Metal Sonic
Resurgence
uploaded by eternally
[OVERVIEW]
With a good offensive typing in Fighting / Psychic, a great ability in Pure Power, and an extremely powerful STAB High Jump Kick, Medicham stands out among NU's Fighting-types as the wallbreaker with the greatest damage output. Furthermore, access to strong coverage moves such as Thunder Punch and STAB Zen Headbutt allows Medicham to tackle many of the common Fighting-type checks in the NeverUsed tier, such as bulky Water-types like Jellicent and Slowbro as well as Poison-types like Garbodor and Qwilfish. Medicham's Speed, while not great, is good enough to allow it to function effectively as a hard-hitting Choice Scarf user, although wallbreaking sets fail to outpace foes with more than base 80 Speed. Medicham can further increase its damage potential with Bulk Up, allowing it to crush defensive behemoths with ease. However, poor defenses and a mediocre defensive typing make it difficult for Medicham to switch into attacks and easy to revenge kill. Furthermore, Medicham's STAB combination leaves it struggling against a variety of Ghost- and Psychic-types, specifically Spiritomb, Slowbro, and Uxie. The presence of Ghost-types in the tier sometimes makes it difficult for Medicham to spam High Jump Kick safely.
[SET]
name: Wallbreaker
move 1: High Jump Kick
move 2: Zen Headbutt
move 3: Thunder Punch
move 4: Bulk Up
item: Life Orb / Electrium Z
ability: Pure Power
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
High Jump Kick is Medicham's strongest and thus obligatory STAB attack; it threatens a 2HKO at worst on every Pokemon that does not resist it even without a boosting item and has enough raw power to OHKO the likes of Substitute + Bulk Up Braviary and offensive Druddigon. Zen Headbutt is a secondary STAB attack that defeats the Poison-types that resist High Jump Kick, such as Qwilfish, Garbodor, and Vileplume. Golbat also takes massive damage from Zen Headbutt and is likely to be OHKOed after Life Orb and Bulk Up. Thunder Punch heavily hurts the majority of Pokemon in the tier that resist High Jump Kick, usually Water-types like Jellicent, Slowbro, and Slowking, while also being able to hit Xatu, Sigilyph, and Spiritomb. It also threatens hefty damage on Vaporeon without risking using High Jump Kick against Protect. Bulk Up gives Medicham the ability to break past most of the foes that check it defensively, such as Slowbro, without being required to set up at all times (as compared to Gallade needing its Swords Dance boost) because of Medicham's immediate power. Alternatively, Bullet Punch is a great priority move that allows Medicham to eliminate weakened revenge killers, and it becomes extremely dangerous after the boosts from Pure Power and Life Orb. Fake Out can be used as an additional form of priority that is highly threatening to offensive teams.
Set Details
========
252 Attack and 252 Speed EVs with a Jolly nature give Medicham maximum damage output and Speed. A Jolly nature is preferred so that Medicham can utilize its decent Speed tier to outspeed and neutralize as many threats as possible, including Vanilluxe, Absol, and neutral-natured Klinklang and Skuntank, without giving them the chance to retaliate. Life Orb gives Medicham a massive power boost while allowing it to switch moves. Electrium Z allows Medicham to surprise and deal major damage to Slowbro as well as Slowking, at the same time bluffing a Choice set; unboosted Gigavolt Havoc can OHKO Slowking and threatens to OHKO Jellicent and Delphox after Stealth Rock damage, whereas +1 Gigavolt Havoc OHKOes Slowbro 75% of the time and easily wipes out Vaporeon and Golbat.
Usage Tips
========
Medicham's Pure Power- and Life Orb-boosted High Jump Kicks become devastatingly powerful attacks, being able to OHKO many Pokemon with neutral hits, including the likes of Machamp, Turtonator, and bulky Rhydon and Alolan Exeggutor after Stealth Rock damage. Furthermore, common defensive Fighting-type checks such as Jellicent, Slowbro, Slowking, Garbodor, Golbat, and Qwilfish are 2HKOed by the appropriate coverage move, although this means that the Medicham user has to put some effort into predicting their switch. Hence, the skilled use of Bulk Up or Gigavolt Havoc can dramatically turn the tides of a game in Medicham's favor. Nonetheless, Medicham is still walled by some threats, including Spiritomb, Uxie, Granbull, Aromatisse, and Gourgeist-XL, which must be identified during Team Preview and eliminated early so that Medicham can have an easier time punching holes in the opponent's team. In addition, one should avoid clicking High Jump Kick carelessly if a Ghost-type is spotted on the opponent's team during Team Preview. Medicham's mediocre bulk and defensive typing mean that it cannot switch into attacks easily, so care must be taken to pivot it in or allow it to enter the field safely.
Team Options
========
Physically bulky Ghost- and Psychic- types can switch in on Medicham and give it problems, so Ghost- and Dark-type teammates, preferably specially offensive, are recommended to take advantage of them. Houndoom and Mismagius are good examples of teammates that fit the bill—they can take advantage of the switch-ins and set up Nasty Plot. Fairy-types can be a nuisance as well, so Medicham should have partners that take advantage of them, such as Garbodor, Qwilfish, and Delphox. Garbodor and Qwilfish benefit Medicham by setting up Spikes as well as Toxic Spikes against the foe while passively removing Toxic Spikes from the user's field; Delphox can set up Calm Mind in the face of resisted Fairy-type attacks and threaten to sweep the opposing team. Meanwhile, offensive Pokemon that enjoy physical walls such as Steelix and Rhydon being broken down, such as Braviary, Drapion, Sneasel, and Virizion, appreciate Medicham's wallbreaking prowess and support. Braviary can further take advantage of this fact thanks to U-turn, which can safely pivot Medicham onto the field.
[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: High Jump Kick
move 2: Zen Headbutt
move 3: Thunder Punch
move 4: Trick
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Pure Power
nature: Jolly / Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
High Jump Kick is Medicham's main STAB attack. Zen Headbutt is a secondary STAB attack that can take down the Poison-types that resist High Jump Kick, such as Vileplume and Garbodor. Thunder Punch deals major damage to common switch-ins that resist High Jump Kick, especially the likes of Xatu, Jellicent, Slowbro, and Slowking. It is also Medicham's best answer to Spiritomb. Trick allows Medicham to cripple defensive checks and counters, such as Vaporeon and Aromatisse, which commonly give Choice-locked Medicham issues with Protect.
Set Details
========
252 Attack and 252 Speed EVs with a Jolly nature give Medicham maximum damage output and Speed. An Adamant nature can be used if the additional power is preferred, as Medicham still outspeeds most of the unboosted metagame with an Adamant nature outside of Accelgor. Choice Scarf gives Medicham its much-needed Speed to outspeed a large majority of the tier.
Usage Tips
========
Medicham's powerful High Jump Kicks coming off its sky-high Attack will OHKO foes that do not have much bulk, including Sceptile, Virizion, and Emboar, even on neutral hits. However, Medicham should be wary of spamming High Jump Kick when the opponent has a Ghost-type on their team. Optimally, Ghost-types on the opponent's team should be eliminated before Medicham spams High Jump Kick. In a situation where the opponent has a healthy Ghost-type, it's safer to click a coverage move with less potential drawbacks. Using Medicham to force out or to revenge kill common threats that are weak to Fighting, including Steelix and Rhydon, is a great way for Medicham to inflict pressure on the opponent early-game. Using Trick on a defensive Pokemon is a great way to cripple them and to allow Medicham to sweep more easily later in the match, but take note that Trick fails on foes that are holding Z-Crystals, such as Normalium Z Granbull and Aromatisse and Waterium Z Slowbro.
Team Options
========
Teammates that can switch in on Ghost-types that attempt to hinder Medicham are necessary. Skuntank, and to some extent Braviary, can make great teammates that can beat Ghost-types easily thanks to their strong offensive presence while taking little from Ghost-type attacks. Medicham also appreciates bulky Psychic-types being removed from the field, so Dark- and Ghost-types such as Sneasel, Skuntank, Houndoom, and Mismagius make for good teammates. These Pokemon also grant additional offensive presence to the team and can aid in taking down the Ghost-types that are a thorn in Medicham's side. Furthermore, Sneasel and Drapion can use Pursuit to trap and KO these problematic enemies. Guzzlord is also a serviceable partner, since it handles most Ghost- and Psychic-types and lures Fairy-types and can remove them with Sludge Bomb. Poison-types such as Drapion and Garbodor are also good partners that can deal with the rare Fairy-types in the tier that resist High Jump Kick while appreciating Medicham's ability to pressure Rock-, Ground-, and Steel-types. Garbodor can also function as an additional Fighting-type switch-in for the team.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
A Choice Band set can be used, allowing Medicham to play a stronger role as an extremely deadly wallbreaker, but this is arguably overkill and needlessly riskier than Life Orb. Psychium Z allows Medicham to use Z-Trick, giving Medicham a major boost of Speed while allowing it to switch moves, making it a fearsome sweeper. Medicham can also use Shattered Psyche from Zen Headbutt if the Speed boost is not required in the game, making the set flexible. However, Z-Trick's Speed-boosting effect is only usable once, and thus it prompts Medicham to stay in once it is used, relegating it solely to late-game use, as well as slightly competing with Unburden Hitmonlee, which doesn't consume the Z-Crystal slot.
Checks and Counters
==============
**Psychic-types**: Bulky Psychic-types such as Uxie and Slowbro resist Medicham's STAB combination and can threaten it with crippling status. Other notable Psychic-types such as Delphox and Sigilyph, although lacking in bulk and unable to take multiple hits from Medicham, usually outspeed and threaten massive damage if not an outright KO while being able to soft check the Choice Scarf set. Mesprit is a notable obstacle for Medicham as well, having the bulk to stomach some hits while outdamaging Medicham.
**Fairy-types**: Bulky Fairy-types such as Aromatisse and Granbull can take multiple High Jump Kicks and can retaliate with super effective Fairy-type STAB attacks. Aromatisse can disrupt High Jump Kick spam with Protect, while Granbull has Intimidate to cripple Medicham with. Whimsicott also offensively checks Medicham, surviving a High Jump Kick or Bullet Punch to defeat Medicham with a Moonblast, but it cannot survive two High Jump Kicks.
**Ghost-types**: Ghost-types are immune to Medicham's High Jump Kick, making it risky to use, as Medicham suffers a heavy 50% recoil if they switch into it successfully. Spiritomb in particular is extremely problematic for Medicham, as it is immune to Medicham's STAB combination and can burn it with Will-O-Wisp. Mismagius and Rotom are also worth a mention as offensive checks that can outspeed and OHKO Medicham. Gourgeist-XL can cripple Medicham with Will-O-Wisp and also withstand a couple of Medicham's blows.
**Faster Offensive Pokemon and Priority Users**: Due to Medicham's mediocre bulk, faster Pokemon can easily revenge kill it, especially if Medicham is not running the Choice Scarf set. Accelgor can outspeed even Choice Scarf Medicham and deal heavy damage with Bug Buzz. Other faster Choice Scarf users including Delphox and Rotom-C can similarly inflict massive amounts of damage to Medicham while outspeeding it. Priority, to a lesser extent, can also pose a problem to weakened Medicham, though it resists Mach Punch.
[OVERVIEW]
With a good offensive typing in Fighting / Psychic, a great ability in Pure Power, and an extremely powerful STAB High Jump Kick, Medicham stands out among NU's Fighting-types as the wallbreaker with the greatest damage output. Furthermore, access to strong coverage moves such as Thunder Punch and STAB Zen Headbutt allows Medicham to tackle many of the common Fighting-type checks in the NeverUsed tier, such as bulky Water-types like Jellicent and Slowbro as well as Poison-types like Garbodor and Qwilfish. Medicham's Speed, while not great, is good enough to allow it to function effectively as a hard-hitting Choice Scarf user, although wallbreaking sets fail to outpace foes with more than base 80 Speed. Medicham can further increase its damage potential with Bulk Up, allowing it to crush defensive behemoths with ease. However, poor defenses and a mediocre defensive typing make it difficult for Medicham to switch into attacks and easy to revenge kill. Furthermore, Medicham's STAB combination leaves it struggling against a variety of Ghost- and Psychic-types, specifically Spiritomb, Slowbro, and Uxie. The presence of Ghost-types in the tier sometimes makes it difficult for Medicham to spam High Jump Kick safely.
[SET]
name: Wallbreaker
move 1: High Jump Kick
move 2: Zen Headbutt
move 3: Thunder Punch
move 4: Bulk Up
item: Life Orb / Electrium Z
ability: Pure Power
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
High Jump Kick is Medicham's strongest and thus obligatory STAB attack; it threatens a 2HKO at worst on every Pokemon that does not resist it even without a boosting item and has enough raw power to OHKO the likes of Substitute + Bulk Up Braviary and offensive Druddigon. Zen Headbutt is a secondary STAB attack that defeats the Poison-types that resist High Jump Kick, such as Qwilfish, Garbodor, and Vileplume. Golbat also takes massive damage from Zen Headbutt and is likely to be OHKOed after Life Orb and Bulk Up. Thunder Punch heavily hurts the majority of Pokemon in the tier that resist High Jump Kick, usually Water-types like Jellicent, Slowbro, and Slowking, while also being able to hit Xatu, Sigilyph, and Spiritomb. It also threatens hefty damage on Vaporeon without risking using High Jump Kick against Protect. Bulk Up gives Medicham the ability to break past most of the foes that check it defensively, such as Slowbro, without being required to set up at all times (as compared to Gallade needing its Swords Dance boost) because of Medicham's immediate power. Alternatively, Bullet Punch is a great priority move that allows Medicham to eliminate weakened revenge killers, and it becomes extremely dangerous after the boosts from Pure Power and Life Orb. Fake Out can be used as an additional form of priority that is highly threatening to offensive teams.
Set Details
========
252 Attack and 252 Speed EVs with a Jolly nature give Medicham maximum damage output and Speed. A Jolly nature is preferred so that Medicham can utilize its decent Speed tier to outspeed and neutralize as many threats as possible, including Vanilluxe, Absol, and neutral-natured Klinklang and Skuntank, without giving them the chance to retaliate. Life Orb gives Medicham a massive power boost while allowing it to switch moves. Electrium Z allows Medicham to surprise and deal major damage to Slowbro as well as Slowking, at the same time bluffing a Choice set; unboosted Gigavolt Havoc can OHKO Slowking and threatens to OHKO Jellicent and Delphox after Stealth Rock damage, whereas +1 Gigavolt Havoc OHKOes Slowbro 75% of the time and easily wipes out Vaporeon and Golbat.
Usage Tips
========
Medicham's Pure Power- and Life Orb-boosted High Jump Kicks become devastatingly powerful attacks, being able to OHKO many Pokemon with neutral hits, including the likes of Machamp, Turtonator, and bulky Rhydon and Alolan Exeggutor after Stealth Rock damage. Furthermore, common defensive Fighting-type checks such as Jellicent, Slowbro, Slowking, Garbodor, Golbat, and Qwilfish are 2HKOed by the appropriate coverage move, although this means that the Medicham user has to put some effort into predicting their switch. Hence, the skilled use of Bulk Up or Gigavolt Havoc can dramatically turn the tides of a game in Medicham's favor. Nonetheless, Medicham is still walled by some threats, including Spiritomb, Uxie, Granbull, Aromatisse, and Gourgeist-XL, which must be identified during Team Preview and eliminated early so that Medicham can have an easier time punching holes in the opponent's team. In addition, one should avoid clicking High Jump Kick carelessly if a Ghost-type is spotted on the opponent's team during Team Preview. Medicham's mediocre bulk and defensive typing mean that it cannot switch into attacks easily, so care must be taken to pivot it in or allow it to enter the field safely.
Team Options
========
Physically bulky Ghost- and Psychic- types can switch in on Medicham and give it problems, so Ghost- and Dark-type teammates, preferably specially offensive, are recommended to take advantage of them. Houndoom and Mismagius are good examples of teammates that fit the bill—they can take advantage of the switch-ins and set up Nasty Plot. Fairy-types can be a nuisance as well, so Medicham should have partners that take advantage of them, such as Garbodor, Qwilfish, and Delphox. Garbodor and Qwilfish benefit Medicham by setting up Spikes as well as Toxic Spikes against the foe while passively removing Toxic Spikes from the user's field; Delphox can set up Calm Mind in the face of resisted Fairy-type attacks and threaten to sweep the opposing team. Meanwhile, offensive Pokemon that enjoy physical walls such as Steelix and Rhydon being broken down, such as Braviary, Drapion, Sneasel, and Virizion, appreciate Medicham's wallbreaking prowess and support. Braviary can further take advantage of this fact thanks to U-turn, which can safely pivot Medicham onto the field.
[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: High Jump Kick
move 2: Zen Headbutt
move 3: Thunder Punch
move 4: Trick
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Pure Power
nature: Jolly / Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
High Jump Kick is Medicham's main STAB attack. Zen Headbutt is a secondary STAB attack that can take down the Poison-types that resist High Jump Kick, such as Vileplume and Garbodor. Thunder Punch deals major damage to common switch-ins that resist High Jump Kick, especially the likes of Xatu, Jellicent, Slowbro, and Slowking. It is also Medicham's best answer to Spiritomb. Trick allows Medicham to cripple defensive checks and counters, such as Vaporeon and Aromatisse, which commonly give Choice-locked Medicham issues with Protect.
Set Details
========
252 Attack and 252 Speed EVs with a Jolly nature give Medicham maximum damage output and Speed. An Adamant nature can be used if the additional power is preferred, as Medicham still outspeeds most of the unboosted metagame with an Adamant nature outside of Accelgor. Choice Scarf gives Medicham its much-needed Speed to outspeed a large majority of the tier.
Usage Tips
========
Medicham's powerful High Jump Kicks coming off its sky-high Attack will OHKO foes that do not have much bulk, including Sceptile, Virizion, and Emboar, even on neutral hits. However, Medicham should be wary of spamming High Jump Kick when the opponent has a Ghost-type on their team. Optimally, Ghost-types on the opponent's team should be eliminated before Medicham spams High Jump Kick. In a situation where the opponent has a healthy Ghost-type, it's safer to click a coverage move with less potential drawbacks. Using Medicham to force out or to revenge kill common threats that are weak to Fighting, including Steelix and Rhydon, is a great way for Medicham to inflict pressure on the opponent early-game. Using Trick on a defensive Pokemon is a great way to cripple them and to allow Medicham to sweep more easily later in the match, but take note that Trick fails on foes that are holding Z-Crystals, such as Normalium Z Granbull and Aromatisse and Waterium Z Slowbro.
Team Options
========
Teammates that can switch in on Ghost-types that attempt to hinder Medicham are necessary. Skuntank, and to some extent Braviary, can make great teammates that can beat Ghost-types easily thanks to their strong offensive presence while taking little from Ghost-type attacks. Medicham also appreciates bulky Psychic-types being removed from the field, so Dark- and Ghost-types such as Sneasel, Skuntank, Houndoom, and Mismagius make for good teammates. These Pokemon also grant additional offensive presence to the team and can aid in taking down the Ghost-types that are a thorn in Medicham's side. Furthermore, Sneasel and Drapion can use Pursuit to trap and KO these problematic enemies. Guzzlord is also a serviceable partner, since it handles most Ghost- and Psychic-types and lures Fairy-types and can remove them with Sludge Bomb. Poison-types such as Drapion and Garbodor are also good partners that can deal with the rare Fairy-types in the tier that resist High Jump Kick while appreciating Medicham's ability to pressure Rock-, Ground-, and Steel-types. Garbodor can also function as an additional Fighting-type switch-in for the team.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
A Choice Band set can be used, allowing Medicham to play a stronger role as an extremely deadly wallbreaker, but this is arguably overkill and needlessly riskier than Life Orb. Psychium Z allows Medicham to use Z-Trick, giving Medicham a major boost of Speed while allowing it to switch moves, making it a fearsome sweeper. Medicham can also use Shattered Psyche from Zen Headbutt if the Speed boost is not required in the game, making the set flexible. However, Z-Trick's Speed-boosting effect is only usable once, and thus it prompts Medicham to stay in once it is used, relegating it solely to late-game use, as well as slightly competing with Unburden Hitmonlee, which doesn't consume the Z-Crystal slot.
Checks and Counters
==============
**Psychic-types**: Bulky Psychic-types such as Uxie and Slowbro resist Medicham's STAB combination and can threaten it with crippling status. Other notable Psychic-types such as Delphox and Sigilyph, although lacking in bulk and unable to take multiple hits from Medicham, usually outspeed and threaten massive damage if not an outright KO while being able to soft check the Choice Scarf set. Mesprit is a notable obstacle for Medicham as well, having the bulk to stomach some hits while outdamaging Medicham.
**Fairy-types**: Bulky Fairy-types such as Aromatisse and Granbull can take multiple High Jump Kicks and can retaliate with super effective Fairy-type STAB attacks. Aromatisse can disrupt High Jump Kick spam with Protect, while Granbull has Intimidate to cripple Medicham with. Whimsicott also offensively checks Medicham, surviving a High Jump Kick or Bullet Punch to defeat Medicham with a Moonblast, but it cannot survive two High Jump Kicks.
**Ghost-types**: Ghost-types are immune to Medicham's High Jump Kick, making it risky to use, as Medicham suffers a heavy 50% recoil if they switch into it successfully. Spiritomb in particular is extremely problematic for Medicham, as it is immune to Medicham's STAB combination and can burn it with Will-O-Wisp. Mismagius and Rotom are also worth a mention as offensive checks that can outspeed and OHKO Medicham. Gourgeist-XL can cripple Medicham with Will-O-Wisp and also withstand a couple of Medicham's blows.
**Faster Offensive Pokemon and Priority Users**: Due to Medicham's mediocre bulk, faster Pokemon can easily revenge kill it, especially if Medicham is not running the Choice Scarf set. Accelgor can outspeed even Choice Scarf Medicham and deal heavy damage with Bug Buzz. Other faster Choice Scarf users including Delphox and Rotom-C can similarly inflict massive amounts of damage to Medicham while outspeeding it. Priority, to a lesser extent, can also pose a problem to weakened Medicham, though it resists Mach Punch.
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