[OVERVIEW]
Conkeldurr has a niche on Aurora Veil-based teams as a threatening wallbreaker due to Guts giving it immense power when it's equipped with a Flame Orb. Its access to powerful coverage options in Ice Punch, Facade, and Knock Off further cements its niche and severely limits its defensive counterplay. Conkeldurr also has decent bulk for an offensive Pokemon that becomes extremely good behind Aurora Veil, which, in tandem with Drain Punch, makes it very hard to take down. However, Conkeldurr is hampered by its horrible Speed and Special Defense stats, which leave it heavily threatened by faster specially offensive threats such as Mega Charizard Y, Tapu Lele, and Keldeo. Its weaknesses to common offensive types in Fairy, Flying, and Psychic can also serve as detriments to it, as this offsets its otherwise good bulk and keeps it from switching in very reliably at times. Lastly, Mega Heracross gives Conkeldurr heavy competition outside of Aurora Veil-based teams as a Fighting-type wallbreaker due to its better mixed bulk, better offensive typing, and ability to beat Mega Sableye, which Conkeldurr requires sacrificing Mach Punch for Bulk Up to do.
[SET]
name: Guts Wallbreaker
move 1: Drain Punch
move 2: Facade
move 3: Ice Punch
move 4: Mach Punch / Bulk Up
item: Flame Orb
ability: Guts
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 92 SpD / 164 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Drain Punch is a powerful STAB attack that Conkeldurr can use to heavily pressure Pokemon that don't resist it while easily recovering health. Facade offers excellent coverage alongside Drain Punch, as with the Guts boost and increased Base Power of the move, it can 2HKO conventional Fighting-type checks in Toxapex, Clefable, and Alomomola after Stealth Rock. Ice Punch heavily damages defensive Landorus-T, which can otherwise comfortably tank hits from Conkeldurr while also hitting the likes of Amoonguss, Zygarde, and Tangrowth quite hard. Mach Punch is a powerful STAB priority move that can be used to pick off weakened threats with relative ease. Bulk Up, however, can be used in place of Mach Punch to boost Conkeldurr's Attack and Defense stats by one stage each. This is important for allowing Conkeldurr to 2HKO Mega Sableye with Ice Punch after a boost and is overall crucial in strengthening its stall matchup. Knock Off is another option for the fourth slot, hitting Ghost-types such as Cofagrigus and Alolan Marowak super effectively. However, it usually doesn't compare to the utility of either Mach Punch or Bulk Up due to the general rarity of most Ghost-type Pokemon in OU.
Set Details
========
Maximum investment in Attack with an Adamant nature maximizes Conkeldurr's damage output, while 164 EVs invested in Speed give it crucial Speed advantages over important threats in Assault Vest Magearna, Clefable, and Pelipper. The remaining EVs are pooled into Special Defense in order to slightly bolster Conkeldurr's lesser defensive stat. Flame Orb and Guts are essential as the item and ability, as together they provide Conkeldurr with its impressive wallbreaking prowess.
Usage Tips
========
Conkeldurr should be brought out in the early-game in order to activate Flame Orb as quickly as possible and begin wallbreaking. It's worth noting, however, that Flame Orb takes a turn to activate, which means that Conkeldurr should be wary of Knock Off, an attack that it would otherwise be fine in tanking, prior to getting burned. Conkeldurr should almost always be behind Aurora Veil, since without the boosted bulk, it won't be able to tank hits from crucial Pokemon like BoltBeam Magearna, Tapu Koko, and Greninja. Since Conkeldurr's niche mainly stems from tanking hits and dishing them out, it will be heavily compromised without Aurora Veil, though Conkeldurr can still do a semi-adequate job of wallbreaking, albeit with more team support. It is important for Conkeldurr to properly predict which coverage option to use in order to secure a few vital KOs. For example, if Landorus-T is predicted to switch in, Conkeldurr should use Ice Punch to catch it on the switch and proceed to finish it off with Mach Punch so as not to let Landorus-T damage it or set Stealth Rock.
Team Options
========
Aurora Veil support from Alolan Ninetales is essential to the success of Conkeldurr, as the increased bulk it will be provided with will allow it to tank a much wider variety of Pokemon, including Latios, Tapu Fini, and Ash-Greninja. Commonly seen sweepers on Aurora Veil-based teams, such as Manaphy and Suicune, enjoy Conkeldurr as a partner due to its ability to weaken opposing teams for them with relative ease. Entry hazard support from Pokemon like Landorus-T and Ferrothorn is also quite important, since Conkeldurr will otherwise struggle to secure KOs on the switch against the likes of Toxapex, Suicune, and Alomomola. Dark-types are appreciated as teammates due to their ability to take on Psychic- and Ghost-types for Conkeldurr. Examples include Ash-Greninja, which can adequately weaken physically bulky Pokemon for Conkeldurr, and Tyranitar, which can easily remove Conkeldurr's checks with Pursuit. Fairy-types such as Mega Mawile and Tapu Lele make good teammates as well due to their ability to pressure the single best defensive answer to Conkeldurr in Mega Sableye. Oddly enough, Fairy-type checks such as Skarmory and Celesteela are also good options to pair Conkeldurr with due to its general struggle to tank hits too easily from Mega Mawile and Tapu Lele. Conkeldurr's ability to take on Dark-, Steel-, and Ice-types makes it a good option for a teammate to Pokemon that struggle against these types, like Mega Alakazam, Mimikyu, and Zygarde, respectively.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Conkeldurr has a few interesting options at its disposal, though none are very viable at all due to being outclassed by other Pokemon in the tier. Conkeldurr's most viable alternative is a Hammer Arm set that can be used on Trick Room teams due to the move's good Base Power and ability to make Conkeldurr slower after each use. However, Conkeldurr is much more viable on Aurora Veil-based teams due to its impressive tanking capabilities behind Aurora Veil, which makes the Hammer Arm set a rather niche option. An Assault Vest set can be used to give Conkeldurr good tanking capabilities, though it lacks power without a boost from Guts and is generally better done by more reliable Assault Vest users in Magnezone and Alolan Muk. A set utilizing Sheer Force with the moves Ice Punch and Thunder Punch and Life Orb is useful for surprising Pokemon such as Landorus-T and Mantine, though the vulnerability to status makes this set suboptimal as well. Lastly, Conkeldurr has a few coverage options that are useful for hitting specific targets, including Poison Jab, Earthquake, and Stone Edge. However, none of these coverage options hit their intended targets much harder than the moves listed on the main set, which usually makes them unnecessary.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Fairy-types**: Although most can be OHKOed or 2HKOed on the switch by the right coverage move, Conkeldurr struggles to tank hits from Fairy-types such as Mega Mawile, Tapu Lele, and Magearna.
**Flying-types**: The likes of Supersonic Skystrike Landorus-T, Tornadus-T, and Choice Specs Pelipper can do massive damage to Conkeldurr with their super effective STAB attacks, which only require some prior damage to OHKO. All, however, must be wary of Ice Punch or Facade.
**Ghost-types**: Unless it's running the rare Knock Off, Conkeldurr has no way of hitting Ghost-types like Cofagrigus and Alolan Marowak super effectively. Mega Sableye is particularly troublesome, as by virtue of its typing, it doesn't take super effective damage from any of Conkeldurr's possible coverage options, though it must fear +1 Ice Punch if Conkeldurr is carrying Bulk Up.
**Psychic-types**: While most Psychic-types don't appreciate taking Knock Off or Facade, they can still adequately dent Conkeldurr with their STAB attacks. Examples include Tapu Lele, which can OHKO Conkedurr through Aurora Veil with its Choice Specs set, and Mega Medicham, which can chip Conkeldurr with Fake Out before heavily damaging it with STAB Zen Headbutt.
**Fast Fighting-resistant Pokemon**: If Conkeldurr has been sufficiently weakened, Pokemon like Tapu Koko, Mega Charizard Y, and Volcarona can easily tank a Mach Punch and revenge kill Conkeldurr in return.
Conkeldurr has a niche on Aurora Veil-based teams as a threatening wallbreaker due to Guts giving it immense power when it's equipped with a Flame Orb. Its access to powerful coverage options in Ice Punch, Facade, and Knock Off further cements its niche and severely limits its defensive counterplay. Conkeldurr also has decent bulk for an offensive Pokemon that becomes extremely good behind Aurora Veil, which, in tandem with Drain Punch, makes it very hard to take down. However, Conkeldurr is hampered by its horrible Speed and Special Defense stats, which leave it heavily threatened by faster specially offensive threats such as Mega Charizard Y, Tapu Lele, and Keldeo. Its weaknesses to common offensive types in Fairy, Flying, and Psychic can also serve as detriments to it, as this offsets its otherwise good bulk and keeps it from switching in very reliably at times. Lastly, Mega Heracross gives Conkeldurr heavy competition outside of Aurora Veil-based teams as a Fighting-type wallbreaker due to its better mixed bulk, better offensive typing, and ability to beat Mega Sableye, which Conkeldurr requires sacrificing Mach Punch for Bulk Up to do.
[SET]
name: Guts Wallbreaker
move 1: Drain Punch
move 2: Facade
move 3: Ice Punch
move 4: Mach Punch / Bulk Up
item: Flame Orb
ability: Guts
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 92 SpD / 164 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Drain Punch is a powerful STAB attack that Conkeldurr can use to heavily pressure Pokemon that don't resist it while easily recovering health. Facade offers excellent coverage alongside Drain Punch, as with the Guts boost and increased Base Power of the move, it can 2HKO conventional Fighting-type checks in Toxapex, Clefable, and Alomomola after Stealth Rock. Ice Punch heavily damages defensive Landorus-T, which can otherwise comfortably tank hits from Conkeldurr while also hitting the likes of Amoonguss, Zygarde, and Tangrowth quite hard. Mach Punch is a powerful STAB priority move that can be used to pick off weakened threats with relative ease. Bulk Up, however, can be used in place of Mach Punch to boost Conkeldurr's Attack and Defense stats by one stage each. This is important for allowing Conkeldurr to 2HKO Mega Sableye with Ice Punch after a boost and is overall crucial in strengthening its stall matchup. Knock Off is another option for the fourth slot, hitting Ghost-types such as Cofagrigus and Alolan Marowak super effectively. However, it usually doesn't compare to the utility of either Mach Punch or Bulk Up due to the general rarity of most Ghost-type Pokemon in OU.
Set Details
========
Maximum investment in Attack with an Adamant nature maximizes Conkeldurr's damage output, while 164 EVs invested in Speed give it crucial Speed advantages over important threats in Assault Vest Magearna, Clefable, and Pelipper. The remaining EVs are pooled into Special Defense in order to slightly bolster Conkeldurr's lesser defensive stat. Flame Orb and Guts are essential as the item and ability, as together they provide Conkeldurr with its impressive wallbreaking prowess.
Usage Tips
========
Conkeldurr should be brought out in the early-game in order to activate Flame Orb as quickly as possible and begin wallbreaking. It's worth noting, however, that Flame Orb takes a turn to activate, which means that Conkeldurr should be wary of Knock Off, an attack that it would otherwise be fine in tanking, prior to getting burned. Conkeldurr should almost always be behind Aurora Veil, since without the boosted bulk, it won't be able to tank hits from crucial Pokemon like BoltBeam Magearna, Tapu Koko, and Greninja. Since Conkeldurr's niche mainly stems from tanking hits and dishing them out, it will be heavily compromised without Aurora Veil, though Conkeldurr can still do a semi-adequate job of wallbreaking, albeit with more team support. It is important for Conkeldurr to properly predict which coverage option to use in order to secure a few vital KOs. For example, if Landorus-T is predicted to switch in, Conkeldurr should use Ice Punch to catch it on the switch and proceed to finish it off with Mach Punch so as not to let Landorus-T damage it or set Stealth Rock.
Team Options
========
Aurora Veil support from Alolan Ninetales is essential to the success of Conkeldurr, as the increased bulk it will be provided with will allow it to tank a much wider variety of Pokemon, including Latios, Tapu Fini, and Ash-Greninja. Commonly seen sweepers on Aurora Veil-based teams, such as Manaphy and Suicune, enjoy Conkeldurr as a partner due to its ability to weaken opposing teams for them with relative ease. Entry hazard support from Pokemon like Landorus-T and Ferrothorn is also quite important, since Conkeldurr will otherwise struggle to secure KOs on the switch against the likes of Toxapex, Suicune, and Alomomola. Dark-types are appreciated as teammates due to their ability to take on Psychic- and Ghost-types for Conkeldurr. Examples include Ash-Greninja, which can adequately weaken physically bulky Pokemon for Conkeldurr, and Tyranitar, which can easily remove Conkeldurr's checks with Pursuit. Fairy-types such as Mega Mawile and Tapu Lele make good teammates as well due to their ability to pressure the single best defensive answer to Conkeldurr in Mega Sableye. Oddly enough, Fairy-type checks such as Skarmory and Celesteela are also good options to pair Conkeldurr with due to its general struggle to tank hits too easily from Mega Mawile and Tapu Lele. Conkeldurr's ability to take on Dark-, Steel-, and Ice-types makes it a good option for a teammate to Pokemon that struggle against these types, like Mega Alakazam, Mimikyu, and Zygarde, respectively.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Conkeldurr has a few interesting options at its disposal, though none are very viable at all due to being outclassed by other Pokemon in the tier. Conkeldurr's most viable alternative is a Hammer Arm set that can be used on Trick Room teams due to the move's good Base Power and ability to make Conkeldurr slower after each use. However, Conkeldurr is much more viable on Aurora Veil-based teams due to its impressive tanking capabilities behind Aurora Veil, which makes the Hammer Arm set a rather niche option. An Assault Vest set can be used to give Conkeldurr good tanking capabilities, though it lacks power without a boost from Guts and is generally better done by more reliable Assault Vest users in Magnezone and Alolan Muk. A set utilizing Sheer Force with the moves Ice Punch and Thunder Punch and Life Orb is useful for surprising Pokemon such as Landorus-T and Mantine, though the vulnerability to status makes this set suboptimal as well. Lastly, Conkeldurr has a few coverage options that are useful for hitting specific targets, including Poison Jab, Earthquake, and Stone Edge. However, none of these coverage options hit their intended targets much harder than the moves listed on the main set, which usually makes them unnecessary.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Fairy-types**: Although most can be OHKOed or 2HKOed on the switch by the right coverage move, Conkeldurr struggles to tank hits from Fairy-types such as Mega Mawile, Tapu Lele, and Magearna.
**Flying-types**: The likes of Supersonic Skystrike Landorus-T, Tornadus-T, and Choice Specs Pelipper can do massive damage to Conkeldurr with their super effective STAB attacks, which only require some prior damage to OHKO. All, however, must be wary of Ice Punch or Facade.
**Ghost-types**: Unless it's running the rare Knock Off, Conkeldurr has no way of hitting Ghost-types like Cofagrigus and Alolan Marowak super effectively. Mega Sableye is particularly troublesome, as by virtue of its typing, it doesn't take super effective damage from any of Conkeldurr's possible coverage options, though it must fear +1 Ice Punch if Conkeldurr is carrying Bulk Up.
**Psychic-types**: While most Psychic-types don't appreciate taking Knock Off or Facade, they can still adequately dent Conkeldurr with their STAB attacks. Examples include Tapu Lele, which can OHKO Conkedurr through Aurora Veil with its Choice Specs set, and Mega Medicham, which can chip Conkeldurr with Fake Out before heavily damaging it with STAB Zen Headbutt.
**Fast Fighting-resistant Pokemon**: If Conkeldurr has been sufficiently weakened, Pokemon like Tapu Koko, Mega Charizard Y, and Volcarona can easily tank a Mach Punch and revenge kill Conkeldurr in return.
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