UU Doublade

[OVERVIEW]

Doublade's base 150 Defense makes it one of the bulkier physical pivots of the metagame, as it can easily take even some super effective physical hits, such as Earthquake from Terrakion and Mega Aerodactyl as well as +1 Earthquake from Mega Altaria. Its base 110 Attack and access to Swords Dance and priority Shadow Sneak allow Doublade to be a good late-game sweeper. Its great Ghost / Steel typing gives it a lot of useful resistances and immunities, enabling it to deal with some common threats such as Mega Aerodactyl, Mega Altaria, Cobalion, and Latias; however, some unfortunate weaknesses to Dark-, Fire-, and Ground-types make Doublade vulnerable to the prevalence of Knock Off, which some Pokemon that it should check pack, such as Scizor and Mega Beedrill, and without its Eviolite, it can be easily beaten by any strong attacker. Furthermore, despite Doublade's great Defense, its base 49 Special Defense leaves it very weak to special attacks from sweepers such as Primarina, Mega Manectric, and Mega Pidgeot. It lacks reliable recovery and is easily worn down over the course of repeated switches into threats it is meant to check. Unfortunately, Doublade does not benefit from its ability No Guard, since all the moves that it commonly runs have 100% accuracy, and it makes moves such as Fire Blast, Hydro Pump, and Will-O-Wisp hit it all the time.

[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Shadow Sneak
move 3: Iron Head
move 4: Sacred Sword / Shadow Claw
item: Eviolite
ability: No Guard
nature: Adamant
evs: 240 HP / 252 Atk / 16 SpD

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

Swords Dance increases Doublade's Attack and allows it to become a strong late-game sweeper. Shadow Sneak's priority patches up Doublade's poor Speed, helping it beat fast threats such as Mega Beedrill, Latias, and weakened Infernape. Iron Head is a more reliable STAB move that hits Fairy- and Rock-types such as Sylveon and Mega Aerodactyl harder. Sacred Sword has perfect neutral coverage with Shadow Sneak and hits Mega Sharpedo, Krookodile, and Mega Absol hard. It also hits Cobalion and Blissey harder than Iron Head. Shadow Claw is an option over Sacred Sword, which helps Doublade beat opposing Doublade and bulky Water-types such as Swampert and Jellicent, but it comes with the downside of not being able to hit Dark- and Steel-types super effectively.

Set Details
========

252 EVs in Attack and an Adamant nature maximize Doublade's power and allow it to sweep more easily after a Swords Dance boost. 240 EVs HP increase Doublade's bulk and minimize Stealth Rock and burn damage, and the remaining 16 EVs go into Special Defense for slightly more bulk. Eviolite boosts Doublade's great Defense and patches up its lower Special Defense, allowing it to take many physical hits and even some super effective attacks such as non-STAB Earthquake, Pursuit, and Hidden Power Fire.

Usage Tips
========

Doublade can be used as a strong check to common threats, pivoting into and beating staples such as Mega Aerodactyl, Cobalion, Terrakion, and non-Fire Blast Mega Altaria, and it can set up on those to pressure the opposing team. Doublade still has to be careful around Mega Aerodactyl and Terrakion, as it get threatened by Earthquake, but it can switch safely on every move that isn't Earthquake. Otherwise, set up with Doublade late-game when opposing strong special attackers such as Mega Manectric and Primarina are weakened enough to get KOed by Shadow Sneak. You also need to get rid of Ground- and bulky Water-types such as Krookodile, Gliscor, and Suicune before attempting to sweep with Doublade. Keep Doublade from getting hit by Knock Off, as losing its Eviolite makes it somewhat weak to strong physical hits that it should otherwise be able to tank. Keep entry hazards off your side of the field, as Doublade dislikes taking residual damage due to its lack of recovery. Set up Stealth Rock on the opposing side, because it allows Doublade to 2HKO Latias and OHKO Mega Aerodactyl and wear down the opposing team, as Doublade forces many switches.

Team Options
========

Doublade fits well on bulky offense, balance, and stall teams, where it acts as a decent check to physical attackers. A good Doublade partner would be Sylveon, which is able to provide Wish and cleric support for Doublade and switch into Knock Off. It is also able to reliably check Dark-types and some special attackers such as Mega Sceptile and Latias. Pokemon such as Mega Manectric and Celebi threaten most bulky Water-types and are able to break defensive cores, support Doublade with Volt Switch or U-turn, or set Stealth Rock. Gliscor pairs very well with Doublade, as it can switch in on opposing Ground-types such as Krookodile and Hippowdon, absorb status thanks to Poison Heal and Toxic Orb, and shut down opposing walls with Taunt, which prevents them from setting up Stealth Rock or Spikes. Gliscor can also weaken the opposing team with its Swords Dance set to let Doublade clean with +2 Shadow Sneak. Mamoswine, Mega Sceptile, and Primarina can also threaten Ground-types while also threatening some archetypes on their own. Pokemon such as Hippowdon, Celebi, Klefki, and Swampert can set up entry hazards for Doublade to wear down its checks and let it sweep the opposing team more easily. Scizor and Latias are two entry hazard removers that team up very well with Doublade. Both can keep hazards off the field throughout the battle and are good checks to plenty of threats, such as Mega Sharpedo, Mamoswine, Mega Beedrill, and Alolan Muk in Scizor's case and Volcanion, Infernape, and Tentacruel in Latias's case. Mantine, Latias, and Togekiss also do well as Defog users, and the first two can check most bulky Water-types and Fire-types, while Togekiss can provide Heal Bell support and check Hydreigon. Hydreigon and Latias cover Fire and Ground weaknesses of Doublade as well as being able to revenge kill a wide range of threats or threaten defensive cores, while Doublade is able to threaten Fairy- and Ice-types and switch into some Dragon-type atacks. Terrakion and Cobalion check Dark-types such as Hydreigon, Mega Sharpedo, and Alolan Muk and force them out.

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

Doublade can run Gyro Ball over Iron Head with a Brave nature, but Iron Head is more reliable to hit slower threats such as Sylveon and Amoonguss, while Gyro Ball has fewer PP and minimum Speed investment leaves Doublade outsped by Amoonguss and Slowbro. Running Toxic over a coverage option can be useful to cripple switch-ins such as Ground- and bulky Water-types that Doublade struggles to beat. RestTalk provides recovery for Doublade and can be used either alongside Toxic and Special Defense investment to check more threats throughout the battle or with Swords Dance and Iron Head for better setup opportunities, but this set would be very passive and easily walled, as without Attack boosts or coverage options Doublade is walled by a plenty of Pokemon it should beat otherwise. Pursuit could be an option to trap Mega Aerodactyl and Latias, but Doublade can already punish switches by setting up a Swords Dance and hitting the switch-in with a boosted attack.

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

**Ground-types**: Ground-types such as Hippowdon, Krookodile, and Swampert are bulky enough to take Doublade's hits and can easily beat it with their STAB attacks, although Krookodile still needs to be wary of Sacred Sword.

**Fire-types**: Pokemon such as Entei, Infernape, and Volcanion threaten Doublade with their super effective STAB moves or can cripple it with a burn, despite the fact that they can't switch in safely on Doublade's boosted hits.

**Dark-types**: Although most Dark-types can't switch in on Sacred Sword, they are still threatening. Mandibuzz can beat Doublade if it packs Foul Play or can shut it down with Taunt. Hydreigon can OHKO Doublade with Dark Pulse, and Mega Sharpedo and Krookodile can deal huge damage with Crunch and Knock Off.

**Bulky Water-types**: Suicune, Swampert, Tentacruel, and Mantine can tank Doublade's attacks and can burn it with their STAB Scald, halving its Attack stat, making Doublade useless throughout the battle. Suicune can set up Calm Minds or phaze Doublade with Roar, while Mantine and Tentacruel can use Haze to prevent Doublade's setup.

**Special Attackers**: Powerful special attackers can break through Doublade, as its Special Defense is still very low despite holding an Eviolite. Threats such as Mega Manectric and Mega Pidgeot outspeed Doublade and either OHKO or 2HKO it. Doublade also takes huge damage from attackers such as Primarina and Calm Mind Latias; however, they can't switch into Doublade directly due to their poor bulk.

**Knock Off**: Doublade is crippled without its Eviolite, so Knock Off users such as Dark-types, Heracross, Scizor, and Mega Beedrill threaten it. Heracross and Mega Beedrill can't switch in safely but can easily remove Doublade's Eviolite when it switches into them.
 
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Eyan

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Moves
  • Sacred Sword point: Bisharp isn't in the tier anymore, so remove that mention.
  • Iron Head point: Mega Audino isn't really relevant in the tier; replace the Fairy-type example with like Sylveon.
Team Options
  • Replace the example in the first point with Sylveon. This means you have to remove the part about checking Mamoswine, though.
  • I'm honestly not a fan of stating Amoonguss as a check for Mega Sceptile. It only really beats it Sceptile with the standard spread if it runs Sludge Bomb, and even then, it can't switch in considering it gets 3HKOed by Dragon Pulse.
  • Watch out for the part about Mega Houndoom being checked by Mantine. You're going to have to remove that example if Mega Houndoom ends up banned.
  • Remove the Bisharp example from the last point.
Other Options
  • Same deal with the Mega Audino example.
Checks and Counters
  • Same thing regarding the potential Mega Houndoom ban.
  • Remove the Pelipper example for bulky Water-types. It's irrelevant in the tier, since Drizzle is banned.
QC 1/3
 

Hilomilo

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Unofficial check - this does not count for 2/3 unless a QC members says otherwise

Overview
* Use Hawlucha as an example of a Pokemon Doublade can check (it's one of its more important traits considering offense's general struggle against lucha). Maybe fit it in over Scizor or Terrakion since both of these Pokemon have the tools necessary to beat Doublade, whereas Hawlucha doesn't. I'd also give some examples of specially offensive Pokemon that Doublade's typing lets it check, like Latias and Venomoth.
* When talking about Doublade's downsides, mention that it lacks access to reliable recovery, which makes it prone to being worn down over time and prevents it from defensively checking many threats too consistently.
* Maybe refer to 'Knock Off spam' as something like 'the prevalence of Knock Off' instead. Also give some examples of Pokemon that commonly carry Knock Off that Doublade would otherwise check, mainly Scizor and Mega Beedrill.
* It's nice that you mention Doublade's ability here, though I'm not sure I agree it was the best thing to say about it. While yes, it doesn't exactly help Doublade, I think it'd be more important to mention that No Guard gives moves that it hates getting hit with, like Fire Blast, Hydro Pump, and Will-O-Wisp, perfect accuracy that they otherwise wouldn't have.

Moves
* Replace the Xurkitree example in your Shadow Sneak line, given that the suspect test really doesn't bode well for it staying in tier.
* Give more examples of Dark-types that are hit super effectively by Sacred Sword. Krookodile and Mega Absol both work.
* Use Jellicent as an example alongside Slowbro in your Shadow Claw line.

Set Details
* In your Eviolite line - 'allowing it to take many physical hits, even some super effective ones.' - give some examples of hits it can take.

Usage Tips
* Since Swords Dance Scizors tend to run Knock Off lately, I'd replace that example with Hawlucha in your first line.
* Doublade does a fine job checking Mega Sceptile, so I'd replace that with an example like Raikou in your second line. Also refer to your examples as powerful special attackers, just so that readers can get a clear idea of what specifically should be removed to allow Doublade to sweep.
* Remove 'especially on Choice-locked users' from your last line and replace Infernape with Cobalion as your example. Unless you're positive it's locked onto Close Combat, it's very risky switching Doublade into Infernape, so I really wouldn't advise anyone reading to do so.
* (Also in regards to your last line) Specify that Doublade can only really come in on various Rapid Spin users, and also use Forretress as an example.
* Add here that bulky Water- and Ground-types (give examples of both) should be removed or weakened before Doublade attempts sweeping due to its generally inability to break past them on its own.

Team Options
* I think that you should replace the Amoonguss section here with just a general section on Water-type checks, since Amoonguss really doesn't adequately offensively pressure a lot of bulky Water-types. Use Pokemon like Raikou, Rotom-C, and Celebi as examples of Water-type checks, and elaborate as to why they help Doublade out.
* Give examples of Ground-type checks here as well and elaborate as to how exactly they can be of use to Doublade as teammates. You can keep the Gliscor mention since it does a lot more for Doublade beyond just checking Ground-types, though examples like Primarina, Mega Sceptile, and Mamoswine would all work.
* Replace the Conkeldurr mention with something like Terrakion.

Other Options
* Elaborate in the RestTalk line that it'd be easily walled due to the lack of Swords Dance or coverage.

Checks and Counters
* Say in your Ground-type section that Krookodile should be wary of Sacred Sword.
* Don't use Milotic as an example in the Water-type section, as it's rather irrelevant in the current meta and you have enough examples of Haze users.
* Use different examples in the special attackers section than what you currently have. Kyurem can very easily turn into setup bait for Doublade (more relevant examples exist as well) and Xurkitree is likely going to be banned.
* Replace Flame Orb Conkeldurr with Scizor in the Knock Off section.
* I'm really not convinced that a Trick users section is necessary. Latias is really the tier's only common user of the move, so i'm not sure that it really warrants its own section.

Implement whatever you feel is necessary, hope this helps :)
 
Implement Hilomilo's stuff, and add Toxic in OO, since fat waters love to switch into Doublade and none of them like being toxed

Put Dragon-types into Team Options, they cover most of Doublade's weaknesses and vice versa (although Doublade isn't that good of an ice switchin) and Hydra / Latias appreciate stuff like Sylveon being checked

Honestly, the bit about Raikou and Latias in Special Attackers also applies to the can't switch in thing in the sentence before, so I would just add it there.

Add a section for Dark-types in C&C. They can't switch in reliably if Sacred Sword, but Hydreigon OHKOes with Dark Pulse, Mandibuzz dicks it if it has Foul Play, and Mega Sharpedo can check it with some prior damage. Weavile's LO Knock Off does about 55-65ish so its not a great check, so it's a bit more iffy as one but you can add it if you want.

QC 2/3 after this.
 
amcheck, I would recommend waiting until a QC member checks over this to implement anything

Overview
  • Give some examples of super effective physical attacks Doublade can survive (hint - there's a lot)
  • Remove the Hawlucha mention and replace it with Mega Altaria.
  • I think there might be more relevant mons than Venomoth that you can put here. Replace it with Cobalion.
Usage Tips
  • Remove the Hawlucha mention. Just so I don't have to say this every time, you should look for mentions of banned / OU Pokemon in the analyses - a good way of doing this, if you're on Chrome, is to press Ctrl and F at the same time, and look up banned threats, for example you have a couple of Weavile, Alolan Ninetails, and Mega Swampert mentions here and there as well. When you do this, replace them with relevant threats in the meta that also fit the criteria.
  • I would also replace every Raikou mention in this analyses with Mega Manectric, since Raikou is no longer very relevant and Mega Manectric is.
  • Remove the line about Forretress, it's irrelevant.
Team Options
  • In the part where you mention Defog Mantine, also mention other Defog users such as Mega Latias and Togekiss.
Outside of removing all mentions of banned / OU Pokemon, this looks good to me
 

A Cake Wearing A Hat

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amcheck, I would recommend waiting until a QC member checks over this to implement anything

Overview
  • Give some examples of super effective physical attacks Doublade can survive (hint - there's a lot)
  • Remove the Hawlucha mention and replace it with Mega Altaria.
  • I think there might be more relevant mons than Venomoth that you can put here. Replace it with Cobalion.
Usage Tips
  • Remove the Hawlucha mention. Just so I don't have to say this every time, you should look for mentions of banned / OU Pokemon in the analyses - a good way of doing this, if you're on Chrome, is to press Ctrl and F at the same time, and look up banned threats, for example you have a couple of Weavile, Alolan Ninetails, and Mega Swampert mentions here and there as well. When you do this, replace them with relevant threats in the meta that also fit the criteria.
  • I would also replace every Raikou mention in this analyses with Mega Manectric, since Raikou is no longer very relevant and Mega Manectric is.
  • Remove the line about Forretress, it's irrelevant.
Team Options
  • In the part where you mention Defog Mantine, also mention other Defog users such as Mega Latias and Togekiss.
Outside of removing all mentions of banned / OU Pokemon, this looks good to me
Implement this (Good check, Nuked).

Just to be thorough I'll specify the instances banned mons just so you don't miss any. This isn't necessary for qc checks but I'm paranoid and this is the last check so I'm just gonna be thorough here.

Overview

remove Hawlucha mention (Nuked mentioned this)

Moves

Mention some disadvantages of running shadow claw over sacred sword since you have it 2nd, and Doublade isn't a bulky Water-type so rephrase this sentence.

Usage Tips

Remove Hawlucha mention (Nuked mentioned this)

Team Options

Mention in the first line what team playstyles Doublade fits on, which would be bulky offense, balance, and stall.

Remove 2 Alolan Ninetales mentions, one of them being an entire point about aurora veil which can honestly just be removed altogether.

C&C

Remove m-pert mention in Ground-types, and Weavile mention in Dark-types, and the Conkeldurr mention in Knock Off.

Knock Off Gliscor isn't really a thing that's run anymore, so I'd probably reword the Knock Off line to not include Gliscor.

3/3 good job nuked+miyoka
 

Lumari

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add / fix (comments); (AC=add comma; RC=remove comma; SC=semicolon)
GP 1/2
[OVERVIEW]

Doublade’s Doublade's base 150 Defense makes it one of the bulkier physical pivots of the metagame, as it can easily take most of the physical hits, even some super effective ones physical hits, such as boosted Earthquake from Mega Altaria and Earthquake from Terrakion and Mega Aerodactyl. Its base 110 Attack and access to Swords Dance and priority Shadow Sneak allow Doublade to be a good late-game sweeper. Its great Ghost / Steel typing gives it a lot of useful resistances and immunities, making it able enabling it to deal with some common threats such as Mega Aerodactyl, Mega Altaria, Cobalion, and Latias; (SC) but it sports however, some unfortunate weaknesses to Dark-, Fire-, and Ground-types. This makes make Doublade vulnerable to the prevalence of Knock Off, which some Pokemon that it should check packs it, such as Scizor and Mega Beedrill, and without its Eviolite, it can be easily beat by any strong attacker. (not sure if i follow the cause / consequence between weaknesses -> knock off vulnerability) Furthermore, despite Doublade's great Defense, its base 49 Special Defense leaves it very weak to special attacks from sweepers such as Primarina, Mega Manectric, and Mega Pidgeot. It lacks reliable recovery and is easily worn down by switch-ins over the course of repeated switches into threats it is meant to check. Unfortunately, Doublade does not benefit from its ability No Guard, since all the moves that it commonly runs have perfect accuracy, and it makes moves such as Fire Blast, Hydro Pump, and Will-O-Wisp hitting hit it all the time while it should miss sometimes.

[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Shadow Sneak
move 3: Iron Head
move 4: Sacred Sword / Shadow Claw
item: Eviolite
ability: No Guard
nature: Adamant
evs: 240 HP / 252 Atk / 16 SpD

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

Swords Dance increases Doublade's Attack and allows it to become a strong late-game wincon sweeper. Shadow Sneak's priority patches up Doublade's poor Speed, which helps helping it beat fast threats such as Mega Beedrill, Latias, or and weakened Infernape. Iron Head is a more reliable as a STAB move and that hits Fairy- and Rock-types such as Mega Aerodactyl and Sylveon harder. Sacred Sword has perfect neutral coverage with Shadow Sneak and hits Mega Sharpedo, Krookodile, and Mega Absol hard. It also hit Cobalion and Blissey harder than Iron Head. Shadow Claw is an option over Sacred Sword, which helps Doublade beat opposing Doublade and bulky Water-types such as Swampert and Jellicent, but it comes with the downside of not being able to hit Dark- and Steel-types super effectively.

Set Details
========

252 EVs in Attack and an Adamant nature maximize Doublade's Attack stat and allow it to sweep more easily sweep after a Swords Dance. 240 EVs HP make increase Doublade's more bulky bulk and minimize Stealth Rock and burn damage, and the remaining 16 EVs go to Special Defense for slightly more bulk. Eviolite boosts Doublade's great Defense and patches up its lower Special Defense, allowing it to take many physical hits (RC) and even some super effective ones attacks (differentiating bc you're also mentioning HP Fire)such as non-STAB Earthquake, Pursuit, and Hidden Power [Fire] Fire. No Guard has to be used since it's is Doublade's only ability, but since Doublade's moves all have perfect accuracy, No Guard only benefits opposing Pokemon. (probably reconsider if it's worth mentioning at all)

Usage Tips
========

Doublade can be used as a strong check to common metagame threats, as it pivots pivoting into and beats beating staples such as Mega Aerodactyl, Cobalion, Terrakion, and non-Fire Blast Mega Altaria without Fire Blast, and it can set up on those to pressure the opposing team. Doublade still has to be careful around Mega Aerodactyl and Terrakion, as it get threatened by Earthquake, but Doublade it can switch safely on everything every move that isn't Earthquake. Otherwise, set up with Doublade late-game when opposing strong special attackers such as Mega Manectric and Primarina are weakened enough to get KOed by Shadow Sneak. You also need to get rid of Ground-types and bulky Water-types such as Krookodile, Gliscor, and Suicune before attempting to sweep with Doublade. Keep Doublade from getting hit by Knock Off, as losing its Eviolite makes it somewhat weak to strong physical hits that it should otherwise be able to tank. (AP) Keep entry hazards off your side of the field, as Doublade dislikes taking residual damage due to a lack of recovery. Set up Stealth Rock on the opposing side, because it allows Doublade to 2HKO Latias and OHKO Mega Aerodactyl and wear down the opposing team, as Doublade forces many switches. [Doublade should be used to switch into predicted Fighting-type move, moves from physical attackers such Terrakion and Cobalion] (this is pretty much repeated from the first sentence)

Team Options
========

Doublade fits well in Bulky Offense, on bulky offense, Balanced, balance, and Stall playstyle, stall teams, where he it performs as a decent check to physical attackers. A good Doublade partner would be Sylveon, which is able to provide Wish and cleric support for Doublade and switch into Knock Off. It is also able to check reliably check Dark-types and some special attackers such as Mega Sceptile and Latias. Pokemon such as Mega Manectric and Celebi thretaen threaten most bulky Water-types as well as being and are able to break some defensive cores, (AC) or supporting support Doublade with Volt Switch and or U-turn, (AC) or set Stealth Rock. Gliscor fits very well with Doublade, as it can switch in on opposing Ground-types such as Krookodile and Hippowdon, absorb status thanks to Poison Heal and the Toxic Orb, and shut down opposing walls with Taunt, which prevents them from setting up Stealth Rock or Spikes. Gliscor can also weaken the opposing team with its Swords Dance set to let Doublade clean with +2 Shadow Sneak at +2. Mamoswine, Mega Sceptile, and Primarina can also threaten Ground-type while also threatening some archetypes on their own. Pokemon such as Hippowdon, Celebi, Klefki, and Swampert can set up entry hazards for Doublade to wear down its checks and let it sweep the opposing team more easily. Scizor and Latias are two entry hazards removers that team up very well with Doublade. Both can keep off hazards throughout the battle (RC) and are good checks to a plenty of threats, (AC) such as Mega Sharpedo, Mamoswine, Mega Beedrill, and Alolan Muk for in Scizor's case and Volcanion, Infernape, and Tentacruel for in Latias's case. Mantine, Latias, and Togekiss also does well as a Defog user, (AC) and the first two can check most of bulky Water-types and Fire-types, while Togekiss can provide Heal Bell support and check Hydreigon. Hydreigon and Latias cover Fire and Ground weaknesses of Doublade as well as being able to revenge kill a plenty wide range of threats or threaten defensive cores, while Doublade is able to threaten Fairy and Ice-types and switch in into some Dragon-types atacks. Terrakion and Cobalion check Dark-types such as Hydreigon, Mega Sharpedo, and Alolan Muk and force them out.

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

Doublade can run Gyro Ball with a Brave nature over Iron Head, but Iron Head is more reliable to hit slower threats such as Sylveon and Amoonguss, while Gyro Ball has fewer PP and minimum Speed investment makes leaves Doublade outspeed outsped by Amoonguss and Slowbro. Running Toxic over a coverage option can be useful to cripple switch-ins such as bulky Water-types and Ground-types that Doublade struggles to beat. RestTalk provides recovery for Doublade (RC) and can be used either alongside with Toxic and Special Defense investment to check more threats throughout the battle or with Swords Dance and Iron Head for better setup opportunities, but this set would be very passive and easily walled, as without attack Attack boosts or coverage options Doublade is walled by a plenty of Pokemon it should beat otherwise. Pursuit could be an option to trap Mega Aerodactyl or Latias, but Doublade can already punish switches by setting up a Swords Dance and hit hitting the switch-in with a boosted attack.

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

**Ground-types**: Ground-types such as Hippowdon, Krookodile, and Swampert are bulky enough to take Doublade's hits and can easily beat it with their Ground-type STAB attacks, although Krookodile still need to be wary from of Sacred Sword.

**Fire-types**: Pokemon such Entei, Infernape, and Volcanion threaten Doublade with their super effective STAB moves, which hit Doublade super effectively, or can cripple it with burn, despite the fact that they can't switch in safely on Doublade's boosted hits.

**Dark-types**: Although most of them Dark-types can't switch in on Sacred Sword, they are still threatening. Mandibuzz can beat Doublade if it packs Foul Play (RC) or shut it down with Taunt it. Hydreigon can OHKO it Doublade with Dark Pulse, and Mega Sharpedo and Krookodile can deal huge damage with Crunch and Knock Off.

**Bulky Water-types**: Suicune, Swampert, Tentacruel, and Mantine can tank Doublade's attacks and can burn it with their STAB Scald, halving its Attack stat, making Doublade useless throughout the battle. Suicune can set up Calm Minds or phaze it Doublade with Roar, while Mantine and Tentacruel can use Haze to prevent Doublade's setup.

**Special Attackers**: Powerful special attackers can break through Doublade, as its Special Defense is still very low despite holding an Eviolite. Threats such as Mega Manectric and Mega Pidgeot outspeed Doublade and either OHKO or 2HKO it. Doublade also takes huge damage from attackers such as Primarina or and Calm Mind Latias; (SC) however, they can't hard switch into Doublade directly due to their frail poor bulk.

**Knock Off**: Doublade is crippled without its Eviolite, so Knock Off users such as Dark-types, Heracross, Scizor, and Mega Beedrill threaten it. Heracross and Mega Beedrill can't switch in (RH) safely but can easily Knock Off remove Doublade's Eviolite when it switch-in switches into them.
 
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autumn

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GP 2/2
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[OVERVIEW]

Doublade's base 150 Defense makes it one of the bulkier physical pivots of the metagame, as it can easily take even some super effective physical hits, such as Earthquake from Terrakion and Mega Aerodactyl as well as (clarifies that these aren't boosted as well) boosted +1 (I would assume this; this makes it clearer) Earthquake from Mega Altaria and Earthquake from Terrakion and Mega Aerodactyl. Its base 110 Attack and access to Swords Dance and priority Shadow Sneak allow Doublade to be a good late-game sweeper. Its great Ghost / Steel typing gives it a lot of useful resistances and immunities, enabling it to deal with some common threats such as Mega Aerodactyl, Mega Altaria, Cobalion, and Latias; however, some unfortunate weaknesses to Dark-, Fire-, and Ground-types make Doublade vulnerable to the prevalence of Knock Off, which some Pokemon that it should check pack, such as Scizor and Mega Beedrill, and without its Eviolite, it can be easily beaten by any strong attacker. Furthermore, despite Doublade's great Defense, its base 49 Special Defense leaves it very weak to special attacks from sweepers such as Primarina, Mega Manectric, and Mega Pidgeot. It lacks reliable recovery and is easily worn down over the course of repeated switches into threats it is meant to check. Unfortunately, Doublade does not benefit from its ability No Guard, since all the moves that it commonly runs have perfect 100% accuracy, and it makes moves such as Fire Blast, Hydro Pump, and Will-O-Wisp hit it all the time.

[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Shadow Sneak
move 3: Iron Head
move 4: Sacred Sword / Shadow Claw
item: Eviolite
ability: No Guard
nature: Adamant
evs: 240 HP / 252 Atk / 16 SpD

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

Swords Dance increases Doublade's Attack and allows it to become a strong late-game sweeper. Shadow Sneak's priority patches up Doublade's poor Speed, helping it beat fast threats such as Mega Beedrill, Latias, and weakened Infernape. Iron Head is a more reliable STAB move that hits Fairy- and Rock-types such as Sylveon and Mega Aerodactyl and Sylveon harder. Sacred Sword has perfect neutral coverage with Shadow Sneak and hits Mega Sharpedo, Krookodile, and Mega Absol hard. It also hits Cobalion and Blissey harder than Iron Head. Shadow Claw is an option over Sacred Sword, which helps Doublade beat opposing Doublade and bulky Water-types such as Swampert and Jellicent, but it comes with the downside of not being able to hit Dark- and Steel-types super effectively.

Set Details
========

252 EVs in Attack and an Adamant nature maximize Doublade's Attack stat power (repetition) and allow it to sweep more easily after a Swords Dance boost. 240 EVs HP increase Doublade's bulk and minimize Stealth Rock and burn damage, and the remaining 16 EVs go into Special Defense for slightly more bulk. Eviolite boosts Doublade's great Defense and patches up its lower Special Defense, allowing it to take many physical hits and even some super effective attacks such as non-STAB Earthquake, Pursuit, and Hidden Power Fire.

Usage Tips
========

Doublade can be used as a strong check to common threats, pivoting into and beating staples such as Mega Aerodactyl, Cobalion, Terrakion, and non-Fire Blast Mega Altaria, and it can set up on those to pressure the opposing team. Doublade still has to be careful around Mega Aerodactyl and Terrakion, as it get threatened by Earthquake, but it can switch safely on every move that isn't Earthquake. Otherwise, set up with Doublade late-game when opposing strong special attackers such as Mega Manectric and Primarina are weakened enough to get KOed by Shadow Sneak. You also need to get rid of Ground-types and bulky Water-types such as Krookodile, Gliscor, and Suicune before attempting to sweep with Doublade. Keep Doublade from getting hit by Knock Off, as losing its Eviolite makes it somewhat weak to strong physical hits that it should otherwise be able to tank. Keep entry hazards off your side of the field, as Doublade dislikes taking residual damage due to a its lack of recovery. Set up Stealth Rock on the opposing side, because it allows Doublade to 2HKO Latias and OHKO Mega Aerodactyl and wear down the opposing team, as Doublade forces many switches.
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Team Options
========

Doublade fits well on bulky offense, balance, and stall teams, where it performs acts as a decent check to physical attackers. A good Doublade partner would be Sylveon, which is able to provide Wish and cleric support for Doublade and switch into Knock Off. It is also able to reliably check Dark-types and some special attackers such as Mega Sceptile and Latias. Pokemon such as Mega Manectric and Celebi threaten most bulky Water-types and are able to break defensive cores, support Doublade with Volt Switch or U-turn, or set Stealth Rock. Gliscor fits pairs very well with Doublade, as it can switch in on opposing Ground-types such as Krookodile and Hippowdon, absorb status thanks to Poison Heal and Toxic Orb, and shut down opposing walls with Taunt, which prevents them from setting up Stealth Rock or Spikes. Gliscor can also weaken the opposing team with its Swords Dance set to let Doublade clean with +2 Shadow Sneak. Mamoswine, Mega Sceptile, and Primarina can also threaten Ground-types while also threatening some archetypes on their own. Pokemon such as Hippowdon, Celebi, Klefki, and Swampert can set up entry hazards for Doublade to wear down its checks and let it sweep the opposing team more easily. Scizor and Latias are two entry hazards removers that team up very well with Doublade. Both can keep off hazards off the field throughout the battle and are good checks to a plenty of threats, such as Mega Sharpedo, Mamoswine, Mega Beedrill, and Alolan Muk in Scizor's case and Volcanion, Infernape, and Tentacruel in Latias's case. Mantine, Latias, and Togekiss also does well as a Defog users, and the first two can check most of bulky Water-types and Fire-types, while Togekiss can provide Heal Bell support and check Hydreigon. Hydreigon and Latias cover Fire and Ground weaknesses of Doublade as well as being able to revenge kill a wide range of threats or threaten defensive cores, while Doublade is able to threaten Fairy-(AH) and Ice-types and switch into some Dragon-types atacks. Terrakion and Cobalion check Dark-types such as Hydreigon, Mega Sharpedo, and Alolan Muk and force them out.

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

Doublade can run Gyro Ball over Iron Head with a Brave nature over Iron Head, but Iron Head is more reliable to hit slower threats such as Sylveon and Amoonguss, while Gyro Ball has fewer PP and minimum Speed investment leaves Doublade outsped by Amoonguss and Slowbro. Running Toxic over a coverage option can be useful to cripple switch-ins such as Ground- and bulky Water-types and Ground-types that Doublade struggles to beat. RestTalk provides recovery for Doublade and can be used either alongside Toxic and Special Defense investment to check more threats throughout the battle or with Swords Dance and Iron Head for better setup opportunities, but this set would be very passive and easily walled, as without Attack boosts or coverage options Doublade is walled by a plenty of Pokemon it should beat otherwise. Pursuit could be an option to trap Mega Aerodactyl or and Latias, but Doublade can already punish switches by setting up a Swords Dance and hitting the switch-in with a boosted attack.

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

**Ground-types**: Ground-types such as Hippowdon, Krookodile, and Swampert are bulky enough to take Doublade's hits and can easily beat it with their STAB attacks, although Krookodile still needs to be wary of Sacred Sword.

**Fire-types**: Pokemon such as Entei, Infernape, and Volcanion threaten Doublade with their super effective STAB moves or can cripple it with a burn, despite the fact that they can't switch in safely on Doublade's boosted hits.

**Dark-types**: Although most Dark-types can't switch in on Sacred Sword, they are still threatening. Mandibuzz can beat Doublade if it packs Foul Play or can shut it down with Taunt. Hydreigon can OHKO Doublade with Dark Pulse, and Mega Sharpedo and Krookodile can deal huge damage with Crunch and Knock Off.

**Bulky Water-types**: Suicune, Swampert, Tentacruel, and Mantine can tank Doublade's attacks and can burn it with their STAB Scald, halving its Attack stat, making Doublade useless throughout the battle. Suicune can set up Calm Minds or phaze Doublade with Roar, while Mantine and Tentacruel can use Haze to prevent Doublade's setup.

**Special Attackers**: Powerful special attackers can break through Doublade, as its Special Defense is still very low despite holding an Eviolite. Threats such as Mega Manectric and Mega Pidgeot outspeed Doublade and either OHKO or 2HKO it. Doublade also takes huge damage from attackers such as Primarina and Calm Mind Latias; however, they can't switch into Doublade directly due to their poor bulk.

**Knock Off**: Doublade is crippled without its Eviolite, so Knock Off users such as Dark-types, Heracross, Scizor, and Mega Beedrill threaten it. Heracross and Mega Beedrill can't switch in safely but can easily remove Doublade's Eviolite when it switches into them.

also 100th post nice
 

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