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[OVERVIEW]
Decidueye is one of the most prominent offensive Pokemon in the tier. Its niche lies in its access to Swords Dance, which transforms it into a powerful wallbreaker, an excellent STAB combination, and a unique Z-Move Sinister Arrow Raid. However, a mediocre Speed stat makes it struggle versus against offensive teams, limiting its setup opportunities. Decidueye is also held back by its weakness to common priority moves like Ice Shard and Sucker Punch. Furthermore, while Decidueye checks all of the Water-types in the tier, Scald's burn chance can make Decidueye of much less use due to its Attack stat being reduced.
[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Spirit Shackle
move 3: Leaf Blade
move 4: Substitute / Sucker Punch
item: Grassium Z / Decidium Z
ability: Overgrow
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Swords Dance lets Decidueye punish physically defensive walls such as Porygon2 and Gligar with boosted STAB attacks. Spirit Shackle is Decidueye's main STAB attack and is required to give access to Decidueye's unique Sinister Arrow Raid, while Leaf Blade allows it to circumvent common physical walls such as Porygon2, Milotic, and Umbreon that resist or tank Spirit Shackle with ease. In regards to the last slot of the set, Substitute allows Decidueye to set up against unsuspecting walls such as Registeel hoping to cripple it with Toxic, while Sucker Punch allows it to somewhat compensate for its low Speed by KOing faster Pokemon that threaten it such as Salazzle and Swellow when boosted.
Set Details
========
Full investment in Attack maximizes Decidueye's potential to wallbreak, while maximum investment in Speed in conjunction with a Jolly nature means Decidueye outpaces Modest Nidoqueen and most of the tier's defensive walls like Chesnaught and Umbreon, and it Speed ties with opposing base 70 Speed Pokemon such as Cloyster and Hoopa. Overgrow is Decidueye's only ability, boosting its already powerful Grass-type STAB move when Decidueye is weakened. In terms of item choice, Grassium Z should only be used on Substitute sets, as without Substitute, walls such as Registeel can cripple it with Toxic. Grassium Z + Leaf Blade is used to KO Pokemon such as Umbreon and Porygon2 with a Swords Dance boost and KO Pangoro unboosted. If Decidueye is holding Decidium Z, on the other hand, it can more easily run Sucker Punch, as it defeats bulky Steel- and Poison-types like Registeel, Escavalier, and Dragalge without any support with Sinister Arrow Raid.
Usage Tips
========
Use Decidueye to break holes in the opposition with its powerful attacks boosted by Swords Dance. Set up on Pokemon that Decidueye can force out such as Chesnaught and Milotic, and use its Z-Move only when needed to break through a particular Pokemon. Spirit Shackle can also be used in some cases to trap the opposition. This turns status users like Registeel and Gligar into setup fodder if Substitute is used. In addition, Substitute can also be used to activate Overgrow, allowing Decidueye to safely OHKO defensive Pokemon such as Gligar and Porygon2 by boosting on the switch, using Substitute until Overgrow activates, and OHKOing the threat with a +2 Overgrow-boosted Bloom Doom. However, if using Substitute, be wary of Pokemon like Noivern, Kommo-o, and Swellow, which can hit Decidueye while it is behind Substitute. Instead of attempting to sweep while these Pokemon are active, it is usually better to attack in these circumstances. Finally, use Sucker Punch to revenge kill or to aid in sweeping more offensive teams.
Team Options
========
The best partners for Decidueye are cleaners such as Zygarde-10% and Swellow, as they appreciate Decidueye's ability to exploit walls and break down bulky teams, which allows them to clean the remnants of the opposition. Pokemon like Nidoqueen and Rhyperior are also effective teammates with Decidueye, as they check the Fire-, Flying-, and Poison-types that threaten Decidueye while setting Stealth Rock. Nidoqueen also appreciates Decidueye's proficiency in breaking down its counters in Porygon2 and Umbreon. However, note both Nidoqueen and Rhyperior share an Ice-type weakness with Decidueye. Finally, Pangoro, Machamp, and Bewear make effective partners to Decidueye, as they resist Dark-type attacks and generally fit well on offensive teams.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
A Life Orb set may be used, but the power of Bloom Doom or Sinister Arrow Raid is greatly missed, as it makes it much more difficult for Decidueye to break bulkier teams. Decidueye can potentially run a specially defensive Defog set with Defog / Rest / Spirit Shackle / Toxic due to the lack of viable entry hazard removers in the tier. However, while such a set may seen lucrative in theory, it is generally ineffective due to its lack of bulk and is outdone by Pokemon like Gligar and Moltres.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Fire-types**: Ninetales, defensive Moltres, and Salazzle are some of the better checks to Decidueye, as they can take any hit from it comfortably and outspeed and KO it.
**Faster Offensive Pokemon**: Faster offensive threats such as Choice Scarf Tyrantrum, Zygarde-10%, and Swellow can check Decidueye effectively, as they can outspeed and KO it. However, they generally do not take any hit well, and can be pressured by Sucker Punch Decidueye variants.
**Ice-types**: Pokemon such as Mega Glalie, Mega Abomasnow, and Sneasel can threaten Decidueye with their STAB attacks. However, they must be wary of +2 Sucker Punch and Sinister Arrow Raid.
Decidueye is one of the most prominent offensive Pokemon in the tier. Its niche lies in its access to Swords Dance, which transforms it into a powerful wallbreaker, an excellent STAB combination, and a unique Z-Move Sinister Arrow Raid. However, a mediocre Speed stat makes it struggle versus against offensive teams, limiting its setup opportunities. Decidueye is also held back by its weakness to common priority moves like Ice Shard and Sucker Punch. Furthermore, while Decidueye checks all of the Water-types in the tier, Scald's burn chance can make Decidueye of much less use due to its Attack stat being reduced.
[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Spirit Shackle
move 3: Leaf Blade
move 4: Substitute / Sucker Punch
item: Grassium Z / Decidium Z
ability: Overgrow
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Swords Dance lets Decidueye punish physically defensive walls such as Porygon2 and Gligar with boosted STAB attacks. Spirit Shackle is Decidueye's main STAB attack and is required to give access to Decidueye's unique Sinister Arrow Raid, while Leaf Blade allows it to circumvent common physical walls such as Porygon2, Milotic, and Umbreon that resist or tank Spirit Shackle with ease. In regards to the last slot of the set, Substitute allows Decidueye to set up against unsuspecting walls such as Registeel hoping to cripple it with Toxic, while Sucker Punch allows it to somewhat compensate for its low Speed by KOing faster Pokemon that threaten it such as Salazzle and Swellow when boosted.
Set Details
========
Full investment in Attack maximizes Decidueye's potential to wallbreak, while maximum investment in Speed in conjunction with a Jolly nature means Decidueye outpaces Modest Nidoqueen and most of the tier's defensive walls like Chesnaught and Umbreon, and it Speed ties with opposing base 70 Speed Pokemon such as Cloyster and Hoopa. Overgrow is Decidueye's only ability, boosting its already powerful Grass-type STAB move when Decidueye is weakened. In terms of item choice, Grassium Z should only be used on Substitute sets, as without Substitute, walls such as Registeel can cripple it with Toxic. Grassium Z + Leaf Blade is used to KO Pokemon such as Umbreon and Porygon2 with a Swords Dance boost and KO Pangoro unboosted. If Decidueye is holding Decidium Z, on the other hand, it can more easily run Sucker Punch, as it defeats bulky Steel- and Poison-types like Registeel, Escavalier, and Dragalge without any support with Sinister Arrow Raid.
Usage Tips
========
Use Decidueye to break holes in the opposition with its powerful attacks boosted by Swords Dance. Set up on Pokemon that Decidueye can force out such as Chesnaught and Milotic, and use its Z-Move only when needed to break through a particular Pokemon. Spirit Shackle can also be used in some cases to trap the opposition. This turns status users like Registeel and Gligar into setup fodder if Substitute is used. In addition, Substitute can also be used to activate Overgrow, allowing Decidueye to safely OHKO defensive Pokemon such as Gligar and Porygon2 by boosting on the switch, using Substitute until Overgrow activates, and OHKOing the threat with a +2 Overgrow-boosted Bloom Doom. However, if using Substitute, be wary of Pokemon like Noivern, Kommo-o, and Swellow, which can hit Decidueye while it is behind Substitute. Instead of attempting to sweep while these Pokemon are active, it is usually better to attack in these circumstances. Finally, use Sucker Punch to revenge kill or to aid in sweeping more offensive teams.
Team Options
========
The best partners for Decidueye are cleaners such as Zygarde-10% and Swellow, as they appreciate Decidueye's ability to exploit walls and break down bulky teams, which allows them to clean the remnants of the opposition. Pokemon like Nidoqueen and Rhyperior are also effective teammates with Decidueye, as they check the Fire-, Flying-, and Poison-types that threaten Decidueye while setting Stealth Rock. Nidoqueen also appreciates Decidueye's proficiency in breaking down its counters in Porygon2 and Umbreon. However, note both Nidoqueen and Rhyperior share an Ice-type weakness with Decidueye. Finally, Pangoro, Machamp, and Bewear make effective partners to Decidueye, as they resist Dark-type attacks and generally fit well on offensive teams.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
A Life Orb set may be used, but the power of Bloom Doom or Sinister Arrow Raid is greatly missed, as it makes it much more difficult for Decidueye to break bulkier teams. Decidueye can potentially run a specially defensive Defog set with Defog / Rest / Spirit Shackle / Toxic due to the lack of viable entry hazard removers in the tier. However, while such a set may seen lucrative in theory, it is generally ineffective due to its lack of bulk and is outdone by Pokemon like Gligar and Moltres.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Fire-types**: Ninetales, defensive Moltres, and Salazzle are some of the better checks to Decidueye, as they can take any hit from it comfortably and outspeed and KO it.
**Faster Offensive Pokemon**: Faster offensive threats such as Choice Scarf Tyrantrum, Zygarde-10%, and Swellow can check Decidueye effectively, as they can outspeed and KO it. However, they generally do not take any hit well, and can be pressured by Sucker Punch Decidueye variants.
**Ice-types**: Pokemon such as Mega Glalie, Mega Abomasnow, and Sneasel can threaten Decidueye with their STAB attacks. However, they must be wary of +2 Sucker Punch and Sinister Arrow Raid.
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