Xatu**: Xatu is the tiers tier's best entry hazard preventer thanks to the ability Magic Bounce, Bouncing bouncing back any entry hazards. Xatu also has a solid Speed tier and movepool to can pressure Omastar with Grass Knot and Thunder Wave. Sadly, Xatu can't reliably switch into Omastar without risking it using to set up a Shell Smash, at which point after which Surf OHKOes Xatu. is a OHKO. This makes it very hard for Xatu to check Omastar.

**Cincinno**: **Cinccino**: While not the most common, Cinccino Cincinno deserves a special mention thanks to Skill Link and Bullet Seed giving it the unique ability to OHKO Omastar even past with its Focus Sash intact. It must watch out, (comma) however, (comma) as the its below average defenses don't allow Cincinno Cinccino to switch into even unboosted attacks from Omastar without taking heavy damage.

Edit: I incorporated some changes from GMars's check below.
 
Last edited:

GMars

It's ya boy GEEEEEEEEMARS
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Admin Alumnusis a Social Media Contributor Alumnusis a Senior Staff Member Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Top CAP Contributor Alumnusis a Top Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnus
frenzyplant sniped me on this, but I was so far through my amcheck I figured I'd finish.

amcheck, this doesn't count for GP 1/2 unless stamped by a GP member
typically, you can implement however much of an amcheck as you would like, but I would recommend fully implementing frenzyplant's check.

Additions
Removals
[Comments]
(AC) = Add Comma
(AH) = Add Hyphen

[OVERVIEW]

Omastar is a threatening offensive lead able to punish opposing leads in Archeops, Steelix, (AC) and Garbodor with powerful STAB Water-type attacks. As an offensive lead Omastar gets access to multiple forms of entry hazards in Spikes, Toxic Spikes, (AC) and Stealth Rocks. The ability Weak Armor lets youit outspeed almost any pPokemon in the metagame after a physical hit, allowing youit to get off additional entry hazards or dish out damage with Surf. [Surf is slashed with Scald, so either remove this part or add in Scald to this section] Below average Health, HP and Special Defense and along with weaknesses to common Grass- and Fighting-type pPokemon force it to use a Focus Sash. Omastar can function as a setup (Remove Space) sweeper thanks to the move Shell Smash but faces stiff competition with Barbaracle who, which has better coverage options. Omastar's Swift Swim ability also leaves much to desire as Kabutops and Ludicolo combined have much better offensive capabilities and synergie then Omastar has to offer. [This is irrelevant, as Omastar's primary niche is as a lead which always uses Weak Armor, I removed this sentence entirely since Omastar isn't used for Swift Swim in NU] Omastar also faces competition from other leads and hazard stackers such as Archeops, Qwilfish, (AC) and Garbodor, (AC) as they all have something else to offer over Omastar in the form of greater Speed, access to Taunt and, (AC) or better defensive capabilities.

[SET]
name: Lead
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Spikes
move 3: Surf / Scald
move 4: Shell Smash
item: Focus Sash
ability: Weak Armor
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Stealth Rock is the most vital form of entry hazard, (AC) as it damages common hazard removers in Golbat and Cryogonal. Spikes give youOmastar the ability to stack entry hazards when the opportunity is given. These, which will quickly whittle the opponent's Pokemon down for fast attackers to finish them off. Surf is the preferred STAB attack for its ability to OHKO Xatu at +2. Scald can be used for its chance to burn opposing leads such as Archeops their Focus Sash allowing you to beat them instantly, KOing them in one turn even if they are holding a Focus Sash. Hydro Pump can be used for more firepower to OHKO Hitmontop after a Shell Smash, (AC) but it [optional change, but making this clause independent helps break it up and improves readability] lacks the accuracy to be consistent as well as lackingand lacks [parallelism] a chance to burn the foeopponent. Shell Smash is used to beat hazard removers before they can do their job. At +2 you, (AC) Omastar can OHKO Xatu, 2HKO physically defensive Golbat, (AC) and 2HKO Cryogonal with Surf. Ice Beam can be preferredused over Spikes, (AC) as a +2 Ice Beam it can OHKO any Grass-type (AH) Pokemon bar Virizion and can 2HKO specially defensive Golbat. Toxic Spikes can be used over Spikes, (AC) as it would give youOmastar [consider replacing the "as it would give" section here with "to give"] a major advantage against bulkier setup (Remove Space) Pokemon such as Meloetta.

Set Details
========

A Timid nature and 252 Speed and Special Attack EVs investment maximizes yourOmastar's offense and Speed. The Timid nature combined with Weak Armor activated lets youOmastar outspeed Choice Scarfed Hitmonlee, Scarfed Rotom-MowChoice Scarf Rotom-C, (AC) and Accelgor. Weak Armor is the preferred ability, (AC) as it doubles yourOmastar's Speed after being hit by U-turn or other physical attacks. Focus Sash gives youOmastar the ability to survive Fighting-type moves as well as special attacks from strong pivots such as Rotom-CMow as well as Fighting-type moves [rearranged for flow, optional] to still place an entry hazard down or get off an additional attack if they do the foe doesn't have a priority move to finish youit off.


Usage Tips
========

Lead thiswith Omastar when there are no Pokemon that can disrupt or prevent youit from setting up such as Encore Whimsicott, Sleep Powder users in Lilligant and Vivillon, (AC) and Trick Choice Scarfed Rotom-Mow.Rotom-C. Other Pokemon with multi-hit moves such as CincinnoCinccino must also be accounted for, (AC) as itthey can OHKO Omastar past Focus Sash. If an Xatu or entry hazard remover such as Hitmonlee or Golbat is on the opponent's team, (AC) you could instantly apply pressure by immediately placing an entry hazard against Hitmonlee or Golbat or. Alternatively, especially if Xatu is present, you could attempt to lure these Pokemon out and use Shell Smash up giving youto gain the offensive capasitycapacity to OHKO them before placing down entry hazards. Ideal Pokemon to set hazards on are physical attackers such as Drapion, SneasleSneasel, (AC) and Emboar. As Omastar can't set entry hazards on anything, using partners with Volt-Switch/U-turn should give you Using Volt Switch or U-turn with teammates can give Omastar an easier time getting those opportunities to set up entry hazards. Once the needed or possible amount of entry hazards have been set, focusing on keeping them up is of the utter most utmost importance. If this pressure can be kept, many Pokemon on your team on Omastar's team [consider rewording as "Omastar's teammates"] would start to see any opposing checks worn down to the point where they can no longer consistently wall your Pokemon's attacks.


Team Options
========

Pokemon to prevent entry hazards removal such as Braviary to punish Defog and Ghost-types (AH) like Spiritomb orand Mismagius to prevent Rapid Spin are the most recommendable.recommended. [consider adding commas before "such as" and after "Rapid Spin" to improve readability] Omastar primairlyprimarily uses Water-type attacks, (AC) causing many Pokemon that are immune to or resists [consider using "resistant to" for parallelism] Water-type moves such as Seismitoad, Celebrate-Vaporeon, Toxicroak, Lilligant, (AC) and Virizion to be able to can check or set up on Omastar. Because of this, usinguse fast and powerfull attackers such as Rotom-MowC, Sceptile, (AC) and Meloetta canto easily threaten to OHKO these Pokemon. Meloetta and Rotom-MowC in particular are exceptionally helpfull in their ability to pivot, (AC) and that they take major advantage of having their answeres whittled by yourOmastar's entry hazards. Other offensive threats that take advantage of entry hazards stacking such as Sneaslel and Emboar can become a serious problem to the opponent once more thenthan one form of entry hazard has been placed. Most setup (Remove Space) Pokemon enjoy having entry hazards stacked on the opposing side of the field. Houndoom and Delphox in particular enjoys having their answers worn down by Stealth Rock and Spikes before utilizing Nasty Plot or Calm Mind respectively.


[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

The move Knock Off can be used to remove opposing items such as Golbat's Eviolite or Slowking's Assault Vest, (AC) but it [optional, breaks up the sentence to improve readability] also wastes a valuable turn youOmastar could have used to set an entry hazard and takes up a moveslot needed for Omastar's offensive presence with Shell Smash or Ice Beam. A defensive entry hazards setter set is an option with Shuca Berry and Shell Armor to prevent critical hits, (AC) as this set gives the capacity to switch into physical attackers like Drapion and Rhydon and to set entry hazards while threatening to burn foes with Scald. However, (AC) more commonly this is done better [choose one between "more commonly" and "better"] by bulkier entry hazards setters such as Qwilfish, Garbodor, Steelix, (AC) and Rhydon who, which generally have more things to switch into. An attack-oriented (AH) Shell Smash set can be put to good use but is generally done better by Barbaracle. A Swift Swim weather abuser set with Life Orb can be used but generally isn't recommendablerecommended thanks to Snow Warning users, multiple water switchins and the multiple switch-ins to Water-type attacks in NU as well as the more preferred Swift Swim duo of Kabutops and Ludicolo who, which do anything this set did trytries to achieve but more effectively.


Checks and Counters
===================

**Grass-type Pokemon**: Grass-types (AH) such as Virizion, Whimsicott, Sceptile, (AH) and Rotom-MowC have an easy time getting around you thanks to the wateOmastar thanks to their resistance to Water and 4x super effective coverageSTAB moves. Trick Choice Scarfed Rotom-Mow Rotom-C, Encore Whimsicott, (AC) and Sleep Powder Lilligant in particular are worrisome, (AC) as they can disrupt Omastar's capsitycapacity to set up a Shell Smash or place down entry hazards. Any of the above Grass-types do need to beware of Ice Beam, (AC) as it could do heavy damage.

**Fighting-type Pokemon**: Common fight type Fighting-type Pokemon such as Hitmonlee, Virizion, Toxicroak, (AC) and Machamp all have advantages against Omastar. Hitmonlee and Hitmontop can hit Omastar with super effective attacks and finish Omastarit off with Rapid Spin while removing setto remove entry hazards. Virizion/ and Toxicroak use Omastar as setup bait, (AC) and Machamp can getactivate Flame Orb going after forcing Omastar intodown to its Focus Sash, (AC) only to finish it off with Bullet Punch. BHowever, bar Virizion and Toxicroak however they, (AC) these Fighting-type Pokemon [they is ambiguous here] can't reliably switch into Omastar without risking a use of Shell Smash and taking a boosted Surf.

**Electric-type Pokemon**: Besides Rotom-Mow Along with Rotom-C, (AC) other Electric-types (AH) such as regular Rotom, Vikavolt, Lanturn, (AC) and Alolan Raichu-Alola can bring Omastar down to its Focus Sash without losing on momentum thanks to Volt-Switch, pivoting Switch allowing them to pivot into an entry hazards remover. Choice Scarfed regular Rotom can even outspeed Omastar after a +2 Boost in Speeda +2 Omastar.

**Entry Hazard Removers**: The aforementioned Hitmonlee and Hitmontop are both able to remove entry hazards Omastar placed down as well as threaten to take it out at the same timewhile threatening to KO it. Cryogonal does this even better by also having reliable recovery and great Special Defense, (AC) allowing it to reliably take Surf whilstwhile [whilst is the British form] having Freeze-Dry (AH) to putdrop Omastar into its Focus Sash. Golbat can do the same thing but with Defog as Special DSpecially defensive Golbat its able to come in on yourOmastar's attacks and remove stacked entry hazards. [Golbat can't do the same thing, as it can't usually bring Omastar to its focus sash] If Golbat is using a faster set with Taunt, it shuts down almost anything Omastar can do against it. [Consider using a connecting clause here, like "In addition, if Golbat is using a faster set…"]

**Xatu**: Xatu is the tier's best entry hazard preventer thanks to theits ability Magic Bounce, Bouncingwhich bounces back any entry hazards. Xatu also has a solid Speed tier and movepool tocan pressure Omastar with Grass Knot and Thunder Wave. Sadly, Xatu can't reliably switch into Omastar without risking it to setting up a Shell Smash, at which point Surf is a OHKOcan OHKO Xatu. This makes it very hard for Xatu to check Omastar.

**Cincinno**:**Cinccino**: While not the most common Pokemon in NU, CincinnoCinccino deserves a special mention thanks to Skill Link Bullet Seed giving it the unique ability to OHKO Omastar even past Focus Sash. ItCinccino must watch out, (AC) however, (AC) as itsthe below average defenses don't allow Cincinnoit to switch into even unboosted attacks from Omastar without taking heavy damage.
 

GP 2/2
remove add comments

[OVERVIEW]

Omastar is a threatening offensive lead that is able to punish opposing leads in Archeops, Steelix, and Garbodor with powerful STAB Water-type (unbold that hyphen) attacks. Omastar gets access to multiple forms of entry hazards in Spikes, Toxic Spikes, and Stealth Rock. Omastar's Its ability Weak Armor lets it outspeed almost any Pokemon in the metagame after a physical hit, allowing it to get off additional entry hazards or dish out damage with Surf or Scald. However, below-average HP and Special Defense along with weaknesses to common Grass- and Fighting-type moves force Omastar to use Focus Sash. Omastar can function as a setup sweeper thanks to Shell Smash but faces stiff competition with Barbaracle, which has better coverage options. Omastar's Swift Swim sets also leave much to be desired, as Kabutops and Ludicolo combined have much better offensive capabilities and synergy than what Omastar has to offer. Omastar also faces competition from other leads and hazard stackers such as Archeops, Qwilfish, and Garbodor, as they all have something to offer over Omastar in the form of greater Speed, access to Taunt, and or better defensive capabilities, respectively.

[SET]
name: Lead
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Spikes
move 3: Surf / Scald
move 4: Shell Smash
item: Focus Sash
ability: Weak Armor
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Stealth Rock is the most vital entry hazard and heavily damages common hazard removers in Golbat and Cryogonal. Spikes gives Omastar the ability to stack entry hazards to quickly whittle the opponent's Pokemon down for fast attackers to finish them off. Surf is the preferred STAB move for its ability to OHKO Xatu at +2. Scald can be used for its chance to burn opposing leads such as Archeops, bypassing their Focus Sashes and allowing Omastar to beat them. Hydro Pump can be used for more firepower and to OHKO Hitmontop after a Shell Smash, (comma) but lacks the accuracy to be consistent as well as a chance to burn the target. (unbold period) Shell Smash is used to let Omastar beat hazard removers before they can do their job. At +2, Omastar can OHKO Xatu, 2HKO physically defensive Golbat, and 2HKO Cryogonal with Surf. Ice Beam can be used over Spikes, as a +2 Ice Beam can OHKO any Grass-type Pokemon bar Virizion and can 2HKO specially defensive Golbat. Toxic Spikes can also be used over Spikes to give Omastar a major advantage against bulkier setup sweepers such as Meloetta.

Set Details
========

A Timid nature(space)and 252 Speed and Special Attack EVs maximize Omastar's offense and Speed. Weak Armor, once activated, lets Timid Omastar outspeed Accelgor, (comma) and Choice Scarf Hitmonlee, (comma) and Rotom-C. Weak Armor is the preferred ability because it doubles Omastar's Speed after it is hit by U-turn or another physical attack. Focus Sash gives Omastar the ability to survive any one attack, including Fighting-type moves and special attacks from strong pivots such as Rotom-C, and therefore set up more entry hazards or get off an additional attack if the opposing Pokemon doesn't have a priority move to finish it off.


Usage Tips
========
Lead with Omastar when there are no Pokemon that can disrupt or prevent its setup, such as Encore Whimsicott, Sleep Powder users in like Lilligant and Vivillon, and Trick Choice Scarf Rotom-C. Other Pokemon such as Cinccino, which can OHKO Omastar past despite Focus Sash, must also be accounted for. If Xatu or an entry hazard remover such as Hitmonlee or Golbat is on the opponent's team, you can instantly apply pressure by either setting up an entry hazard against a hazard remover or attempting to lure these Pokemon out by setting up entry hazards and then using Shell Smash on the switch, giving Omastar the offensive capacity to OHKO them. Ideal Pokemon to set hazards against are physical attackers such as Drapion, Sneasel, and Emboar. Using Volt Switch or U-turn with from teammates can give Omastar an easier time getting opportunities to set up entry hazards. Once the needed amount of entry hazards has been set, focusing on keeping hazards up is of the utmost importance. If the pressure needed to preserve Omastar's hazards can be kept up, opposing checks to your Pokemon will be worn down to the point where they can no longer consistently wall your Pokemon's attacks.


Team Options
========
Pokemon that punish or prevent entry hazard removal, such as Braviary to punish Defog and a Ghost-type like Spiritomb or Mismagius to prevent Rapid Spin, are the most recommendable partners for Omastar. Many Pokemon that are immune to or resist Water-type moves, such as Seismitoad, Vaporeon, Toxicroak, Liligant, and Virizion, can check or set up on Omastar. Because of this, using fast and powerful attackers such as Rotom-C, Sceptile, and Meloetta is helpful to easily threaten to OHKO these Pokemon. Meloetta and Rotom-C in particular are exceptionally helpful because of their ability to pivot, and they take major advantage of having their answers whittled down by Omastar's entry hazards. Other offensive threats that take advantage of Omastar’s entry hazard stacking, such as Sneasel, Emboar, and setup sweepers like Houndoom and Delphox, can become a serious problems to the opponent once more than one form of entry hazard has been placed.


[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Knock Off can be used to remove opposing Pokemon's valuable items such as Golbat's Eviolite or and Slowking's Assault Vest, but this wastes a valuable turn Omastar could have used to set an entry hazard, (comma) and Knock Off takes up a moveslot needed to boost Omastar's offensive presence with Shell Smash or Ice Beam. A defensive entry hazard setter set is an option with Shuca Berry and Shell Armor is an option, as this set gives Omastar the capacity to switch into physical attackers like Drapion and Rhydon and set entry hazards while threatening to burn them with Scald. However, this is more commonly typically done better by bulkier entry hazard setters such as Qwilfish, Garbodor, Steelix,(space)and Rhydon, (comma) which that generally have more things to switch into. An offensively oriented Shell Smash set can be put to good use but is generally done better by Barbaracle. A Swift Swim sweeper set with Life Orb can be used but generally isn't recommended thanks to common Snow Warning users, multiple popular switch-ins to Water-type attacks, and the more preferred duo of Kabutops and Ludicolo, which do anything this set tries to achieve more effectively.


Checks and Counters
===================

**Grass-type Pokemon**: Grass-types such as Virizion, Whimsicott, Sceptile, and Rotom-C have an easy time getting around Omastar thanks to their resistance to Water and 4x super effective STAB moves. Trick Choice Scarf Rotom-C, Encore Whimsicott, and Sleep Powder Lilligant in particular are worrisome because they can disrupt Omastar's capacity to set up a Shell Smash or entry hazards. Any of the above do need to beware of Ice Beam, as it could do heavy damage to them.

**Fighting-type Pokemon**: Common Fighting-type Pokemon such as Hitmonlee, Virizion, Toxicroak, and Machamp all have advantages against Omastar. Hitmonlee and Hitmontop hit Omastar with super effective STAB attacks and can finish it off with Rapid Spin while removing its set entry hazards. Virizion and Toxicroak use Omastar as setup bait, and Machamp can activate Guts by forcing Omastar to use its Focus Sash only to finish it off with Bullet Punch. Bar Virizion and Toxicroak, however, these Fighting-types can't reliably switch into Omastar without risking a Shell Smash and taking a boosted Surf.

**Electric-type Pokemon**: In addition to Rotom-C, other Electric-types such as Rotom, Vikavolt, Lanturn, and Alolan Raichu can use Volt Switch to bring Omastar down to its Focus Sash while pivoting into an entry hazard remover without losing momentum thanks to Volt Switch. Choice Scarf Rotom can even outspeed +2 Omastar.

**Entry Hazard Removers**: The aforementioned Hitmonlee and Hitmontop are both able to remove Omastar's entry hazards as well as threaten to take it out at the same time. Cryogonal does this even better by also having reliable recovery, (comma) and great Special Defense to reliably take Surf, (comma) and as well as Freeze-Dry to take Omastar down to its Focus Sash. Specially defensive Golbat is able to come in on Omastar's attacks and remove stacked entry hazards safely. In addition, If Golbat is using a faster set with Taunt, it shuts down almost anything Omastar can do against it.

**Xatu**: Xatu is the tier's best entry hazard preventer thanks to Magic Bounce, (comma) bouncing back any entry hazards. Xatu also has a solid Speed tier and can pressure Omastar with Grass Knot and Thunder Wave. Sadly However, Xatu can't reliably switch into Omastar without risking it using Shell Smash, after which Surf OHKOes Xatu. This makes it very hard for Xatu to check Omastar.

**Cinccino**: While not the most common, Cinccino deserves a special mention thanks to Skill Link and Bullet Seed giving it the unique ability to OHKO Omastar in one turn even with its Focus Sash intact. It must watch out, however, as its below average defenses don't allow Cinccino to mean it can't switch into even unboosted attacks from Omastar without taking heavy damage.
 
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erisia

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Added some more explicit mentions of Turtonator outclassing Shell Smash sets and uploaded, nice job. :)
 

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