Doubles Deoxys-A (Revamp)

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[OVERVIEW]
Deoxys-A's ridiculous Speed and power cement its place as one of DOU's most immediately threatening attackers. When combined with Tapu Lele's Psychic Surge, it's capable of OHKOing almost the entire metagame bar bulky Pokemon that naturally resist Psychic-type attacks, such as Aegislash, Mega Metagross, and Bronzong. If its wide array of viable Z-Moves based off its expansive movepool is taken into consideration, no threat is truly safe from Deoxys-A's almost perfect offensive coverage. Despite all these positive traits, though, Deoxys-A has abysmal defenses, which makes KOing it a mostly trivial matter; furthermore, being a relatively one-dimensional fast attacker, it is very reliant on its Speed and thus highly susceptible to opposing speed control and priority attacks. As such, Deoxys-A fits best on select hyper offensive teams, and when positioned properly, it is an extremely potent threat.

[SET]
name: Z-Move Attacker
move 1: Psycho Boost
move 2: Superpower
move 3: Substitute / Ice Beam
move 4: Detect
item: Psychium Z
ability: Pressure
nature: Rash
evs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
True to Deoxys-A's nature, this moveset allows it to hit extremely hard and fast. Psycho Boost and Superpower are its main offensive moves, as its frailty leaves it with few turns on the field to feel the effects of the resultant stat drops. Psycho Boost is a powerful STAB move that can be boosted further with Psychium Z or Psychic Terrain, while Superpower grants Deoxys-A coverage on most of the Pokemon that resist or are immune to Psycho Boost, mainly Steel- and Dark-types such as Ferrothorn and Tyranitar. Substitute can be used in the third slot to capitalize upon the switches and Protects its sheer offensive pressure often forces, making it even harder for the opponent to play around Deoxys-A, while Ice Beam is another option to OHKO Zygarde, Landorus-T, and Mega Salamence without wasting its Z-Move or incurring the Special Attack decrease from Psycho Boost. Finally, on a Pokemon as frail and prone to double targeting as Deoxys-A, Detect buys it a turn on the field, letting an ally deal with a threatening opposing Pokemon and also allowing Deoxys-A to have a chance at stalling out field conditions such as rain and Trick Room.

Set Details
========
Since Deoxys-A's non-existent bulk is clearly not worth investing in, this set aims to maximize the power of Deoxys-A's Psycho Boost as well as its odds of actually being able to fire off the move by maximizing its Special Attack and Speed EVs. A Naive nature could theoretically be used to outrun Mega Manectric and other Deoxys-A, but a Rash nature is generally preferred, as the 10% increase in damage output has far wider applications. Finally, Psychium Z is often Deoxys-A's item of choice—it makes an already powerful Psycho Boost even more powerful, allowing it to secure OHKOs on bulky Pokemon such as Tapu Fini and avoiding the Special Attack drop from Psycho Boost so it remains a strong offensive threat the turn after.

Usage Tips
========
Deoxys-A's complete lack of bulk is a major factor in how it's played; since Deoxys-A has difficulty switching in even on some resisted attacks without fainting, it's best brought as a lead or after an ally has fainted. In particular, Deoxys-A works best early- or mid-game to punch holes in the opposing team, notably making a good Turn 1 lead because of its ability to apply immediate offensive pressure to an opponent, putting them on the back foot from the get-go; however, if Deoxys-A is unable to immediately OHKO either opposing Pokemon, it's likely to faint to retaliation later on in the turn and should switch out instead. Likewise, should Deoxys-A manage to fire off several Psycho Boosts or Superpowers, it should switch out to reset its stat drops lest it act as dead weight. On the other hand, while Deoxys-A should generally be played offensively, a degree of caution is required to use it optimally—most importantly, since its Z-Move has such high damage potential, it's very precious and some care should be taken to avoid having it go to waste on a Protect. Other small things to note include using the activation of Pressure to check if any opposing Pokemon outrun it—if a foe's ability, outside of Unnerve, activates before Deoxys-A's, said foe is likely faster than Deoxys-A and poses a significant threat to it, so Deoxys-A should switch out of the situation.

Team Options
========
Tapu Lele is one of the best partners to Deoxys-A and is almost mandatory when using this set, with its Psychic Terrain not only boosting the power of Psycho Boost and Shattered Psyche to ridiculous levels but also removing Deoxys-A's vulnerability to priority moves. Apart from Tapu Lele, though, Deoxys-A also appreciates teammates that can easily break through the foes it struggles with; for example, Mega Charizard Y helps to break through Celesteela, Aegislash, and Ferrothorn, while Tyranitar can deal heavy damage to bulky Psychic-types like Cresselia and Necrozma that otherwise wall Deoxys-A. In terms of single moves, Deoxys-A enjoys Tailwind support to outspeed faster attackers, such as Choice Scarf users or weather sweepers, which it otherwise struggles against, though a weather setter such as Mega Charizard Y or Alolan Ninetales could potentially fulfill this role by removing Speed boosts from opposing weather sweepers like Excadrill and Kingdra. Finally, Stealth Rock is always a boon for fast sweepers like Deoxys-A: its ability to break Focus Sashes gives foes fewer chances to survive and retaliate against Deoxys-A's powerful attacks, while the mere chip damage it provides can be key on certain targets, such as Heatran and Kyurem-B, which are chipped into range of Superpower and Terrain-boosted Psycho Boost, respectively.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Deoxys-A's wide range of coverage options means that a similarly wide range of Z-Crystals are viable options with it. Fightinium Z, for example, can be used with either Focus Blast or Superpower to create a strong Fighting-type move capable of OHKOing Heatran, Ferrothorn, and Assault Vest Kyurem-B, which aren't OHKOed by a regular Superpower; Electrium Z, on the other hand, can be used with Thunder to OHKO Celesteela and Tapu Fini in Misty Terrain and, when combined with Electric Terrain, can achieve an OHKO on Mega Metagross all the time and Aegislash 50% of the time. Darkinium Z can combine with Dark Pulse to threaten would-be checks to the ubiquitous combination of Tapu Lele and Deoxys-A, and finally, Hidden Power Fire can play a minor role in netting surprise KOs on opposing Ferrothorn while still giving Deoxys-A a free item slot. A less offensive but also effective option is Stealth Rock, which capitalizes upon free turns caused by the switches Deoxys-A often causes—all in all, Deoxys-A's extremely deep movepool contains many other options that could be at least somewhat usable on the right teams. Other items Deoxys-A could viably run include a Life Orb, which boosts the power of Deoxys-A's attacks across the board and frees up the Z-Crystal slot for a teammate, and Focus Sash, which offers far less power than the other two options but guarantees that Deoxys-A can get an attack off, usually two. However, when running Focus Sash, it's important to watch out for Stealth Rock and damaging weather, which completely negate its effectiveness.

Checks and Counters
===================
**Steel-types**: Select Steel-types such as Celesteela, Mega Metagross, Mega Scizor, and Bronzong can survive a Psycho Boost due to their resistances to it and take neutral damage from Superpower, and they easily KO Deoxys-A in return. Each of these have to be wary of a Z-Move or coverage moves, though, such as Gigavolt Havoc from Thunder for Celesteela, Never-Ending Nightmare from Shadow Ball for Mega Metagross and Bronzong, and Hidden Power Fire for Mega Scizor.

**Icy Wind, Tailwind, and Trick Room**: Due to Deoxys-A's extreme frailty, its Speed is its greatest asset in preventing it from taking hits by knocking out its would-be aggressors before they can attack. Speed control options can either remove this advantage or even turn its Speed on it, almost ensuring that it's unable to move before it can fire off one of its powerful attacks.

**Psychic-types**: Bulky Psychic-types like Cresselia, Bronzong, Gothitelle, and Necrozma can easily stomach a hit from Deoxys-A and retaliate with Trick Room or Icy Wind to severely hamper Deoxys-A's offensive presence on the field. Notably, Cresselia can even stomach a potential Never-Ending Nightmare from Deoxys-A before it retaliates.

**Faster Pokemon**: While Pokemon that are naturally faster than Deoxys-A are few and far between, relatively common Choice Scarf users like Landorus-T and Tapu Lele can outrun Deoxys-A, forcing it to switch out if the player is aware of the Choice Scarf or outright KOing it through its meager defenses otherwise. While less common, Swift Swim and Sand Rush users on weather teams could also easily outpace Deoxys-A and KO it.

**Priority Attackers**: If Psychic Terrain is replaced by another Terrain or simply expires, Deoxys-A becomes extremely vulnerable to priority attacks such as Mega Scizor's Bullet Punch, Zygarde's Extreme Speed, and Azumarill's Aqua Jet, which are capable of OHKOing it before it even gets to move. These users must be wary of a potential Tapu Lele switch-in next to Deoxys-A, though.
 
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GenOne

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QC pending the following 1/2!!

Overview
  • It's capable of OHKOing almost almost the entire metagame, bar bulky Pokemon that naturally resist Psychic-type attacks. It's a bit of an oversell to say it OHKOs most of the metagame when stuff like Mega Metagross, Aegislash, and Bronzong (as just a few examples) eat Deo-A's attacks for breakfast and KO it in return.
Moves
  • Detect > Protect. It's a super niche reason, but Detect doesn't get blocked by Imprison + Protect users like Alolan Muk. Also: "I was gonna stall out my opp but Deoxys-A only had enough PP to use Detect eight times!" ~nobody ever
Set Details
  • Naive isn't completely meaningless because it allows you to outpace Timid Mega Manectric. It's a niche purpose, so this point doesn't need to be in the main set, but it's enough to warrant a mention in Set Details.
Usage Tips
  • This is kind of already implied when you talk about Deo-A being good in the early game, but mention that it makes a decent Turn 1 lead because of its ability to apply immediate pressure.
Team Options
  • Small nitpick here, but Lele isn't absolutely mandatory - it's just objectively the best partner out of the four Island Guardians. Z Move Deo has worked just fine on some teams in the past since all you really have to do is play around priority moves and speed control. Lele is the ideal partner, but it's not like Deo-A isn't good on certain Tapu Koko or Fini teams.
  • Depending on the teambuilld, weather setters like Charizard-Y can be beneficial for cancelling out the speed boosts that opposing Swift Swim and Sand Rush users stand to gain. Deo-A loses its ability to bluff Focus Sash when used in tandem with sand setters like Tyranitar, or hail setter like Ninetales-Alola, but nevertheless these are also options to cancel out opposing weather beneficiaries' speed boosts.
Other Options
  • Signal Beam is at the bottom of this section, if mentioned at all. If your only TR check is Signal Beam Deoxys-A you're doing it wrong, although some sets (like Specs Deo) have used this to success in the past.
  • Mention how the possibilities of Stealth Rock, sand, and hail reduce the effectiveness of Focus Sash.
Checks and Counters
  • When you talk about Steel-types and Psychic-types, Bronzong deserves a mention as well
 
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Level 51

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Team Options
  • Small nitpick here, but Lele isn't absolutely mandatory - it's just objectively the best partner out of the four Island Guardians. Z Move Deo has worked just fine on some teams in the past since all you really have to do is play around priority moves and speed control. Lele is the ideal partner, but it's not like Deo-A isn't good on certain Tapu Koko or Fini teams.
I did mention "with this set" - I think the only time Deo-A works with Tapu Koko and Tapu Fini is when it's running Electrium Z / Fightinium Z respectively. Psychium Z without Psychic Terrain doesn't hit the ridiculous numbers you want to be using it for, imo.
Checks and Counters
  • When you talk about Steel-types and Psychic-types, Bronzong deserves a mention as well
Also added Mega Metagross
 

talkingtree

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  • [Overview] I don't actually have many corrections to make here but this is one of the best Overviews I've seen, concise without leaving anything out. well done
  • [Moves] Could add something about Deo-A not worrying too much about carrying moves that lower its stats, as it rarely needs to stay on the field for a prolonged period of time. If you can't find a spot to work that in smoothly though, not a huge deal
  • [Usage Tips] Clarify that Deo-A should only stay on the field to attack if it's likely to get the KO, otherwise it's likely to faint from the retaliation later in the turn. On a similar note, after using Psycho Boost or Superpower a couple times, Deo-A is unlikely to be able to exert the same offensive pressure, so you should switch it out.
  • [Usage Tips] If you can find a way to work it in, might be nice to have something about using Pressure to check foes' Speed (Intimidate activation before Pressure signifies a definite Scarf Lando). That's a bit more in-depth than we would usually go for analyses but I think it's pretty important to how to use Deo-A safely.
  • [Team Options] SR doesn't put AV Kyu-B into range of unboosted Psycho Boost (252+ SpA Deoxys-Attack Psycho Boost vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Kyurem-Black: 234-276 (51.6 - 60.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO), so reword that bit
  • [Other Options] Darkinium Z + Dark Pulse surprises many PsySpam checks (Metagross, Aegis, Bronzong, Gothitelle), but it's only been discovered pretty recently and is still quite niche. HP Fire also should get a quick mention, though both of these belong at the very end. Close off the section with a blanket statement about Deo-A's access to a wide variety of attacks, with many other options at least somewhat usable on the right team.
  • [Checks and Counters] Remove Thunder Wave, it's niche on exactly one currently viable Pokemon and otherwise unused. Sub also blocks it, so I'd never try to paralyze a Deo-A.
  • [Checks and Counters] Add Goth into the bulky Psychic-types section
  • [Checks and Counters] Remove MGross Bullet Punch and replace with Zygarde ESpeed in priority section
Finish the above for QC 2/2
 

Level 51

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  • [Overview] I don't actually have many corrections to make here but this is one of the best Overviews I've seen, concise without leaving anything out. well done
Aww I'm blushing!!! not really actually because it's 1:44am and my blood flow isn't really great late at night
  • [Moves] Could add something about Deo-A not worrying too much about carrying moves that lower its stats, as it rarely needs to stay on the field for a prolonged period of time. If you can't find a spot to work that in smoothly though, not a huge deal
  • [Usage Tips] Clarify that Deo-A should only stay on the field to attack if it's likely to get the KO, otherwise it's likely to faint from the retaliation later in the turn. On a similar note, after using Psycho Boost or Superpower a couple times, Deo-A is unlikely to be able to exert the same offensive pressure, so you should switch it out.
  • [Usage Tips] If you can find a way to work it in, might be nice to have something about using Pressure to check foes' Speed (Intimidate activation before Pressure signifies a definite Scarf Lando). That's a bit more in-depth than we would usually go for analyses but I think it's pretty important to how to use Deo-A safely.
  • [Team Options] SR doesn't put AV Kyu-B into range of unboosted Psycho Boost (252+ SpA Deoxys-Attack Psycho Boost vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Kyurem-Black: 234-276 (51.6 - 60.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO), so reword that bit
  • [Other Options] Darkinium Z + Dark Pulse surprises many PsySpam checks (Metagross, Aegis, Bronzong, Gothitelle), but it's only been discovered pretty recently and is still quite niche. HP Fire also should get a quick mention, though both of these belong at the very end. Close off the section with a blanket statement about Deo-A's access to a wide variety of attacks, with many other options at least somewhat usable on the right team.
  • [Checks and Counters] Remove Thunder Wave, it's niche on exactly one currently viable Pokemon and otherwise unused. Sub also blocks it, so I'd never try to paralyze a Deo-A.
  • [Checks and Counters] Add Goth into the bulky Psychic-types section
  • [Checks and Counters] Remove MGross Bullet Punch and replace with Zygarde ESpeed in priority section
Finish the above for QC 2/2
did all of this, that's one of the funkier qc stamps i've seen recently o_o
 

autumn

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[OVERVIEW]
Deoxys-A's ridiculous Speed and power cement its place as one of DOU's most immediately threatening attackers. When combined with Tapu Lele's Psychic Surge, it's capable of OHKOing almost the entire metagame, (RC) bar bulky Pokemon that naturally resist Psychic-type attacks, (remove colon, AC) such as Aegislash, Mega Metagross, and Bronzong, (RC) to name a few. If its wide array of viable Z-Moves based off its expansive movepool is taken into consideration, no threat is truly safe from Deoxys-A's almost perfect offensive coverage. Despite all these positive traits, though, Deoxys-A has abysmal defenses, which makes KOing it a mostly trivial matter; furthermore, being a relatively one-dimensional fast attacker, it is very reliant on its Speed and thus highly susceptible to opposing speed control and priority attacks. As such, Deoxys-A fits best on select hyper offensive teams, and when positioned properly, (AC) it is an extremely potent threat.

[SET]
name: Z-(AH)Move Attacker
move 1: Psycho Boost
move 2: Superpower
move 3: Substitute / Ice Beam
move 4: Detect
item: Psychium Z
ability: Pressure
nature: Rash
evs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
True to Deoxys-A's nature, this moveset allows it to hit extremely hard and fast. Psycho Boost and Superpower are its main offensive moves, (AC) as its frailty leaves it with few turns on the field to feel the effects of the resultant stat drops. Psycho Boost works well as its STAB move, giving it a powerful move which that can be boosted further with its Psychium Z or Psychic Terrain, while Superpower grants it coverage on most of the Pokemon which that resist or are immune to Psycho Boost, mainly Dark- and Steel-types such as Tyranitar and Ferrothorn Steel- and Dark-types such as Ferrothorn and Tyranitar. Substitute can be used in the third slot to capitalize upon the switches and Protects its sheer offensive pressure often forces, making it even harder for the opponent to play around Deoxys-A, while Ice Beam is another option to OHKO Zygarde, Landorus-T, and Mega Salamence without wasting its Z-(AH)Move or incurring the Special Attack decrease from Psycho Boost. Finally, on a Pokemon as frail and prone to double-targets double targeting as Deoxys-A, Detect buys it a turn on the field, letting an ally deal with a threatening opposing Pokemon, (RC) and also allows allowing Deoxys-A to have a chance at stalling out field conditions such as rain and Trick Room.

Set Details
========
Since Deoxys-A's non-existent bulk is clearly not worth investing in, this set aims to maximize the power of Deoxys-A's Psycho Boost as well as its odds of actually being able to fire off the move by maximizing its Special Attack and Speed EVs. A Naive nature could theoretically be used to outrun Mega Manectric and other Deoxys-A, (if this is standard, don't all deoxys-a run rash?) but a Rash nature is generally preferred, (AC) as the 10% increase in damage output has far wider applications. Finally, a Psychium Z is often Deoxys-A's item of choice—it makes an already powerful Psycho Boost even more powerful, allowing it to secure OHKOs on bulky Pokemon such as Tapu Fini, (RC) and avoids avoiding the Special Attack drop from Psycho Boost, (RC) letting so it remains a strong offensive threat the turn after.

Usage Tips
========
Deoxys-A's complete lack of bulk is a major factor in how it's played; (change colon to semicolon) since Deoxys-A has difficulty switching in even on some resisted attacks without fainting, it's best brought as a lead or brought onto the field after an ally has fainted. In particular, Deoxys-A works best early- or mid-game to punch holes in the opposing team, and notably makes making a good Turn 1 lead because of its ability to apply immediate offensive pressure to an opponent, putting them on the back foot from the get-go; however, if Deoxys-A is unable to immediately OHKO either opposing Pokemon, it's likely to faint to retaliation later on in the turn and should switch out instead. Likewise, should Deoxys-A manage to fire off several Psycho Boosts or Superpowers, it should switch out to reset its stat drops lest it act as dead weight. On the other hand, while Deoxys-A should generally be played offensively, a degree of caution is required to use it optimally—most importantly, since its Z-(AH)Move has such high damage potential, it's very precious and some care should be taken to avoid having it go to waste on a Protect. Other small things to note include using the activation of Pressure to check if any opposing Pokemon outrun it—if a foe's ability, outside of Unnerve, activates before Deoxys-A's, said foe is likely faster than Deoxys-A and poses a significant threat to it, so Deoxys-A should switch out of the situation.

Team Options
========
Tapu Lele is one of the best partners to Deoxys-A and is almost mandatory when using this set, with its Psychic Terrain not only boosting the power of Psycho Boost and Shattered Psyche to ridiculous levels but also removing Deoxys-A's vulnerability to priority moves. Apart from Tapu Lele, though, Deoxys-A also appreciates teammates which that can easily break through the foes it struggles with; for example, Mega Charizard Y helps to break through Celesteela, Aegislash and Ferrothorn, while Tyranitar can deal heavy damage to bulky Psychic-types like Cresselia and Necrozma that otherwise wall Deoxys-A. In terms of single moves, Deoxys-A enjoys Tailwind support to outspeed faster attackers, such as Choice Scarf users or weather sweepers, which it otherwise struggles against, though a weather setter such as Mega Charizard Y and or Alolan Ninetales could potentially fulfill this role by removing Speed boosts from opposing weather sweepers like Excadrill or and Kingdra. Finally, Stealth Rock is always a boon for fast sweepers like Deoxys-A: its ability to break Focus Sashes gives the opponent foes fewer chances to survive and retaliate against Deoxys-A's powerful attacks, while the mere chip damage it provides can be key on certain targets, such as Heatran and Kyurem-B, which are chipped into range of Superpower and Terrain-boosted Psycho Boost, (AC) respectively.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Deoxys-A's wide range of coverage options means that a similarly wide range of Z-Crystals are viable options with it. Fightinium Z, for example, can be used with either Focus Blast or Superpower to create a strong Fighting-type move capable of OHKOing Heatran, Ferrothorn, and Assault Vest Kyurem-B, which aren't OHKOed by a regular Superpower; Electrium Z, on the other hand, can be used with Thunder to OHKO Celesteela and Tapu Fini in Misty Terrain, (RC) and, (AC) when combined with Electric Terrain, (AC) can achieve an OHKO on Mega Metagross all the time, (RC) and Aegislash 50% of the time. Darkinium Z can combine with Dark Pulse to threaten erstwhile (would suggest changing this for clarity because I had to google what it meant) checks to the ubiquitous combination of Tapu Lele and Deoxys-A, and finally, Hidden Power Fire can play a minor role in netting surprise KOs on opposing Ferrothorn while still giving Deoxys-A a free item slot. A less offensive but also effective option is Stealth Rock, which capitalizes upon free turns caused by the switches Deoxys-A often causes—all in all, Deoxys-A's extremely deep movepool contains many other options which that could be at least somewhat usable on the right teams. Other items Deoxys-A could viably run include a Life Orb, which boosts the power of Deoxys-A's attacks across the board and frees up the Z-Crystal slot for a teammate, and Focus Sash, which offers far less power than the other two options but guarantees that Deoxys-A can get an attack off, and usually two. However, when running Focus Sash, (AC) it's important to watch out for Stealth Rock and damaging weathers, which completely negate its effectiveness.

Checks and Counters
===================
**Steel-types**: Select Steel-types such as Celesteela, Mega Metagross, Mega Scizor, and Bronzong can survive a Psycho Boost due to their resistances to it and can take neutral damage from Superpower, and they can easily KO Deoxys-A in return. Each of these have to be wary of a Z-(AH)Move or coverage moves, though, such as Gigavolt Havoc from Thunder for Celesteela, Never-Ending Nightmare from Shadow Ball for Mega Metagross and Bronzong, and Hidden Power Fire for Mega Scizor.

**Icy Wind, Tailwind, and Trick Room**: Due to Deoxys-A's extreme frailty, its Speed is its greatest asset in preventing it from taking hits by knocking out its would-be aggressors before they can attack. Speed control options can either remove this advantage or even turn its Speed on it, almost ensuring that it's unable to move before it can fire off one of its powerful attacks.

**Psychic-types**: Bulky Psychic-types like Cresselia, Bronzong, Gothitelle, and Necrozma can easily stomach a hit from Deoxys-A and retaliate with Trick Room or Icy Wind to severely hamper Deoxys-A's offensive presence on the field. Notably, Cresselia can even stomach a potential Never-Ending Nightmare from Deoxys-A before it retaliates.

**Faster Pokemon**: While Pokemon that are naturally faster than Deoxys-A are few and far between, relatively common Choice Scarf users like Landorus-T and Tapu Lele can outrun Deoxys-A, forcing it to switch out if the player is aware of the Choice Scarf or outright KOing it through its meager defenses otherwise. While less common, Swift Swim or and Sand Rush users on weather teams could also easily outpace Deoxys-A and KO it.

**Priority Attackers**: If Psychic Terrain is replaced by another Terrain or simply expires, Deoxys-A becomes extremely vulnerable to priority attacks such as Mega Scizor's Bullet Punch, Zygarde's Extreme Speed, or and Azumarill's Aqua Jet, which are capable of OHKOing it before it even gets to move. These users must be wary of a potential Tapu Lele switch-(AH)in next to Deoxys-A, though.
 

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[OVERVIEW]

Deoxys-A's ridiculous Speed and power cement its place as one of DOU's most immediately threatening attackers. When combined with Tapu Lele's Psychic Surge, it's capable of OHKOing almost the entire metagame bar bulky Pokemon that naturally resist Psychic-type attacks, such as Aegislash, Mega Metagross, and Bronzong. If its wide array of viable Z-Moves based off its expansive movepool is taken into consideration, no threat is truly safe from Deoxys-A's almost perfect offensive coverage. Despite all these positive traits, though, Deoxys-A has abysmal defenses, which makes KOing it a mostly trivial matter; furthermore, being a relatively one-dimensional fast attacker, it is very reliant on its Speed and thus highly susceptible to opposing speed control and priority attacks. As such, Deoxys-A fits best on select hyper offensive teams, and when positioned properly, it is an extremely potent threat.

[SET]
name: Z-Move Attacker
move 1: Psycho Boost
move 2: Superpower
move 3: Substitute / Ice Beam
move 4: Detect
item: Psychium Z
ability: Pressure
nature: Rash
evs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

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

True to Deoxys-A's nature, this moveset allows it to hit extremely hard and fast. Psycho Boost and Superpower are its main offensive moves, (AC) as its frailty leaves it with few turns on the field to feel the effects of the resultant stat drops. Psycho Boost works well as its STAB move, giving it is a powerful STAB move that can be boosted further with its (technically not Deo-A's Psychic Terrain+ambiguity; best just left out) Psychium Z or Psychic Terrain, while Superpower grants it Deoxys-A coverage on most of the Pokemon that resist or are immune to Psycho Boost, mainly Steel- and Dark-types such as Ferrothorn and Tyranitar. Substitute can be used in the third slot to capitalize upon the switches and Protects its sheer offensive pressure often forces, making it even harder for the opponent to play around Deoxys-A, while Ice Beam is another option to OHKO Zygarde, Landorus-T, and Mega Salamence without wasting its Z-(AH)Move or incurring the Special Attack decrease from Psycho Boost. Finally, on a Pokemon as frail and prone to double targeting as Deoxys-A, Detect buys it a turn on the field, letting an ally deal with a threatening opposing Pokemon and also allowing Deoxys-A to have a chance at stalling out field conditions such as rain and Trick Room.

Set Details
========

Since Deoxys-A's non-existent bulk is clearly not worth investing in, this set aims to maximize the power of Deoxys-A's Psycho Boost as well as its odds of actually being able to fire off the move by maximizing its Special Attack and Speed EVs. A Naive nature could theoretically be used to outrun Mega Manectric and other Deoxys-A, but a Rash nature is generally preferred, as the 10% increase in damage output has far wider applications. Finally, Psychium Z is often Deoxys-A's item of choice—it makes an already powerful Psycho Boost even more powerful, allowing it to secure OHKOs on bulky Pokemon such as Tapu Fini and avoiding the Special Attack drop from Psycho Boost so it remains a strong offensive threat the turn after.

Usage Tips
========

Deoxys-A's complete lack of bulk is a major factor in how it's played; since Deoxys-A has difficulty switching in even on some resisted attacks without fainting, it's best brought as a lead or after an ally has fainted. In particular, Deoxys-A works best early- or mid-game to punch holes in the opposing team, notably making a good Turn 1 lead because of its ability to apply immediate offensive pressure to an opponent, putting them on the back foot from the get-go; however, if Deoxys-A is unable to immediately OHKO either opposing Pokemon, it's likely to faint to retaliation later on in the turn and should switch out instead. Likewise, should Deoxys-A manage to fire off several Psycho Boosts or Superpowers, it should switch out to reset its stat drops lest it act as dead weight. On the other hand, while Deoxys-A should generally be played offensively, a degree of caution is required to use it optimally—most importantly, since its Z-Move has such high damage potential, it's very precious and some care should be taken to avoid having it go to waste on a Protect. Other small things to note include using the activation of Pressure to check if any opposing Pokemon outrun it—if a foe's ability, outside of Unnerve, activates before Deoxys-A's, said foe is likely faster than Deoxys-A and poses a significant threat to it, so Deoxys-A should switch out of the situation.

Team Options
========

Tapu Lele is one of the best partners to Deoxys-A and is almost mandatory when using this set, with its Psychic Terrain not only boosting the power of Psycho Boost and Shattered Psyche to ridiculous levels but also removing Deoxys-A's vulnerability to priority moves. Apart from Tapu Lele, though, Deoxys-A also appreciates teammates that can easily break through the foes it struggles with; for example, Mega Charizard Y helps to break through Celesteela, Aegislash, (AC) and Ferrothorn, while Tyranitar can deal heavy damage to bulky Psychic-types like Cresselia and Necrozma that otherwise wall Deoxys-A. In terms of single moves, Deoxys-A enjoys Tailwind support to outspeed faster attackers, such as Choice Scarf users or weather sweepers, which it otherwise struggles against, though a weather setter such as Mega Charizard Y or Alolan Ninetales could potentially fulfill this role by removing Speed boosts from opposing weather sweepers like Excadrill and Kingdra. Finally, Stealth Rock is always a boon for fast sweepers like Deoxys-A: its ability to break Focus Sashes gives foes fewer chances to survive and retaliate against Deoxys-A's powerful attacks, while the mere chip damage it provides can be key on certain targets, such as Heatran and Kyurem-B, which are chipped into range of Superpower and Terrain-boosted Psycho Boost, respectively.

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

Deoxys-A's wide range of coverage options means that a similarly wide range of Z-Crystals are viable options with it. Fightinium Z, for example, can be used with either Focus Blast or Superpower to create a strong Fighting-type move capable of OHKOing Heatran, Ferrothorn, and Assault Vest Kyurem-B, which aren't OHKOed by a regular Superpower; Electrium Z, on the other hand, can be used with Thunder to OHKO Celesteela and Tapu Fini in Misty Terrain and, when combined with Electric Terrain, can achieve an OHKO on Mega Metagross all the time and Aegislash 50% of the time. Darkinium Z can combine with Dark Pulse to threaten would-be checks to the ubiquitous combination of Tapu Lele and Deoxys-A, and finally, Hidden Power Fire can play a minor role in netting surprise KOs on opposing Ferrothorn while still giving Deoxys-A a free item slot. A less offensive but also effective option is Stealth Rock, which capitalizes upon free turns caused by the switches Deoxys-A often causes—all in all, Deoxys-A's extremely deep movepool contains many other options that could be at least somewhat usable on the right teams. Other items Deoxys-A could viably run include a Life Orb, which boosts the power of Deoxys-A's attacks across the board and frees up the Z-Crystal slot for a teammate, and Focus Sash, which offers far less power than the other two options but guarantees that Deoxys-A can get an attack off, usually two. However, when running Focus Sash, it's important to watch out for Stealth Rock and damaging weather, which completely negate its effectiveness.

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

**Steel-types**: Select Steel-types such as Celesteela, Mega Metagross, Mega Scizor, and Bronzong can survive a Psycho Boost due to their resistances to it and take neutral damage from Superpower, and they easily KO Deoxys-A in return. Each of these have to be wary of a Z-Move or coverage moves, though, such as Gigavolt Havoc from Thunder for Celesteela, Never-Ending Nightmare from Shadow Ball for Mega Metagross and Bronzong, and Hidden Power Fire for Mega Scizor.

**Icy Wind, Tailwind, and Trick Room**: Due to Deoxys-A's extreme frailty, its Speed is its greatest asset in preventing it from taking hits by knocking out its would-be aggressors before they can attack. Speed control options can either remove this advantage or even turn its Speed on it, almost ensuring that it's unable to move before it can fire off one of its powerful attacks.

**Psychic-types**: Bulky Psychic-types like Cresselia, Bronzong, Gothitelle, and Necrozma can easily stomach a hit from Deoxys-A and retaliate with Trick Room or Icy Wind to severely hamper Deoxys-A's offensive presence on the field. Notably, Cresselia can even stomach a potential Never-Ending Nightmare from Deoxys-A before it retaliates.

**Faster Pokemon**: While Pokemon that are naturally faster than Deoxys-A are few and far between, relatively common Choice Scarf users like Landorus-T and Tapu Lele can outrun Deoxys-A, forcing it to switch out if the player is aware of the Choice Scarf or outright KOing it through its meager defenses otherwise. While less common, Swift Swim and Sand Rush users on weather teams could also easily outpace Deoxys-A and KO it.

**Priority Attackers**: If Psychic Terrain is replaced by another Terrain or simply expires, Deoxys-A becomes extremely vulnerable to priority attacks such as Mega Scizor's Bullet Punch, Zygarde's Extreme Speed, and Azumarill's Aqua Jet, which are capable of OHKOing it before it even gets to move. These users must be wary of a potential Tapu Lele switch-in next to Deoxys-A, though.

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