Cyclohm


✦ ✧ CYCLOHM ✦ ✧



Cyclohm's immense physical bulk lets it wall top physical sweepers such as Cawmodore, Mega Pinsir, Tapu Bulu, and Kartana. Just like many other Electric-types, Cyclohm is able to check common Water- and Electric-types such Choice Scarf Volkraken and Magnezone, but Cyclohm differentiates itself by possessing more resistances as well as powerful moves like Draco Meteor and a wide movepool that includes Ice Beam, Flamethrower, and Hydro Pump as coverage options. This movepool combined with high Special Attack and a decent Speed tier allows Cyclohm to work as an offensive Pokemon as well.

However, Cyclohm's lacking special bulk means it suffers a lot from special attackers such as Krilowatt, Magearna, Greninja, Tapu Lele, and Tapu Koko. Cyclohm's typing makes it also weak to common physical wallbreakers such as Kyurem-B and Mega Medicham. Offensive Cyclohm suffers from its base 80 Speed, as it is very average and easily outsped when not holding Choice Scarf. Cyclohm is vulnerable to common coverage such as Hidden Power Ice and Hidden Power Ground, leaving it reluctant to switch in on special attackers it could otherwise check. It also faces competition as a defensive Electric-type from Zapdos, which offers a Ground immunity and Defog, and as an offensive Electric-type from Krilowatt, which boasts comparable coverage and greater Speed.


[SET]
name: Physically Defensive
move 1: Discharge / Volt Switch
move 2: Flamethrower / Ice Beam
move 3: Ice Beam / Toxic / Heal Bell
move 4: Slack Off
item: Leftovers / Rocky Helmet
ability: Static / Shield Dust
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA



[SET COMMENTS]

Moves
========


Discharge is a reliable STAB attack with a high chance of paralysis and works well with Static. Alternatively, Volt Switch enables Cyclohm to switch out to remain healthy and competent for the rest of the game. Flamethrower is used to hit Grass- and Steel-types, including Jumbao, Ferrothorn, Kartana, and Mega Scizor. Fire Blast is an alternative for higher power and the ability to OHKO Cawmodore, meaning Cyclohm doesn't have to rely on Static to beat Cawmodore after Belly Drum. The third move depends on what your team needs. Ice Beam allows Cyclohm to hit Ground- and Dragon-types that may threaten it such as Landorus-T, Zygarde, and Pajantom and is a great way to wear down Assault Vest Colossoil. Toxic wears down typical Cyclohm switch-ins such as Tapu Koko, Tapu Lele, Arghonaut, Pyroak, and Tangrowth. Heal Bell allows Cyclohm to perform a clerical role. If one of these utility options is considered more useful than Fire-type coverage, certain teams may prefer having Ice Beam over Flamethrower. Slack Off gives Cyclohm reliable recovery, allowing it to stay consistently healthy.

Set Details
========


252 HP EVs and 252 Defense EVs with a Bold nature grant Cyclohm maximum physical bulk. Leftovers give Cyclohm passive recovery, letting it shrug off strong hits more easily, while Rocky Helmet helps wear down physical attackers. Static allows defensive Cyclohm to paralyze physical attackers that use contact moves such as Cawmodore; it usually is a better option on the defensive set because paralysis enables Cyclohm to stall foes easily. Shield Dust can be used to prevent secondary effects such as burns from Scald, poison from Sludge Bomb and Mega Crucibelle's Gunk Shot, and stat drops from Kitsunoh's Shadow Strike, giving Cyclohm greater longevity. Cyclohm can move 124 EVs from Defense to Speed to be faster than defensive Landorus-T, Mega Mawile and Assault Vest Colossoil.

Usage Tips
========


Cyclohm should switch in on physical attackers it can deal with such as Cawmodore, Tapu Bulu, and Mega Scizor as well as certain Choice-locked special attackers such as Choice Scarf Volkraken. If running Heal Bell, Cyclohm should use it whenever the team needs status removed unless against stall, where it should be used sparingly because of its low PP. If running Toxic, it should be used on a predicted switch-in that can threaten Cyclohm or your team or on a threat that can be taken down later on with enough Toxic damage done. Cyclohm should use Slack Off when needed to avoid getting KOed and to scout foes' damage output and item. Cyclohm should only attack if it can take hits from the foe; otherwise, it should recover the health it loses with Slack Off or switch out. When running Static, Cyclohm should be used to threaten physical threats with paralysis.

Team Options
========


Specially defensive Pokemon such as Arghonaut, Celesteela, Chansey, Gastrodon, and Assault Vest Tapu Bulu complement Cyclohm's physical bulk and offer defensive synergy with traits such as Celesteela's Ground immunity. Defensive Ground checks such as Tomohawk and Landorus-T switch into Ground-types like Colossoil and Zygarde and may also set entry hazards, making it easier for Cyclohm to hit back. Water- and Bug-types such as Arghonaut and Mega Scizor can switch into Ice- and Ground-type moves aimed at Cyclohm. Bulky Steel-types such as Celesteela and Magearna deal with Fairy-types such as Tapu Lele. Mega Scizor + Tapu Bulu or Jumbao + Cyclohm makes a very bulky core; Mega Scizor offers U-turn momentum and weakness coverage, and Tapu Bulu provides Grassy Terrain for more recovery as well as less damage from Ground-types like Colossoil. Jumbao can also check Ground-types while also walling Heatran and providing Cyclohm with Wish support. Cyclohm can also help the core by running Heal Bell, which can be of major help when facing bulkier teams.

[SET]
name: Offensive
move 1: Volt Switch / Thunderbolt
move 2: Draco Meteor
move 3: Fire Blast
move 4: Hydro Pump / Ice Beam
item: Choice Specs
ability: Shield Dust
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe



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


Volt Switch allows Cyclohm to switch out against bad matchups while still inflicting damage on the foe. Thunderbolt is an alternative STAB move that allows Cyclohm to reliably hit Flying- and Water-types such as Tomohawk, Celesteela, Arghonaut, Toxapex, and Volkraken but lacks Volt Switch's momentum generation. Draco Meteor is Cyclohm's strongest attack, allowing it to hit a wider variety of threats. Fire Blast enables Cyclohm to hit Steel- and Grass-types like Ferrothorn, Cawmodore, Tapu Bulu, Mega Scizor, Jumbao, and Magearna. Hydro Pump allows Cyclohm to hit Rock- and Fire-types such as Tyranitar, Heatran, Victini, and Volcarona, which nearly get OHKOed on the switch. Ice Beam is mainly used to hit common Ground-types such as Colossoil, Gliscor, Landorus-T, and Zygarde.

Set Details
========


Shield Dust is the preferred ability, as offensive Cyclohm lacks the longevity to make much use of Static. Choice Specs offers higher damage output without any recoil damage. A Timid nature allows Cyclohm to outspeed Adamant Landorus-T, Timid Heatran, and unboosted Adamant Necturna.

Usage Tips
========


Offensive Cyclohm's biggest benefit is that it can bluff the defensive set to encourage certain switches. Choice Specs Cyclohm should be played as an early- or mid-game wallbreaker that lets teammates clean up late-game. Cyclohm should use Volt Switch early-game in order to pivot around while putting out damage and punish Ground-type switch-ins with Hydro Pump or Ice Beam. Careful usage of Fire Blast can pressure Assault Vest Magearna, as with a little bit of chip damage, Magearna is put into 2HKO range of it. Against a damaged team late-game, Cyclohm should focus on using Draco Meteor in order to hit everything as hard as possible unless Fairy- or Steel-types are present. If Cyclohm can take a hit from the foe, it should switch in to deal with the threat; Cawmodore and Tapu Bulu are good targets for Cyclohm to switch in on and take advantage of.

Team Options
========


This set usually does better on offensive teams but may be used on balanced teams as well. Offensive Cyclohm likes to be paired with bulky Pokemon that are able to take hits from Pokemon it's weak to such as Celesteela, Tangrowth, Skarmory, and Jumbao, the last of which can power up Fire Blast. Offensive Cyclohm can't switch in much due to lack of recovery, so it usually pairs well with a Wish or Healing Wish user such as Chansey, Jumbao, Clefable, or Tomohawk. Cyclohm enjoys being paired with physical wallbreakers such as Mega Medicham and Mega Crucibelle, which get rid of special walls. Priority users such as Mega Medicham, Mega Pinsir, Ash-Greninja, and Zygarde can easily pick foes off after Cyclohm weakens them. Entry hazard setters such as Fidgit, Landorus-T, Ferrothorn, and Arghonaut give Cyclohm a better chance of sweeping. Bulky hazard removers such as Tomohawk, Tornadus-T, and Colossoil help keep Cyclohm from being worn down. Sticky Web Necturna is a niche partner for Cyclohm, as it can let Cyclohm outspeed Kartana and Ash-Greninja.


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


Cyclohm may also be used offensively by using Dragonium Z with Volt Switch, Draco Meteor, Fire Blast, and Slack Off. Cyclohm can be a good secondary setter for Trick Room teams, using coverage like Ice Beam to shut down Ground-types and pivot with Volt Switch. This set usually runs Trick Room, Ice Beam, Fire Blast, and Volt Switch, holding a Shuca Berry to improve the matchup against Landorus-T and Zygarde. The most recommended spread is 252 HP / 36 SpA / 220 SpD with a Modest nature to tank attacks from special attackers such as Volkraken. Cyclohm may be played with Choice Scarf in order to outspeed other threats, but it's not very powerful. Physcially defensive Cyclohm may run Whirlwind to eliminate setup sweepers such as Cawmodore and Mega Crucibelle. Thunderbolt is an alternative option over Volt Switch or Discharge because it grants Cyclohm a stronger move, OHKOes Flame Orb Naviathan, and doesn't have a high paralysis chance that conflicts with Toxic.

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


**Fairy-types**: Fairy-types such as Mega Diancie, Tapu Lele, Clefable, Jumbao, Kerfluffle, and Dazzling Gleam Tapu Koko are immuned to Dragon-type attacks and usually can take a hit from Cyclohm, other than Ice Beam or Fire Blast on Jumbao and Hydro Pump on Mega Diancie. They hate getting paralyzed by Discharge, however.

**Ground-types**: Colossoil, Landorus-T, Fidgit, and Zygarde are immune to Discharge and Thunderbolt and can hit Cyclohm super effectively with their STAB moves without worrying about Static. Colossoil can switch in on Cyclohm, as it can take Ice Beam a couple of times, but the others must watch out for Ice Beam and Hydro Pump.

**Specially Defensive Pokemon**: Specially defensive Pokemon such as Chansey and Mollux tank all of Cyclohm's attacks and wear it down with status moves. Assault Vest Tangrowth, Tapu Bulu, and Magearna can also tank hits from Cyclohm without Choice Specs. Cyclohm also should be wary when switching in on Magearna due to Fleur Cannon and Ice Beam.

**Special Attackers**: Powerful special attackers such as Krilowatt, Stratagem, Syclant, Latios, Greninja, and Aurumoth can usually tank a super effective hit or two from defensive Cyclohm and strike back with strong or super effective attacks; however, most can't switch into Cyclohm's attacks.

**Physical Wallbreakers with Super Effective Coverage**: Wallbreakers such as Mega Mawile, Mega Medicham, Jumbao, Necturna, and Kyurem-B can easily take down Cyclohm due to their super effective coverage or STAB attacks; however, they usually can't switch in. Mega Mawile, Mega Medicham, and Necturna also don't like being paralyzed.
 
Last edited:

snake

is a Community Leaderis a Top CAP Contributoris a Contributor to Smogon
CAP Co-Leader
I generally want to give people time to develop WIPs before I bombard them with suggested changes, but I'm going to intervene now because I think it'll save time. You can't compress Choice Scarf and Choice Specs into one set. They might have the exact same importable; however, Usage Tips and Team Options can be very different. As such, I'd like to see a Choice Specs / Life Orb (/ Zap Plate or w/e if you'd like) and then a Choice Scarf set. Also, make Dragon Pulse a mention in the Draco Meteor bullet because it's simply not worth a slash when 2 Dracos in a row does more than 2 Dragon Pulses.

Again, sorry to comment before you've put it in QC but this should save you time and should result in a better analysis :)
 
Last edited:
I generally want to keep people time to develop WIPs before I bombard them with suggested changes, but I'm going to intervene now because I think it'll save time. You can't compress Choice Scarf and Choice Specs into one set. They might have the exact same importable; however, Usage Tips and Team Options can be very different. As such, I'd like to see a Choice Specs / Life Orb (/ Zap Plate or w/e if you'd like) and then a Choice Scarf set. Also, make Dragon Pulse a mention in the Draco Meteor bullet because it's simply not worth a slash when 2 Dracos in a row does more than 2 Dragon Pulses.

Again, sorry to comment before you've put it in QC but this should save you time and should result in a better analysis :)
Thank you for the feedback! I have to say that I was unsure of adding Choice Scarf there but the the strategy thread mentioned it paired with Choice Specs and Life Orb so I thought I was doing the right thing but obviously I wasn't, I'll work on it more!
 

snake

is a Community Leaderis a Top CAP Contributoris a Contributor to Smogon
CAP Co-Leader
this is a bible

[OVERVIEW]
  • Cyclohm is one of the bulkiest Phys.Def Pokemon in the Metagame and the best Cawmodore counter. It's the only hard counter :)
  • Cyclohm's Typing allows it to resist 6 different types (Electric, Fire, Flying, Grass, Steel, Water) I'd explain what things it checks, rather than listing the types it's able to resist. Also talk about how Cyclohm's solid defensive stats help with its abilities. Emphasize that its great at checking most of the Steel-types, Flying-types, and Grass-types in the meta without being nuked over by Fire-type and Electric-type moves (since things like Celesteela / Skarmory suffer these weaknesses)
  • Cyclohm is very versatile as it learns a lot of different moves and has a big coverage list. Name some of the prominent coverage types (Electric, Dragon, Fire, Ice, Water)
  • 112 base Sp.Atk allows Cyclohm to also be used offensively Mention it's decent speed tier
  • Static allows Cyclohm to paralyze physical attackers while Shield Dust allows it to ignore secondary effects such as Scald - burns and Shadow Strikes - defense drops. Explain what these abilities do for Cyclohm rather than list off a description. (Cyclohm can better check physical attackers it walls, for example)
  • Big mention for how phys def can actually stomach hits from Focus Sash Dugtrio, offensive can tank one EQ. Screech and Toxic are things, but for a slow Electric-type not to keel over at the sight of Dugtrio is pretty cool
Make a bulleted list of negatives too - weak to common attacking types, base 80 speed is kinda slow, requires prediction, suffers a little that everything runs HP Ice, Fairy-types are everywhere

[SET]
name: Physically Defensive
move 1: Discharge
move 2: Fire Blast / Flamethrower
move 3: Slack Off
move 4: Heal Bell / Toxic / Ice Beam / Volt Switch
item: Leftovers
ability: Static / Shield Dust
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Sp. Atk

name: Physically Defensive
move 1: Discharge
move 2: Fire Blast / Ice Beam
move 3: Slack Off
move 4: Toxic / Ice Beam / Volt Switch / Heal Bell
item: Leftovers
ability: Static / Shield Dust
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA

Personally I like these slashes better. BoltBeam + Toxic is definitely a solid choice if you have a cawm check and just want a physically defensive wall. Wait to implement this until other QC checkers give their opinion though. Reorder the moves accordingly


[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
  • Discharge is an Electric-Type STAB attacks used to hit anything that is not immune to or resisted. Discharge also is a way for Cyclohm to play around with it's ability Static to get non-physical threats paralyzed.Mention how Discharge can stack with Static against physical attackers If wanting more power Thunderbolt may be an option and would mostly be used as a pair with Toxic to prevent clashing status.
  • Fire Blast hits Grass- and Steel-types that Cyclohm walls, including Necturna, Ferrothorn, and Mega Scizor. However, Flamethrower is an option if perfect accuracy is desired, but Cyclohm will have to rely on Static to stop Cawmodore's sweep.
  • Slack Off is a way for Cyclohm to get reliable recovery with 16PP allowing it to abuse it, as well as the bonus trait of not being affected by weather.
  • The last option really depends on what your team needs, Heal Bell allows Cyclohm to have more of a cleric role that can cure the team of status. Toxic allows Cyclohm to badly poison walls and relevant threats on switch-ins such as fairy types which Fairy-types? mention bulky stuff in general like Pyroak, Arghonaut. Ice Beam allows Cyclohm to hit Ground and Dragon Types that may threaten it such as Landorus-T, Colossoil, Garchomp, and Salamence Zygarde too, mention that it can also hit Grass-types. Hydro Pump also may be an option if you're looking to hit fire types such as Heatran but Ice Beam usually has a bigger range making it the preferred option. Volt Switch is giving Cyclohm the option to play the similar role of Rotom-Wash as a pivot and switch out on difficult times.Remove the comparison to Rotom-W (observant, but not relevant :( ) Just mention that it can form solid defensive VoltTurn cores with it
Set Details
========
  • 252 HP and Defense with a Bold nature allows Cyclohm to be at the bulkiest it could be on the physical side. "HP EVs, Defense EVs" and EVs are plural so "allow"
  • Leftovers allow Cyclohm to get 6% of HP every turn as passive recovery helping Cyclohm's longevity. you don't really need to explain what lefties do, just say that they're very important for Cyclohm's capacity to take damage (which you do)
  • Static allows Cyclohm to paralyze attackers using contact moves such as Cawmodore, while Shield Dust is used to prevent secondary effects such as burns from Scald, poison from Sludge Bomb, Stat Drops most likely from Shadow Strike and more. Explain why each one of these are good on Cyclohm, why Static is better in general on the phys def set (if applicable)
  • An alternate spread of 252 HP / 100 Def / 140 SpD / 16 Spe can be used to outspeed Azumarill at best speed and avoiding the 2HKO from Mega Charizard Y's Fire Blast good example, but Flamethrower is becoming the better option tbh, Keldeo's Hydro Pump remove this example, Cyclohm is 3HKOed regardless with 252 HP / 0 SpD, Thundurus's Hidden Power Ice, remove this example, it's not relevant and uninvested Heatran's Earth Power, allowing Cyclohm to use Slack Off against these foes. Let's work on a new mixed spread :)

Usage Tips
========
  • This set is more suited for defensive and balanced teams that need a wall to deal with Physical threats. threats like what?
  • If running Heal Bell, Cyclohm should use it whenever the team needs status removed. yes, but explain when to use it. it's bad to spam against super defensive teams / stall teams because Heal Bell has only 8PP
  • If running Toxic, it should be used on a predicted switch-in or on a threat that can be taken down later on with enough Toxic damage done. switch-ins like what?
  • Cyclohm should use Slack Off when needed to avoid getting KOed. mention how Slack Off is a very safe move to scout out damage rolls and for coverage against certain pokemon. For example, if you take 57% from volk, surprise it's Specs, but you just healed off the damage
  • explain how to switch in Clohm, how to watch out for Ground-type switch-ins when using Discharge / Volt Switch

Team Options
========
  • Bulky Pokemon that can complete Cyclohm such as Celesteela and Chansey are good partners with Cyclohm because they may tank attacks Cyclohm can't. Specially Defensive Pokemon* explain type synergy too, Celesteela in particular
  • Defensive Flying Types such as Tomohawk and Skarmory also are good teammates, as they can switch into Ground Types like Colossoil and Landorus-T and may also add hazards on the field making it easier for Cyclohm to hit back. "Flying-types, Ground-types"
  • Water Types such as Rotom-W, Arghonaut, Slowbro, as well as Mega Scizor can switch into Ice and Ground Types moves aimed at Cyclohm.
  • Bulky Steel Types such as Celesteela and Magearna are also good partners to Cyclohm, as they can deal with Fairy Types such as Tapu Lele.
  • Tapu Bulu also is a nice teammate as Grassy Terrain offers extra health and also negates Earthquake which Cyclohm can benefits from. halves EQ, not negates
[SET]
name: Offensive
move 1: Thunderbolt
move 2: Fire Blast
move 3: Ice Beam / Hydro Pump
move 4: Volt Switch / Draco Meteor
item: Choice Specs / Life Orb
ability: Static / Shield Dust <-- Swap these two
nature: Modest / Timid <--- Swap these two, outspeeding Adamant Landorus-T is important
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
  • Thunderbolt is a reliable STAB move that allows Cyclohm to hit super effectively Flying and Water Types such as Charizard and Volkraken. Mention Discharge on this set, as the chance to paralyze at the cost of a little power can be nice
  • Fire attacks are a great way for Cyclohm to hit Grass, Ice, Bug, and Steel-types such as, Kitsunoh, Necturna, Mega Scizor, Ferrothorn, and, most notably, Cawmodore. Fire Blast usually is the favorite option as it ables Cyclohm to OHKO Cawmodore but if you're looking for more accuracy Flamethrower is a good choice. Remove flamethrower mention, add how AV Magearna is almost 2HKOed, Shift Gear almost OHKOed
  • Hydro Pump and Ice Beam are used to hit Ground Types, Hydro Pump also allows Cyclohm to hit super effectively Rock and Fire types such as Stratagem or Heatran. reorder the choice of moves to reflect what's on the set, explain which Ground-types get hit and why you should pick one or the other
  • The last move may be Dragon Stab or Volt Switch, Draco Meteor is one of the most powerful Dragon-Type attacks used to hit threats such as Latios however, Dragon Pulse is an alternative to prevent Cyclohm's Special Attack to be lowered. Volt Switch allows Cyclohm to switch out on difficult times as well as giving it the option to pivot. reorder the moves, mention that Draco should really only be used with Hydro Pump
Set Details
========
  • Shield Dust is the preferred ability as offensive Cyclohm is limited in switch-ins meaning that Static would not be a benefit in most cases, Shield Dust also is to prevent secondary effects such as poison from Sludge Bomb, burn from Scald and Lava Plume, and Defense drops from Shadow Strike. Static deserves a mention for cheesing past random physical attackers
  • Both Choice Specs and Life Orb increase Cyclohm's attacks, Choice Specs offers no recoil damage but more power, while Life Orb might be weaker but it gives Cyclohm the opportunity to switch moves around.
  • Max Sp.Atk and Speed EVs with a Timid nature are used to hit hard and as fast as possible; thus allows Cyclohm can outspeed based 85 such as Tomohawk, uninvested Landorus-T, and Assault Vest Colossoil. this point doesn't make sense when you compare speed stats
  • An alternate spread of 212 HP / 252 SpA / 44 Spe with a Modest nature can be used on sets with Choice Specs or Life Orb for more bulk while still outspeeding uninvested Tomohawk. this spread is kinda trash, it should be able to outspeed SubCoil Zygarde at the very least (even if it isn't popular anymore, losing to it would suck). I wouldn't go beneath 224 with a Modest Nature to outspeed unboosted Magearna and snipe it with Fire Blast

Usage Tips
========
  • Offensive Cyclohm usually does better on an Offensive Team but may be used in Balanced Teams as well.
  • Offensive Cyclohm's biggest benefit is that you can surprise your opponent thinking it is the bulky set and that they can set up on it.
  • If using Choice Specs or Life Orb, <-- remove this Cyclohm should be as an early/mid game threat in order to make enough damages for Cyclohm's teammates to clean up late-game.
  • If Cyclohm can take a hit from the foe, it should switch in to deal with the threat Cawmodore and Kitsunoh are good targets for Cyclohm to switch in on and take advantage of. Explicitly state that this clohm is a cawm check, as it takes 62% min from drain punch (and is OHKOed by ZFly)
Team Options
========
  • Offensive Cyclohm likes to be paired with bulky pokemon that are able to take hits from Cyclohm's weaknesses, such as Celesteela, Tangrowth and Skarmory.
  • Cyclohm is rather slow so pairing it with faster attackers such as Mega Lopunny is a good option. how about faster attackers that complement Cyclohm's coverage / stuff it checks and faster attackers that appreciate stuff clohm lures. name some of those
  • Bulky Hazards removers such as Tomohawk and Tapu Fini are helping Cyclohm to have a longer longevity on the field.
  • Necturna is a good partner for Cyclohm as it can set up Sticky Web making the opponent's team slower which is a big benefit to Cyclohm as it is only at 284 Max.
  • Cyclohm becomes limited to switching-in as it does not carry much bulk as well as not being able to use Slack Off as reliable recovery so it is usually paired with Cleric / Support Pokemons such as Chansey or Kitsunoh.

[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Thunderbolt
move 2: Fire Blast
move 3: Ice Beam / Hydro Pump
move 4: Volt Switch / Draco Meteor
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Static / Shield Dust <-- Switch
nature: Modest / Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
  • Thunderbolt is a reliable STAB move that allows Cyclohm to hit super effectively Flying and Water Types such as Charizard and Volkraken. Discharge may be an option as well as it gives the possibility to paralyze threats but it will give Cyclohm less damage output.get rid of discharge, cyclohm needs more
  • Fire Blast is Cyclohm's best coverage move enabling it to hit Grass- and Steel-types such as Necturna, Ferrothorn, Mega Scizor and Kitsunoh.
  • Ice Beam and Hydro Pump are used to hit Ground Types, Hydro Pump also allows Cyclohm to hit super effectively Rock and Fire types such as Stratagem or Heatran.
  • Volt Switch allows Cyclohm to switch out on difficult times as well as giving it the option to pivot. Draco Meteor is one of the most powerful Dragon-Type attacks used to hit threats such as Latios and Garchomp, usually better paired with Hydro Pump.
Use the moves section to explain what moves hit things that it outspeeds with Choice Scarf

Set Details
========
  • Shield Dust is the preferred ability as offensive Cyclohm is limited in switch-ins meaning that Static would not be a benefit in most cases, Shield Dust also is to prevent secondary effects such as poison from Sludge Bomb, burn from Scald and Lava Plume, and Defense drops from Shadow Strike.
  • Explain Static
  • Choice Scarf gives Cyclohm the ability to be faster than scarfed based 95 speed (Tapu Lele) this is false, it outspeeds Greninja at most with an unboosted nature and nature boosted based 120 speed (Dugtrio) allowing Cyclohm to outspeed some of the fastest Pokemons of the tier.
  • Explain choice of nature, imo Modest is better to have a little more power because you don't outspeed much else anyway
Usage Tips
========
  • Scarf Cyclohm usually is good on any teams but does best on offensive / balanced teams. Move to Team Options
  • One of Scarf Cyclohm's biggest benefit is to surprise your opponent by being faster which is a good thing because it allows Cyclohm to be used well as a revenge killer.
  • In-front of pokemons that are not hit super effectively by any of cyclohm's moves, your best option is to go for STAB attacks Thunderbolt if it does enough to kill, otherwise switching out using Volt Switch to something that does a better amount of damage output.
  • Scarf Cyclohm likes it's side of the field to be hazard cleared in order to have a longer longevity.
  • Add faster Scarfers because Scarf Cyclohm can't be your only one, it's too slow


Team Options
========
  • Scarf Cyclohm likes to be paired with Necturna as it can set up Sticky Webs allowing Cyclohm to outspeed Grounded Pokemons that it couldn't before. Webs don't really help honestly
  • Scarf Cyclohm likes to be paired with bulky pokemon that are able to take hits from Cyclohm's weaknesses, such as Celesteela, Tangrowth and Mega-Scizor.
  • Hazard Removers such as Tapu Fini and Skarmory are good to pair with Cyclohm as they can get rid of Hazards.
  • Cyclohm becomes limited to switching-in as it does not carry much bulk as well as not being able to use Slack Off as reliable recovery so it is usually paired with Cleric Pokemons such as Chansey or Clefable.
Other QC members chime in, I know I said to separate Scarf from the Specs / LO set, but I'm wondering if Scarf deserves a set. Modest Scarf outspeeds Greninja, Timid Scarf outspeeds most of the unboosted meta (not Mega Alakazam tho). It kinda suffers how most other scarfers are faster. Double scarfer teams can work, but it's kinda taking the best things about Cyclohm (good defenses, good offense, decent speed) and ignoring them trying to patch up a deficiency to make everything pretty average if that makes sense. It's definitely worth mentioning on the analysis in at least OO, but I'm struggling to see why you'd use it over Tapu Koko, for example.

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

  • Cyclohm may also be used under Rain as a rain-setter, offensive or even a mixed of both. elaborate one what to run (Thunder, Hydro Pump)
  • Offensive Cyclohm can be a very good threat in Trick Room. move this to Choice Specs team options and explain what setters are good
  • Cyclohm can be used to set up Screens as utility. Explain what moves/item to run with them
  • Add Whirlwind / Roar
Checks and Counters
===================

**Ground-types**: Colossoil, Landorus-T, Fidgit, and Zygarde are all immune to Discharge and Thunderbolt and can hit Cyclohm supereffectively with their STAB move without worrying about Static. However, they must watch out for Ice Beam and Hydro Pump. Add Garchomp, Mega Swampert

**Fairy Types**: Fairy types such as Gardevoir and Kerfluffle are immuned to Dragon Type attacks and usually can take a hit from Cyclohm but hate getting Paralyzed on a Discharge, they check Cyclohm as they OHKO Cyclohm using Fairy STAB. Add Tapu Lele, Clefable, Magearna, Tapu Fini

**Ice Types**: Ice Types such as Syclant and Alolan Ninetails can threaten Cyclohm with STAB, however they hate being paralyzed and have to watch out for Fire Blast.

**Specially Defensive Pokemon**: Specially Defensive Pokemon such as Chansey or Mollux do not care about Cyclohm as they can tank any hits and hit back harder. Say they can cripple Cyclohm with Toxic, Add AV Magearna but mention how offensive Specs Cyclohm hits it pretty hard, same with AV Tangrowth Add Pyroak, Add Heatran

**Special Attackers**: Special Attackers such as Krilowatt can very well tank hits from Cyclohm and strike back harder. Add Mega Alakazam, offensive Focus Blast/Aura Sphere Tomohawk, Latios, Greninja, Dazzling Gleam Tapu Koko, Aurumoth, Kingdra

Add a "Powerful Physical Wallbreakers" section for Mega Mawile, Mega Medicham, Marowak-A, Navithan etc. Just stuff that can boost / smack Cyclohm hard / hit it super effectively because as good of a wall as it is, it still can be overloaded with damage (but Static trolling helps a lot)

more things: happiny expand on this point :p
cbrevan, HeaLnDeaL, or anyone else who wants to chime in, notably I'm proposing an edit to the slashes on defensive and wondering if Scarf should be moved to OO (definitely viable, idk if its good though). If there are any objections, I'd like to hear them. Marjane, don't get rid of Scarf until the rest of the QC team has given their opinion
 

HeaLnDeaL

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Slash Thunderbolt after Discharge on the Physically Defensive set (you have it mentioned but not slashed but since it's a p viable option I think slashing it too is best). In Checks and Counters, Fairy Types should be moved to the top and Specially Defensive Pokemon should be moved o be right under the fairies. Special attackers as a category should be removed because its not descriptive enough. I don't disagree that Krilowatt usually beats Cyclohm, it's just that the category is vacuous.

Regarding Choice Scarf, I'm leaning towards keeping it as a set but it really could go either way as its realistically somewhere between a notable great set and OO.

I also firmly disagree with snake's edit to change the Overview to say Cyclohm is the only hard counter. Even the original wording of Cyclohm being the "best Cawmadore counter" is subjective and I would strongly prefer it to say "one of the best Cawmadore counters" or "arguably the best Cawmodore counter" just so that you're leaving some room for alternative perspectives on a less than objective assertion.

I also disagree with snake's proposal to have Fire Blast and Ice Beam slashed together as they hit very different things and Cyclohm is p. much required to have a fire move.

I think Marjane's alternative spread being able to avoid the 2HKO from Zard Y is extremely relevant and I highly question snake's assertion that Flamethrower Zard Y is making Fire Blast irrelevant. If a different alternative spread can be hashed out then so be it but I the claim that Zard Y is running more Flamethrowers than Fire Blasts seems very strange to me and I think marjane's spread has real potential (though proof of it working would be nice).

snake's "faster scarfers" comment to usage tips on the scarf set seems very out of place. It could feasibly be added to team options, which I think snake was trying to add it there but mistakenly put it into tips. Personally I don't think sscarf clohm needs to have a scarfed partner on its team, but I guess that's why it's called team options and not "team needs." I also disagree with snake's claim that webs support doesn't help scarf Cyclohm. I don't think it's necessary and it shouldn't be the first thing listed, but it is somewhat helpful to allow Clohm to defeat speedy grounds like Scarf Garchomp... probably more of a niche team option but blah.

These are simply my opinions at this time, if snake or marjane wants to talk to me about something then they are more than welcome to.
 

cbrevan

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I'll look at the whole analysis once Marjane implements snake_rattler's edits.

For the Physically Defensive set, I think snake_rattler's proposed set is ideal. Unlike HeaLnDeaL, I prefer having Ice Beam slashed with Fire Blast. In all honesty, Fire Blast isn't the end all be all coverage on Cyclohm anymore, mainly because it's no longer needed to have a shot at beating Mega Metagross. When we compare the Pokemon Fire Blast and Ice Beam cover, we'll see that Ice Beam hits Pokemon that are even more relevant than what Fire Blast covers. 2HKOing all Zygardes, Garchomps, Landorus-t's, and Flame Orb Colossoils is at the very least as relevant as covering Magearna, Ferrothorn, SD Mega Scizor, and Cawmodore. Of those last four Pokemon, only Magearna and Ferrothorn are really relevant in the current metagame, and even with Fire Blast Magearna still wins the matchup against Cyclohm due to it's great bulk. So, I think Ice Beam is just as important a move for Cyclohm users to consider as Fire Blast as, especially given how prominent all of the Pokemon it covers are.

Scarf should stay it's own set. I haven't used it much so I won't comment on it's slashes.

One other thing I noticed was how Draco Meteor was slashed behind Volt Switch on the Offensive set. Ideally, I'd like to see it have it's own slash where Ice Beam and Hydro Pump are, and have Hydro Pump slashed behind Volt Switch. Draco Meteor gives Cyclohm significantly more bite against neutral targets such as Pyroak, and allows Cyclohm to fire off powerful STAB attacks without having to worry about a Ground-type switch in. Speaking of Ground-types, Choice Specs retains the OHKO on everything but AV Colossoil and defensive Landorus-t- the later of which is OHKOed after a single round of rocks. Life Orb set does have lose the OHKO on defensive Landorus-t, and offensive sets become a roll in Cyclohm's favor, but Draco Meteor is admittedly better on a Life Orb set where you can easily punish Magearna's attempting to switch into it. I just think the overall power of Draco Meteor and it's ability to retain coverage on most of the same Ground-types Ice Beam hits makes Draco Meteor worth it's own slash. Hydro Pump is also a good option with Draco Meteor, as it hits Heatran and Colossoil/Landorus-t harder than Draco Meteor, which is why it should be slashed behind Volt Switch.

I also noticed you copy and pasted some parts of your analysis, please refrain from doing this in the future.
 
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snake

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Slash Thunderbolt after Discharge on the Physically Defensive set (you have it mentioned but not slashed but since it's a p viable option I think slashing it too is best). In Checks and Counters, Fairy Types should be moved to the top and Specially Defensive Pokemon should be moved o be right under the fairies. Special attackers as a category should be removed because its not descriptive enough. I don't disagree that Krilowatt usually beats Cyclohm, it's just that the category is vacuous.

Regarding Choice Scarf, I'm leaning towards keeping it as a set but it really could go either way as its realistically somewhere between a notable great set and OO.

I also firmly disagree with snake's edit to change the Overview to say Cyclohm is the only hard counter. Even the original wording of Cyclohm being the "best Cawmadore counter" is subjective and I would strongly prefer it to say "one of the best Cawmadore counters" or "arguably the best Cawmodore counter" just so that you're leaving some room for alternative perspectives on a less than objective assertion.

I also disagree with snake's proposal to have Fire Blast and Ice Beam slashed together as they hit very different things and Cyclohm is p. much required to have a fire move.

I think Marjane's alternative spread being able to avoid the 2HKO from Zard Y is extremely relevant and I highly question snake's assertion that Flamethrower Zard Y is making Fire Blast irrelevant. If a different alternative spread can be hashed out then so be it but I the claim that Zard Y is running more Flamethrowers than Fire Blasts seems very strange to me and I think marjane's spread has real potential (though proof of it working would be nice).

snake's "faster scarfers" comment to usage tips on the scarf set seems very out of place. It could feasibly be added to team options, which I think snake was trying to add it there but mistakenly put it into tips. Personally I don't think sscarf clohm needs to have a scarfed partner on its team, but I guess that's why it's called team options and not "team needs." I also disagree with snake's claim that webs support doesn't help scarf Cyclohm. I don't think it's necessary and it shouldn't be the first thing listed, but it is somewhat helpful to allow Clohm to defeat speedy grounds like Scarf Garchomp... probably more of a niche team option but blah.

These are simply my opinions at this time, if snake or marjane wants to talk to me about something then they are more than welcome to.
If Tbolt doesn't get any notable KOes on the defensive set, idk why it should get a slash when Discharge's Paralysis is so helpful. I suggested that to Marjane when she approached me for some help early on, but that's my two cents.

Is there something wrong with a Discharge / Ice Beam / (Toxic or Volt Switch) / Slack Off set? If your team is particularly equipped to deal with Steel-types, BoltBeam + Toxic sounds like a perfectly viable option, especially with Landorus and Zygarde everywhere. Volt Switch if you want to get out of a Magearna switch-in. It's a second slash to Fire Blast too. Fire Blast is still the better option imo, but I think Ice Beam is a very good alternative if you want to use the flex moveslot for Volt Switch or Toxic. It also makes Cyclohm vs Cyclohm less stupid.

The whole hard counter thing was just a comment, not really a change (sorry that it wasn't clear).

The thing with Cyclohm as a Scarfer is similar to having Hoopa-U as a Scarfer, since they have similar Speed Tiers. You outspeed stuff but it's unreliable when there are faster sweeper that you can't check because your scarfer is too slow. A second scarfer isn't required but it's useful.

Flamethrower in general has become a more common option on Mega Zard Y for its much higher PP, which lets it bust through bulky teams without worrying about PP stall as much. I wasn't discrediting the example Marianne gave, but I feel like there need to be better examples, especially given that some examples are flat out uncommon.

On mobile, please point out anything unclear
 
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Alright so I changed some of the mentions, I will do more of that later to make it more gen7 appropriate.

Before I do anything I would like to get your opinions on some things. I personally don't feel like Scarf Cyclohm should be listed as a set it's way too uncommon and insufficient in terms of viability to be listed there so I would like to move it to OO or just scrap it.

Mr. Rattler told me to try Cyclohm and see what changed, and so I did. I changed the defensive set to what I think fits best now please give me feedback on that. I'm going to elaborate and tell you why it became what it is, basically with the amount of bulk and annoying pokemon present to the current meta I find Cyclohm to better function as pivot by carrying volt switch instead of discharge and thunderbolt - which I took the liberty of taking out as 3 slashes is annoying and it didn't benefit Cyclohm much but I can change that back if you guys think I'm wrong. Furthermore I thought that heal bell was the option to go to if not Fire Blast mainly because of things like Arghonaut and Ferrothorns running around throwing purple balls at everyone or Toxapex/Gren throwing purple spikes on the battle field, anyways you get the point status are more common, I've even seen Toxic Tomohawks which I find pretty crazy, but all of this is benefiting Cyclohm to better fit the support role.

I also would like to hear your opinions on how Pajantom can affect any of Cyclohm's sets, I personally havn't fought or seen enough to form a strong opinion on it, I personally don't think it ended up being too relevant and common to affect Cyclohm, if you think otherwise the only change I could potentially see is running Draco Meteor which OHKO's when not running any hp or spdef investments.

I'm excited to get feed back on this also if anything is not the way you'd like on the writing or anything please tell me so that I can change it :)

tagging you guys: HeaLnDeaL cbrevan snake_rattler
 

snake

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name: Physically Defensive
move 1: Volt Switch / Discharge
move 2: Flamethrower / Ice Beam
move 3: Ice Beam / Heal Bell / Toxic
move 4: Slack Off
item: Leftovers
ability: Static / Shield Dust
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA

Flamethrower should be the primary fire-type move of choice for now, as cawm is not so relevant and Kartana very much is. Missing Fire Blast against a Kartana and letting it boost to where it can kill you with Z-Sacred Sword kinda sucks, and Ice Beam doesn't get the job done, so Flamethrower is better. Of course, Fire Blast should still get a mention. Make sure you review the details of the set and move slack off to the bottom

name: Offensive
move 1: Volt Switch / Thunderbolt
move 2: Draco Meteor
move 3: Fire Blast
move 4: Ice Beam / Hydro Pump
item: Choice Specs / Life Orb
ability: Shield Dust
nature: Timid / Modest
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

Volt Switch is cool because you pivot until you can nuke with Draco. Fire Blast to chunk Magearna (hazards + vswitch puts Magearna into FB 2HKO range), slot four for ground-types. I'm a bit doubtful on Life Orb and even moreso on Modest because the speed tier is important. Tbolt still gets second slash because more power

EDIT: Scarf to OO because there's no real reason to run that commonly
 
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name: Physically Defensive
move 1: Volt Switch / Discharge
move 2: Flamethrower / Ice Beam
move 3: Ice Beam / Heal Bell / Toxic
move 4: Slack Off
item: Leftovers
ability: Static / Shield Dust
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA

Flamethrower should be the primary fire-type move of choice for now, as cawm is not so relevant and Kartana very much is. Missing Fire Blast against a Kartana and letting it boost to where it can kill you with Z-Sacred Sword kinda sucks, and Ice Beam doesn't get the job done, so Flamethrower is better. Of course, Fire Blast should still get a mention. Make sure you review the details of the set and move slack off to the bottom

name: Offensive
move 1: Volt Switch / Thunderbolt
move 2: Draco Meteor
move 3: Fire Blast
move 4: Ice Beam / Hydro Pump
item: Choice Specs / Life Orb
ability: Shield Dust
nature: Timid / Modest
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

Volt Switch is cool because you pivot until you can nuke with Draco. Fire Blast to chunk Magearna (hazards + vswitch puts Magearna into FB 2HKO range), slot four for ground-types. I'm a bit doubtful on Life Orb and even moreso on Modest because the speed tier is important. Tbolt still gets second slash because more power

EDIT: Scarf to OO because there's no real reason to run that commonly
updated :)
 

snake

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[OVERVIEW]
  • Cyclohm is one of the bulkiest Physically Defensive Pokemon in the Metagame and one of the best Cawmodore counters. add in a few more mentions here like Bulu and Kartana and Mega Pinsir to an extent
  • Cyclohm's Typing allows it to resist 6 different types, Cyclohm is great at countering/ checking Grass and Steel types such as Tangrowth and Kitsunoh and unlike Tomohawk and Skarmory it can take Electric and Fire hits. clohm has become a rather focused wall - consolidate this sort of comment with the mentions of what clohm walls best in the first sentence
basically the first sentence needs to start off with out clohm is a focused wall now that takes on specific threatening sweepers and it's an electric-type that can tackle Ground-types too - (don't add this, but in contrast to gen 6, it doesn't blanket check half the meta anymore)
  • Cyclohm acts as a great check to Grass- and Steel-types such as Tapu Bulu, Tangrowth, Kitsunoh, and Celesteela while also checking common Fire-type and Electric-type threats like Choice Scarf Volkraken and Magnezone. you cover the first half of the sentence in the first part, so just mention what else clohm soft checks
  • Cyclohm has access to a wide coverage movepool such as Ice Beam, Fire Blast change this to flamethrower and Hydro Pump.
  • 112 Base Sp.Atk and it's decent tier speed of 80 allows Cyclohm to also be used offensively with a speed investment or item. don't explicitly name out the SpA - just say that it's good and despite cyclohm's generally defensive stats, it can pull off the offensive set with Choice Specs
  • Static allows Cyclohm to paralyze physical attackers while Shield Dust allows it to ignore secondary effects such as Scald - burns and Shadow Strikes - defense drops. emphasize that cyclohm can make really great use of its abilities
  • Cyclohm is very good at pralyzing threats, notably thanks to Static which punishes Physical Attackers, but also Discharge which has a 30% chance to paralyze
Mention the utility that Clohm can bring? pivoting, cleric, status spreading?
  • While Cyclohm's bulk is large on the physical side it suffers a lot from Special Attackers such as, Krilowatt, Magearna, Greninja, Tapu Lele and Tapu Koko.
  • Cyclohm's typing also suffers a lot from common wallbreakers such as Kyurem-B and Tapu Lele.
  • Offensive Cyclohm also suffers from it's base 80 speed as it is very average and easily outsped when not scarfed.
  • Cyclohm suffers from the common HP Ice leaving it to be wary on switch-ins.
[SET]
name: Physically Defensive
move 1: Volt Switch / Discharge
move 2: Flamethrower / Ice Beam
move 3: Ice Beam / Heal Bell / Toxic
move 4: Slack Off
item: Leftovers
ability: Static / Shield Dust
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
  • Volt Switch is a very good option on Cyclohm because beside being a STAB attack, it enbales Cyclohm to switch out when needed to in order to remain healthy and competent. Discharge is an Electric-Type STAB attack used to hit anything that is not immune to or resisted, and is preferred due to its high chance of paralysis. This, in combination with its ability Static, makes it easy to paralyze contact attackers, but it can to get non-physical as well as physical threats paralyzed. Thunderbolt is an alternative option that has a higher chance to OHKO Flame Orb Naviathan and can be used with Toxic to prevent clashing status. Move thunderbolt on defensive cyclohm to OO like whirlwind is. Volt Switch and Discharge are just better
  • Flamethrower is used to hit Grass- and Steel-types that Cyclohm walls, including Ferrothorn, Kartana and Mega Scizor. However, Fire Blast is an option if stronger damage is desired, Fire Blast enables Cyclohm to OHKO Cawmodore while not having to rely on Static.
  • The third option really depends on what your team needs, Ice Beam allows Cyclohm to hit Ground and Dragon Types that may threaten it such as Landorus-T, Colossoil, Garchomp, and Salamence remove Garchomp as it's not very relevant now, add zygarde and pajantom because they are more relevant, and make sure to say that it chips down AV Colo. Hydro Pump also may be an option to hit fire types such as Heatran and Marowak-A, but Ice Beam usually has a bigger range making it the preferred option.

  • Hydro Pump's uses are very limited - you chunk Heatran, Marowak-A, and Colossoil. However, Marowak-A rarely runs Lightning Rod anymore, Colossoil doesn't really get chipped down that much more, and at this point you're just better off never running Hydro Pump and to hit Heatran with Volt Switch and Discharge, so just remove Hydro Pump from here

  • Heal Bell allows Cyclohm to have more of a cleric role that can cure the team and itself of status like Toxic and Burns. On the other hand Cyclohm can use Toxic to badly poison walls and relevant threats on switch-ins such as fairy types like Tapu Koko and Tapu Lele, bulky walls like Arghonaut, Pyroak and Tangrowth. Cyclohm has great coverage, but its switch-ins usually get away pretty freely because they have the special defense to get past clohm. to circumvent this, Cyclohm uses Toxic to make the weak hits seem to hit harder. Make this a little more clear
  • Slack Off gives Cyclohm reliable recovery, allowing it to stay consistently healthy throughout the match.
Set Details
========
  • 252 HP EVs and 252 Defense EVs with a Bold nature allow Cyclohm to be at the bulkiest it could be on the physical side.
  • Leftovers gives Cyclohm passive recovery, letting it shrug off strong hits more easily.
  • Static allows Cyclohm to paralyse attackers using contact moves such as Cawmodore and usually is a better option on the defensive set, as it possesses the bulk to paralyse physical attackers, enabling Cyclohm to stall foes out easily after having been paralysed. Shield Dust is used to prevent secondary effects such as burns from Scald, poison from Sludge Bomb, Mega Crucibelle's Gunk Shot poison, Stat Drops most likely from Shadow Strike and more giving Cyclohm a longer longevity on the field.
  • An alternate spread of 252 HP / 100 Def / 140 SpD / 16 Spe can be used to outspeed Azumarill at best speed and avoiding the 2HKO from Mega Charizard Y's Fire Blast and uninvested Heatran's Earth Power, allowing Cyclohm to use Slack Off against these foes. azu and megazardy are at an all time low now, so this spread seems a little bad. maybe a set that creeps defensive lando to hit it with ice beam
252 HP / 148 Def / 108 Spe with Bold Nature outspeeds Landorus-T and can almost OHKO it with Ice Beam

Usage Tips
========
  • This set is more suited for defensive and balanced teams that need a wall to deal with Physical threats such as Cawmodore, Kartana and Tapu Bulu.
  • If running Heal Bell, Cyclohm should use it whenever the team needs status removed, against Stall Cyclohm should only use it when it the Status is becoming a huge threat to the team as Heal Bell can easily get PP stalled.
  • If running Toxic, it should be used on a predicted switch-in that can threaten your Cyclohm or your team, or on a threat that can be taken down later on with enough Toxic damage done.
  • Cyclohm should use Slack Off when needed to avoid getting KOed, Slack Off may also be used as a scouting move to find out the opponent's damage output and item.
  • Cyclohm should only switch-in on physical attackers that it can deal with such as Cawmodore, Tapu Bulu and Mega-Scizor.
  • Cyclohm should only attack if it can take hits from the foe, otherwise it should recover the health it loses with Slack Off or switch out.
these comments seem very vague - include examples for when to use what moves against what mons

If there's a Ground-type on the other team, I should probably limit my usage of volt switch
If i predict a ground-type switch in, i should probably use Ice Beam
maybe it'd help if you think about early-game, mid-game, late-game -> you'd try to toxic and remove ground-types early game and then switch in, disrupt the opponent's strategy, and pivot mid- to late-game


Team Options
========
  • Specially Defensive Pokemon that can complete Cyclohm such as Celesteela, Chansey and Assault Vest Tapu Bulu are good partners to Cyclohm as they may tank attacks Cyclohm can't and complete each other with typing such as Celesteela being immune to Ground-Type attacks.
  • Defensive Flying-Types and Ground-Types such as Tomohawk and Landorus-T also are good teammates, as they can switch into Ground Types like Colossoil and Zygarde and may also add hazards on the field making it easier for Cyclohm to hit back.
  • Water-Types such as Rotom-W, Arghonaut, Slowbro remove Slowbro - it's just not taht great anymore, as well as Mega Scizor can switch into Ice and Ground-Types moves aimed at Cyclohm.
  • Bulky Steel-Types such as Celesteela and Magearna are also good partners to Cyclohm, as they can deal with Fairy-Types such as Tapu Lele.
  • Tapu Bulu also is a nice teammate as Grassy Terrain offers extra health and also halves Earthquake coming in from threats like Colossoil, which Cyclohm can benefits from.
This core should be highlighted:
Mega Scizor should be Clohm's best partner - it forms a solid voltturn core
Finish this core off with av bulu and you've got a solid balance core on your team


[SET]
name: Offensive
move 1: Volt Switch / Thunderbolt
move 2: Draco Meteor
move 3: Fire Blast
move 4: Ice Beam / Hydro Pump
item: Choice Specs / Life Orb Life Orb should go to OO - you need all the power you can get
ability: Shield Dust
nature: Timid / Modest remove Modest - the speed tier isn't worth the extra power
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
  • Thunderbolt is a reliable STAB move that allows Cyclohm to hit super effectively Flying and Water Types such as Tomohawk, Volkraken and Krilowatt, another option can be Discharge as it can paralyze threats for a smaller damaging output. where's vswitch?
  • Draco Meteor is one of the most powerful Dragon-Type attacks used to hit threats such as Kyurem-B and Pajantom on switch-ins. really this is to hit anything that's not a steel type or a fairy type
  • Fire attacks are a great way for Cyclohm to hit Grass, Ice, Bug, and Steel-types such as, Kitsunoh, Necturna , Mega Scizor, Kartana, and, most notably Cawmodore. Fire Blast usually is the favorite option as it enables Cyclohm to OHKO Cawmodore, Assault Vest Magearna is almost 2HKOed and almost OHKOed when Shift Gear. fire blast is mostly used to chunk magearna and ferrothorn - focus on these first
  • Ice Beam and Hydro Pump are used to hit Ground Types such as Colossoil and Landorus-t which are common in the meta game making Ice Beam the preferred option, Hydro Pump also allows Cyclohm to hit super effectively Rock and Fire types such as Stratagem change this to Tyranitar or Heatran. add Volcarona and Victini
Set Details
========
  • Shield Dust is the preferred ability as offensive Cyclohm is limited in switch-ins meaning that Static would not be a benefit in most cases, Shield Dust also is to prevent secondary effects such as poison from Sludge Bomb, burn from Scald or Lava Plume, and Defense drops from Kitsunoh's Shadow Strike.
  • Both Choice Specs and Life Orb increase Cyclohm's special attack, Choice Specs offers no recoil damage while giving Cyclohm a stronger damage output, while Life Orb might be weaker but it gives Cyclohm the opportunity to switch moves around. is Life Orb even good?
  • Timid Nature enables Cyclohm to outspeed Pokemons such as Assault Vested Colossoil, while Modest allows Cyclohm to hit as hard as possible. Modest gets outsped by too many things to be run

Usage Tips
========
  • Offensive Cyclohm usually does better on an Offensive Team but may be used in Balanced Teams as well.
  • Offensive Cyclohm's biggest benefit is that you can surprise your opponent thinking it is Physically Defensive and that they can set up on it.
  • If using Choice Specs or Life Orb Cyclohm should be played as an early/mid game threat in order to make enough damages for Cyclohm's teammates to clean up late-game.
  • If Cyclohm can take a hit from the foe, it should switch in to deal with the threat, Cawmodore and Tapu Bulu are good targets for Cyclohm to switch in on and take advantage of as Cyclohm is able to check both.
these comments need to explain in the context of early-game, mid-game, and late-game because offensive mons can do this much better
early-game, you bluff defensive to surprise switch-ins
early-game also, spam vswitch early game unless there's a ground-type, in which case use ice beam or hydro pump
then, if AV magearna gets worn down to 80%, try to roast it with Fire Blast on the switch in
and, if there are other steel-types, you hit those too with Fire Blast
then, late-game break the rest of the team with Specs-boosted Draco Meteor


Team Options
========
  • Offensive Cyclohm likes to be paired with bulky pokemon that are able to take hits from Cyclohm's weaknesses, such as Celesteela, Tangrowth and Skarmory.
  • Cyclohm is rather slow so pairing it with faster attackers such as Kartana or Greninja is a good option.
  • Bulky Hazards removers such as Tomohawk and Landorus-t are good teammates as they help Cyclohm having a longer longevity on the field.
  • Necturna is a good partner for Cyclohm as it can set up Sticky Web making the opponent's team slower which is a big benefit to Cyclohm as it is only at 284 Max. don't actually mention the speed stat - instead say what it can outspeed like Ash-Gren and Kartana
  • Offensive Cyclohm really enjoys being paired with hazard setters such as Arghonaut, Landorus-T and Ferrothorn in order to wear down foes at a better range for Cyclohm to come in and sweep.
  • Cyclohm becomes limited to switch-ins as it does not carry much bulk, as well as not being able to use Slack Off as reliable recovery so it is usually good paired with a Cleric / Support Pokemons such as Chansey, Florges or Kitsunoh.
  • mention Chansey and Clefable killers as teammates - clohm struggles to break past these Pokemon

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
  • Cyclohm may be used running Scarf, the set on this should be the same as the offensive one, the only change there might be is running modest to harden your hits. you don't run modest because you get outsped by ash-gren, so just mention that Choice Scarf can be run but suffers from a lack of power
  • Cyclohm may also be used under Rain as a rain-setter, offensive or even as a mix of both. Under rain Cyclohm runs Thunder, Hydro Pump, Volt Switch, Slack Off / Rain Dance usually paired with Life Orb / Damp Rock. mention why this set isn't used that much - it doesn't provide much defensive utility and doesn't have the speed tier like Koko has
  • Physcially Defensive Cyclohm may also run WhirlWind as last option as it can help the team getting rid of set-up sweepers such as Cawmodore. don't forget to mention Thunderbolt on defensive here.
  • Offensive Cyclohm can be a very good threat in Trick Room and will usually run Trick Room, Ice Beam, Slack Off, and Volt Switch, holding a Shuca Berry to improve the match up against Landorus-T and Zygarde. The most recommended spread is 208 HP / 92 SpA / 208 SpD.
mention Life Orb down here

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

**Ground-types**: Colossoil, Landorus-T, Fidgit, and Zygarde are all immune to Discharge and Thunderbolt and can hit Cyclohm supereffectively with their STAB move without worrying about Static. However, they must watch out for Ice Beam and Hydro Pump.

**Fairy Types**: Fairy types such as Mega Diancie, Tapu Lele and Kerfluffle are immuned to Dragon Type attacks and usually can take a hit from Cyclohm but hate getting Paralyzed on a Discharge, they check Cyclohm as they OHKO Cyclohm using Fairy STAB. this section should be first, add DGleam Tapu Koko and Clefable

**Ice Types**: Ice Types such as Syclant and Alolan Ninetails can threaten Cyclohm with STAB, however they hate being paralyzed and have to watch out for Fire Blast. move syclant to special attackers

**Specially Defensive Pokemon**: Specially Defensive Pokemon such as Chansey and Mollux do not care about Cyclohm as they can tank any hits and use Status Moves such as Toxic to wear it down, Assault Vested Tangrowth, Tapu Bulu and Magearna can also take care of Cyclohm as long as it is not holding Choice Specs.

**Special Attackers**: Special Attackers such as Krilowatt, Stratagem, Latios, Greninja, and Aurumoth can usually tank a hit or two from Cyclohm and strike back harder.

** Powerful Wall Breakers**: Wall Breakers such as Mega Mawile, Mega Medicham, Mega Diancie, Navithan and Kyurem - Black can easily take down Cyclohm as they are able to get through it.
EDIT: my check should be more detailed, sorry about that.
 
Last edited:
EDIT: my check should be more detailed, sorry about that.
Life Orb Cyclohm is no way near better than Choice Specs, it only loses from 3 to 10% on relevant things at max, I don't have a whole list in mind but those 3 to 10% really hurt it by not being able to OHKO offensive Magearna and more, it only is an option because it allows flexibility.
Having said that I updated most of what you've asked there are some things I'm not sure of mainly for the Overview because of the wording and such, also the spread I added doesn't even look close to good but I thought it was better than nothing, I'll really like to talk to you more about all of this.
 

HeaLnDeaL

Let's Keep Fighting
is an Artistis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a CAP Contributor Alumnus
✦ ✧ CYCLOHM ✦ ✧

[OVERVIEW]

  • Cyclohm is one of the bulkiest Physically Defensive Pokemon in the Metagame by being able to wall some of the best physical sweepers such as Cawmodore, Mega Pinsir, Tapu Bulu and Kartana.
  • Cyclohm while also checking common Fire-type and Electric-type threats like Choice Scarf Volkraken and Magnezone differentiates itself from other Electric Types by possesing more resistance as well as high base power moves such as Draco Meteor and a wide movepool enabling it not to rely on Hidden Power on the contrary of many.
  • Cyclohm has access to a wide coverage movepool such as Ice Beam, Flamethrower and Hydro Pump.
  • Cyclohm's large Sp.Atk and it's decent tier speed of 80 allows Cyclohm to also be used offensively with a speed investment carrying Choice Specs.
  • Both of Cyclom's abilities fit very well as they both can be used for different purposes. Static allows Cyclohm to paralyze physical attackers as well as playing as a core paired with Discharge while Shield Dust can remove change effects from stopping Cyclohm's offensive set

  • While Cyclohm's bulk is large on the physical side it suffers a lot from Special Attackers such as, Krilowatt, Magearna, Greninja, Tapu Lele and Tapu Koko.
  • Cyclohm's typing also suffers a lot from common wallbreakers such as Kyurem-B and Tapu Lele.
  • Offensive Cyclohm also suffers from it's base 80 speed as it is very average and easily outsped when not scarfed.
  • Cyclohm suffers from the common HP Ice and HP Ground leaving it to be wary on switch-ins.
[SET]

name: Physically Defensive
move 1: Discharge / Volt Switch (order swapped since Cyclohm is one of the better walls at staying in and causing hurt... both great moves, I just think Discharge is a bit more useful for a wall's staying power)
move 2: Flamethrower / Ice Beam
move 3: Ice Beam / Toxic / Heal Bell (switched order again since toxic's value vs things like Pyroak is quite high)
move 4: Slack Off
item: Leftovers / Rocky Helmet
ability: Static / Shield Dust
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA

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

  • Volt Switch is a very good option on Cyclohm because beside being a STAB attack, it enbales Cyclohm to switch out when needed to in order to remain healthy and competent. Discharge is an Electric-Type STAB attack used to hit anything that is not immune to or resisted, and is preferred due to its high chance of paralysis. This, in combination with its ability Static, makes it easy to paralyze contact attackers, but it can to get non-physical as well as physical threats paralyzed.
  • Flamethrower is used to hit Grass- and Steel-types that Cyclohm walls, including Ferrothorn, Kartana and Mega Scizor. However, Fire Blast is an option if stronger damage is desired, Fire Blast enables Cyclohm to OHKO Cawmodore while not having to rely on Static.
  • The third option really depends on what your team needs, Ice Beam allows Cyclohm to hit Ground and Dragon Types that may threaten it such as Landorus-T, Colossoil, Zygarde, and Pajantom, it's a great way to wear down pokemons such as Assault Vest Colossoil. Heal Bell allows Cyclohm to have more of a cleric role that can cure the team and itself of status like Toxic and Burns. Cyclohm has great coverage, but its switch-ins usually get away pretty freely because they have the special defense to get past Cyclohm to circumvent this, Cyclohm uses Toxic to make its move hits seem to hit harder in order to easily wear down foes such as Tapu Koko, Tapu Lele, Arghonaut, Pyroak and Tangrowth..
  • Slack Off gives Cyclohm reliable recovery, allowing it to stay consistently healthy throughout the match.
    Reorder moves as needed
Set Details
========

  • 252 HP EVs and 252 Defense EVs with a Bold nature allow Cyclohm to be at the bulkiest it could be on the physical side.
  • Leftovers gives Cyclohm passive recovery, letting it shrug off strong hits more easily.
    Rocky Helmet stuff here
  • Static allows Cyclohm to paralyse attackers using contact moves such as Cawmodore and usually is a better option on the defensive set, as it possesses the bulk to paralyse physical attackers, enabling Cyclohm to stall foes out easily after having been paralysed. Shield Dust is used to prevent secondary effects such as burns from Scald, poison from Sludge Bomb, Mega Crucibelle's Gunk Shot poison, Stat Drops most likely from Shadow Strike and more giving Cyclohm a longer longevity on the field.
  • Cyclohm can invest 124 evs in speed ( 252 HP/ 136 Def /124 Speed with a Bold Nature) which makes Cyclohm at a 227 speed enabling it to outspeed Landorus-t specify which Lando-T set and Assault Vest Colossoil.
Usage Tips
========

  • This set is more suited for defensive and balanced teams that need a wall to deal with Physical threats such as Cawmodore, Kartana and Tapu Bulu.
  • Discharge should be used when predicting a physical threat on switch in or versus Cyclohm, otherwise it may be used to paralyze threats on switch ins like fairy and ice types. (Ice types really don't switch into Clohm)
  • Fire Blast should only be used against steel or grass types when they are in a convenient range.
  • Ground Types on the opposing team limit your option to pivot or use electric stab, if predicting a ground type switch in, Ice Beam or Toxic should be used if able to wear down the threat.
  • If running Heal Bell, Cyclohm should use it whenever the team needs status removed, against Stall Cyclohm should only use it when it the Status is becoming a huge threat to the team as Heal Bell can easily get PP stalled.
  • If running Toxic, it should be used on a predicted switch-in that can threaten your Cyclohm or your team, or on a threat that can be taken down later on with enough Toxic damage done.
  • Cyclohm should use Slack Off when needed to avoid getting KOed, Slack Off may also be used as a scouting move to find out the opponent's damage output and item.
  • Cyclohm should only (omit) switch-in on physical attackers that it can deal with such as Cawmodore, Tapu Bulu and Mega-Scizor but can also be a safe switch in for certain choice locked special attackers, such as Choice Scarf Volkraken.
  • Cyclohm should only attack if it can take hits from the foe, otherwise it should recover the health it loses with Slack Off or switch out.
Team Options
========

  • Specially Defensive Pokemon that can completecompliment Cyclohm's role as a physical tank such as Celesteela, Chansey and Assault Vest Tapu Bulu are good partners to Cyclohm as they may tank attacks Cyclohm can't and complete each other with typing such as Celesteela being immune to Ground-Type attacks.
  • Defensive Flying-Types and Ground-Types such as Tomohawk and Landorus-T also are good teammates, as they can switch into Ground Types like Colossoil and Zygarde and may also add hazards on the field making it easier for Cyclohm to hit back.
  • Water-Types such as Rotom-W, Arghonaut, as well as Mega Scizor can switch into Ice and Ground-Types moves aimed at Cyclohm.
  • Bulky Steel-Types such as Celesteela and Magearna are also good partners to Cyclohm, as they can deal with Fairy-Types such as Tapu Lele.
  • Tapu Bulu also is a nice teammate as Grassy Terrain offers extra health and also halves Earthquake coming in from threats like Colossoil, which Cyclohm can benefits from. Move up next to your first mention of Bulu
  • Mega Scizor is one of Cyclohm's best partner, both forming a bulky volturn core as well as resisting each other's weaknesses typing wise.
  • Just like Mega Scizor, Tapu Bulu and Cyclohm make a very bulky core typing wise, Tapu Bulu enables Cyclohm to stay longer on the field by getting reliable recovery and standing up to ground types like Colossoil.Omit since you already said this once
[SET]

name: Offensive
move 1: Volt Switch / Thunderbolt
move 2: Draco Meteor
move 3: Fire Blast
move 4: Ice Beam / Hydro Pump
item: Choice Specs
ability: Shield Dust
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

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

  • Volt Switch allows Cyclohm to switch out against bad matchups in order to remain healthy for the rest of the game while still putting in damage.
  • Thunderbolt is a reliable STAB move that allows Cyclohm to hit super effectively Flying and Water Types such as Tomohawk and Volkraken and Krilowatt, another option can be Discharge as it can paralyze threats for a smaller damaging output. Omit Krilowatt since he is not weak to Tbolt and the sentence implies otherwise, omit discharge since it is incredibly inferior on this set.
  • Draco Meteor is the most powerful move on Cyclohm it is used to hit all threats that don't resist or are immuned by it, such as Kyurem-B and Pajantom on switch-ins switching in expecting the defensive set.
  • Fire Blast enables Cyclohm to hit Steel- and Grass-types mainly by OHKO'ing Ferrothorn, Cawmdore, Tapu Bulu, Mega Scizor, and Assault Vest Magearna at a 2HKO range and OHKOed when offensive and Shift Gear Magearna. (specs clohm does NOT 2hko AV, it does not OHKO Trick Room, has 68.8% chance to OHKO Shift Gear)

  • Ice Beam and Hydro Pump are majorly used to hit Ground Types such as Colossoil and Landorus-t which are common in the meta game making Ice Beam the preffered option as it enables Cyclohm to OHKO Landorus-t while carrying a move without any immunities, Hydro Pump also allows Cyclohm to hit super effectively Rock and Fire types breaking their bulkiness such as Tyranitar, Heatran, Victini and Volcarona who both nearly get OHKOed on switch ins and are down to priority range.

Set Details
========

  • Shield Dust is the preferred ability as offensive Cyclohm is limited in switch-ins meaning that Static would not be a benefit in most cases, Shield Dust also is to prevent secondary effects such as poison from Sludge Bomb, burn from Scald or Lava Plume, and Defense drops from Kitsunoh's Shadow Strike.
  • Both Choice Specs increase Cyclohm's special attack,omit Choice Specs offers no recoil damage while giving Cyclohm a stronger damage output.
  • Timid nature boosted with max speed EV investment enables Cyclohm to outspeed Pokemons such as Assault Vest Colossoil, max Speed Tapu Bulu, Gyarados, Heatran, Modest Tomohawk, and Kingdra outside of rain.
  • What are the EVs? The EVs maximize Cyclohm's offensive abilities. A Timid Nature allows Cyclohm to outspeed Adamant Landorus, Modest Tomohawk, and Kingdra outside of the rain.

Usage Tips
========
  • Offensive Cyclohm's biggest benefit is that you can surprise your opponent thinking it is Physically Defensive and that they can set up on it.
  • If using Choice Specs or Life Orb Cyclohm should be played as an early/mid game threat in order to make enough damages for Cyclohm's teammates to clean up late-game.
  • During early game Cyclohm should use Volt Switch in order to pivot around while putting out damage, if ground types are present Cyclohm should be careful and use Ice Beam or Hydro Pump if anticipating switch ins.
  • If Steel type such as Magearna are present and anticipated Cyclohm should use Fire Blast in order to shut down those threats. Careful usage of Fire Blast can pressure Assault Vest Magearna, as with a little bit of chip damage, Magearna is put into 2HKO range for Choice Specs-boosted Fire Blast, Cyclohm can supply this damage by itself using Volt Switch or Cyclohm's teammates can attack it or set hazards to wear it down
  • During late game when the opposing team is damaged, Cyclohm should focus on using Draco Meteor in order to hit everything as its strongest unless Fairy or Steel type are present in which case it should pivot out using Volt Switch or Fire Blast.
  • If Cyclohm can take a hit from the foe, it should switch in to deal with the threat, Cawmodore and Tapu Bulu are good targets for Cyclohm to switch in on and take advantage of as Cyclohm is able to check both.
Team Options
========

  • Offensive Cyclohm usually does better on an Offensive Team but may be used in Balanced Teams as well.
  • Offensive Cyclohm likes to be paired with bulky pokemon that are able to take hits from Cyclohm's weaknesses, such as Celesteela, Tangrowth and Skarmory.
  • Cyclohm is rather slow so pairing it with faster attackers such as Kartana or Greninja is a good option.
  • Bulky Hazards removers such as Tomohawk and Landorus-t are good teammates as they help Cyclohm having a longer longevity on the field.
  • Necturna is a good partner for Cyclohm as it can set up Sticky Web making the opponent's team slower which is a big benefit to Cyclohm in order to outspeed Kartana and Ash Greninja.
  • Offensive Cyclohm really enjoys being paired with hazard setters such as Arghonaut, Landorus-T and Ferrothorn in order to wear down foes at a better range for Cyclohm to come in and sweep.
  • Cyclohm becomes limited to switch-ins as it does not carry much bulk, as well as not being able to use Slack Off as reliable recovery so it is usually good paired with a Cleric / Support Pokemons such as Chansey, Florges, Clefable, Kitsunoh as well as Healing Wish Tomohawk
  • By being walled by Specially Defensive walls such as Chansey and Clefable, Cyclohm should be paired with Physical WallBreakers such as Mega-Medicham or Mega Crucibelle in order to get rid of them.
  • Priority User such as Mega Medicham, Mega Pinsir, Ash Greninja and Zygarde are good teamates to Cyclohm as they enable to get rid of weaken foes left by Cyclohm in priority range.


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

  • Cyclohm may be used running Scarf, the set on this should be the same as the offensive one, the only controversy by following that choice would be suffering from the lack of power.
  • Cyclohm can be a good Trick Room abuser by being able to set it up as well as abusing it by using coverage like Ice Beam to shut down ground types as well as being able to abuse Soft Boil and pivot out when needed it will usually run Trick Room, Ice Beam, Slack Off, and Volt Switch, holding a Shuca Berry to improve the match up against Landorus-T and Zygarde. The most recommended spread is 208 HP / 92 SpA / 208 SpD.
  • Cyclohm may also be used under Rain as a rain-setter, offensive or even as a mix of both. Under rain Cyclohm runs Thunder, Hydro Pump, Volt Switch, Slack Off / Rain Dance usually paired with Life Orb / Damp Rock. While this set looks good on paper it isn't used much because of not providing much defense utility and by being outclassed by other electric types such as Tapu Koko.
  • Physcially Defensive Cyclohm may also run WhirlWind as last option as it can help the team getting rid of set-up sweepers such as Cawmodore as well as Thunderbolt as an alternative option over Volt Switch or Discharge as it enables cyclohm to a stronger move as well as to OHKO Flame Orb Naviathan and can be used with Toxic to prevent clashing status.

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

**Fairy Types**: Fairy types such as Mega Diancie, Tapu Lele, Clefable, Kerfluffle and Dazzling Gleam Tapu Koko are immuned to Dragon Type attacks and usually can take a hit from Cyclohm but hate getting Paralyzed on a Discharge, they check Cyclohm as they OHKO Cyclohm using Fairy STAB.

**Ground-types**: Colossoil, Landorus-T, Fidgit, and Zygarde are all immune to Discharge and Thunderbolt and can hit Cyclohm supereffectively with their STAB move without worrying about Static. However, they must watch out for Ice Beam and Hydro Pump.

**Specially Defensive Pokemon**: Specially Defensive Pokemon such as Chansey and Mollux do not care about Cyclohm as they can tank any hits and use Status Moves such as Toxic to wear it down, Assault Vested Tangrowth, Tapu Bulu and Magearna can also take care of Cyclohm as long as it is not holding Choice Specs.

**Special Attackers**: Powerful Special Attackers such as Krilowatt, Stratagem, Syclant, Latios, Greninja, and Aurumoth can usually tank a hit or two from defensive Cyclohm and strike back harder.

** Powerful Super Effective Wall Breakers**: Wall Breakers such as Mega Mawile, Mega Medicham, Navithan omit since these two struggle against Cyclohm and Kyurem - Black can easily take down Cyclohm as they are able to get through it.
QC 2/3 but you really need to work on your language usage as you write this up. Some parts looked unfinished or just were worded poorly. I definitely do not want it looking like this when you eventually send it to GP and I advise you to look at GP's standards while you move this out of bullet form into paragraph form.
 

snake

is a Community Leaderis a Top CAP Contributoris a Contributor to Smogon
CAP Co-Leader
I still think it's worth mentioning the power that Choice Specs Fire Blast has against AV Magearna - vswitch puts Magearna into 2HKO range for Fire Blast, which is good considering that it's one of the best specially defensive pivots. Aside from that, Shift Gear Magearna has really fallen in popularity, so having that set as the only mention is eh
 

HeaLnDeaL

Let's Keep Fighting
is an Artistis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a CAP Contributor Alumnus
It's better mention a truth than lying and saying it 2HKOes AV mage. Really, I'm struggling to see why AV Mage should be mentioned at all under Fire Blast. Yeah, we do some decent damage. Are we going to be slaying AV Mage anytime soon? Probably not without a ton of team support. If you don't like Shift Gear Mage being mentioned under Fire Blast then fine (I personally think it's still relevant enough but eh). Usage tips already covers AV Mage much better than the moves section does anyway, as in that section is actually tells the truth that it isn't an outright 2HKO.
 

snake

is a Community Leaderis a Top CAP Contributoris a Contributor to Smogon
CAP Co-Leader
It's better mention a truth than lying and saying it 2HKOes AV mage. Really, I'm struggling to see why AV Mage should be mentioned at all under Fire Blast. Yeah, we do some decent damage. Are we going to be slaying AV Mage anytime soon? Probably not without a ton of team support. If you don't like Shift Gear Mage being mentioned under Fire Blast then fine (I personally think it's still relevant enough but eh). Usage tips already covers AV Mage much better than the moves section does anyway, as in that section is actually tells the truth that it isn't an outright 2HKO.
Then fix it to say it 2HKOes with a little chip? I didn't say to get rid of Shift Gear Magearna, but only including Shift Gear Magearna doesn't give a full indicator of what Fire Blast is for: breaking open specially defensive Steel- and Grass-types that'd tank Cyclohm's moves otherwise.

Saying a "2HKO range" wasn't the best word choice though, I will agree on that.
 
QC 2/3 but you really need to work on your language usage as you write this up. Some parts looked unfinished or just were worded poorly. I definitely do not want it looking like this when you eventually send it to GP and I advise you to look at GP's standards while you move this out of bullet form into paragraph form.
Updated. Sorry for my poor english I have a very small vocabulary and tend to repeat words often. I will make it better and more to your liking once converted into paragraphs. Thank you for taking the time :)
 

snake

is a Community Leaderis a Top CAP Contributoris a Contributor to Smogon
CAP Co-Leader
✦ ✧ CYCLOHM ✦ ✧




[OVERVIEW]

Cyclohm is one of the bulkiest Physically Defensive Pokemon in the Metagame by being able to wall some of the best physical sweepers such as Cawmodore, Mega Pinsir, Tapu Bulu and Kartana. Just like many Electric-Types, Cyclohm is able to check common Fire and Electric-types such Choice Scarf Volkraken and Magnezone; however Cyclohm differentiates itself from other Electric Types by possessing more resistance as well as high base power moves such as Draco Meteor and a wide movepool, enabling it not to rely on Hidden Power. Cyclohm’s wide coverage movepool entitles moves such as Ice Beam, Flamethrower and Hydro Pump. Cyclohm also has a high Sp.Atk SpA and a decent tier speed of 80 allowing Cyclohm to also be used offensively. Both of Cyclohm's abilities fit very well as they both can be used for different purposes. Static allows Cyclohm to paralyze physical attackers as well as playing as a core paired with Discharge while Shield Dust can remove prevent secondary change effects from stopping Cyclohm's offensive set

While Cyclohm's bulk is large on the physical side it suffers a lot from Special Attackers such as, this first comma doesn't go here Krilowatt, Magearna, Greninja, Tapu Lele and Tapu Koko. Cyclohm's typing also is weak to many common wall breakers such as Kyurem-B and Tapu Lele. the tapu lele mention is throwing me off here because it fits in the first line. make these points how cyclohm's defensive typing and lower SpD make it vulnerable to many special attackers, and the second point about how the typing makes it further vulnerable to really strong and powerful physical attackers Offensive Cyclohm also suffers from it's base 80 speed as it is very average and easily outsped when not scarfed when not holding a Choice Scarf. also talk about rather mediocre power for its speed tier Cyclohm suffers from common coverage such as HP Ice and HP Ground leaving it to be wary on switch-ins. definitely talk about competition with Zapdos defensivly and Krilowatt offensively here

[SET]

name: Physically Defensive
move 1: Discharge / Discharge :thinking: (put volt switch here instead of discharge twice twice :P)
move 2: Flamethrower / Ice Beam
move 3: Ice Beam / Toxic / Heal Bell
move 4: Slack Off
item: Leftovers / Rocky Helmet
ability: Static / Shield Dust
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA


[SET COMMENTS]

Moves
========

Discharge is an a reliable Electric-Type STAB attack used to hit anything that is not immune to or resisted this makes it sound like nothing resists it, and it sounds like more of a usage tip too, and is the preferred option due to its high chance of paralysis. Discharge works well as a combination with its ability Static, making it easy to paralyze contact attackers. Volt Switch is a very good option on Cyclohm because beside being a STAB move, it enables Cyclohm to switch out when needed to in order to remain healthy and competent gains momentum. Flamethrower is used to hit Grass- and Steel-types that Cyclohm walls, including Ferrothorn, Kartana and Mega Scizor add Jumbao. However, Fire Blast is an option if stronger damage is desired, as Fire Blast enables Cyclohm to OHKO Cawmodore without while not having to rely on Static. The third option really depends on what your team needs, Ice Beam allows Cyclohm to hit Ground and Dragon Types that may threaten it such as Landorus-T, Zygarde, and Pajantom, and it's a great way to wear down pokemons such as Assault Vest Colossoil. Cyclohm has great coverage, but its switch-ins usually get away pretty freely because they have the special defense to get past Cyclohm to circumvent this, this whole clause is kinda fluff - just say "To circumvent Cyclohm's usual switch-ins, it can use Toxic to... Cyclohm uses Toxic to make its damages higher in order to easily wear down foes such as Tapu Koko, Tapu Lele, Arghonaut, Pyroak and Tangrowth. Heal Bell allows Cyclohm to have more of a cleric role that can cure the team and itself of status like Toxic and Burns. if one of these utility options is considered, certain teams may prefer Ice Beam over Flamethrower Slack Off gives Cyclohm reliable recovery, allowing it to stay consistently healthy throughout the match.

Set Details
========

252 HP EVs and 252 Defense EVs with a Bold nature allow Cyclohm to be at the bulkiest it could be on the physical side. Leftovers gives Cyclohm passive recovery, letting it shrug off strong hits more easily, while Rocky Helmet assists Cyclohm by wearing down Physical Attackers by a small chip. Static allows defensive Cyclohm to use its bulk to by paralyzing physical attackers that using use contact moves such as Cawmodore and usually is a better option on the defensive set, as it possesses the bulk to paralyse physical attackers, enabling Cyclohm to stall foes easily after having been paralysed. sentence was fluffy - also talk about how you can switch cyclohm into Kartana's Leaf Blade and the like, which makes the opponent slightly more wary of using basically any physical attack while cyclohm is alive Shield Dust is used to prevent secondary effects such as burns from Scald, poison from Sludge Bomb, Mega Crucibelle's Gunk Shot poison, Stat Drops most likely from Shadow Strike and more, giving Cyclohm a longer longevity on the field. Another spread Cyclohm could use would be to invest 124 evs in speed ( 252 HP/ 136 Def /124 Speed with a Bold Nature) don't have these parenthetical remark here, just say you can move 124 EVs from Defense to Speed which makes Cyclohm at a 227 speed enabling it to outspeed Defensive Landorus-t and Assault Vest Colossoil.

Usage Tips
========

This set is more suited for defensive and balanced teams that need a wall to deal with Physical threats such as Cawmodore, Kartana and Tapu Bulu. Discharge should be used when predicting a physical threat on switch in or versus Cyclohm, otherwise it may be used to paralyze threats on switch ins like fairy types. Flamethrower or Fire Blast should be used against steel or grass types when they are in a convenient range this is really vague. Ground Types on the opposing team limit your options to pivot or to use electric stab, if predicting a ground type switch in, Ice Beam or Toxic should be used to wear down the threat. If running Heal Bell, Cyclohm should use it whenever the team needs status removed, against Stall Cyclohm should only use it when the Status is becoming a huge threat to the team as Heal Bell can easily get PP stalled. If running Toxic, it should be used on a predicted switch-in that can threaten your Cyclohm or your team, or on a threat that can be taken down later on with enough Toxic damage done. Cyclohm should use Slack Off when needed to avoid getting KOed, Slack Off may also be used as a scouting move to find out the opponent's damage output and item. Cyclohm should switch-in on physical attackers that it can deal with such as Cawmodore, Tapu Bulu and Mega-Scizor but can also be a safe switch in for certain choice locked special attackers, such as Choice Scarf Volkraken. Cyclohm should only attack if it can take hits from the foe, otherwise it should recover the health it loses with Slack Off or switch out. add on how to pressure your opponent's physical attackers with the thread of static

Team Options
========

Specially Defensive Pokemon that can compliment Cyclohm's role as a physical tank such as Celesteela, Chansey and Assault Vest Tapu Bulu are good partners to Cyclohm as they may tank attacks Cyclohm can't and complete each other with typing such as Celesteela being immune to Ground-Type attacks. Defensive Flying-Types such as Tomohawk and Landorus-T also are good teammates, as they can switch into Ground Types like Colossoil and Zygarde and may also add hazards on the field making it easier for Cyclohm to hit back. Water-Types such as Rotom-W, Arghonaut, as well as Mega Scizor can switch into Ice and Ground-Types moves aimed at Cyclohm. Bulky Steel-Types such as Celesteela and Magearna are also good partners to Cyclohm, as they can deal with Fairy-Types such as Tapu Lele. Tapu Bulu also is a nice teammate as Grassy Terrain offers extra health and also halves Earthquake coming in from threats like Colossoil, which Cyclohm can benefits from. Mega Scizor, Tapu Bulu and Cyclohm make a very bulky core typing wise, Tapu Bulu enables Cyclohm to stay longer on the field by getting reliable recovery and standing up to ground types like Colossoil. Mega Scizor is one of Cyclohm's best partner, both forming a bulky volturn core as well as resisting each other's weaknesses typing wise.

this starts off strong but then falters. go with SpD pokemon (include gastro and argho), then ground-type checks, then steel-types - then go with how Toxic Mega Scizor and Bulu or Jumbao pairs really well with clohm

[SET]

name: Offensive
move 1: Volt Switch / Thunderbolt
move 2: Draco Meteor
move 3: Fire Blast
move 4: Ice Beam / Hydro Pump switch these because Heatran's really good - still OHKOs landog and you have draco for zygarde
item: Choice Specs
ability: Shield Dust
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe


[SET COMMENTS]

Moves
========

Volt Switch allows Cyclohm to switch out against bad matchups in order to remain healthy for the rest of the game while still putting in damage on the opponent. Thunderbolt is a reliable STAB move that allows Cyclohm to hit super effectively Flying and Water Types such as Tomohawk and Volkraken. right, but volt switch hits those too, this one is more powerful and doesn't force clohm out. make sure to give some examples of its greater power Draco Meteor is the most powerful move on Cyclohm it is used to hit all threats that don't resist it or are immuned by it. Draco Meteor also is a move that Cyclohm does not usually run, it is an element of surprise where your opponent may switch their pokemon Kyurem-B or Pajantom switching in expecting the defensive set. this feels like more a usage tip, just say that Draco Meteor sets it apart from other Electric-type attackers with its really high base power Fire Blast enables Cyclohm to hit Steel- and Grass-types mainly by OHKO'ing Ferrothorn, Cawmodore, Tapu Bulu, Mega Scizor, and Shift Gear Magearna. say that its Cyclohm's best move against AV magearna and add on Jumbao too Ice Beam and Hydro Pump are majorly used to hit Ground Types such as Colossoil and Landorus-t which are common in the meta game making Ice Beam the preferred option as it enables Cyclohm to OHKO Landorus-t while carrying a move without any immunities, Hydro Pump also allows Cyclohm to hit super effectively Rock and Fire types such as Tyranitar, Heatran, Victini and Volcarona who both nearly get OHKOed on switch ins and are down to priority range. separate ice beam and hydro pump, it's really confusing to read them mixed up like this. remember to switch them too


Set Details
========

Shield Dust is the preferred ability as offensive Cyclohm is limited in switch-ins meaning that Static would not be a benefit in most cases, Shield Dust also is to prevent secondary effects such as poison from Sludge Bomb, burn from Scald or Lava Plume, and Defense drops from Kitsunoh's Shadow Strike. Choice Specs offers no recoil damage while giving Cyclohm a stronger damage output. The EVs maximize Cyclohm's offensive abilities pick a different word than ability. A Timid Nature nature isn't capitalized here allows Cyclohm to outspeed Adamant Landorus, Modest Tomohawk, and Kingdra outside of the rain. none of these are really all that common anymore. replace with Heatran and unboosted Adamant Necturna


Usage Tips
========

Offensive Cyclohm’s biggest benefit is that you can surprise your opponent thinking it is Physically Defensive and that they can set up on it. element of surprise could really apply to any uncommon though - it's more for cyclohm's high base power moves compared to other electric-types, replace this point If using Choice Specs or Life Orb Cyclohm should be played as an early/mid game threat in order to make enough damages for Cyclohm's teammates to clean up late-game. During early game Cyclohm should use Volt Switch in order to pivot around while putting out damage, if ground types are present Cyclohm should be careful and use Ice Beam or Hydro Pump if anticipating switch ins. If Steel type such as Magearna are present and anticipated Cyclohm should use Fire Blast in order to shut down those threats. Careful usage of Fire Blast can pressure Assault Vest Magearna, as with a little bit of chip damage, Magearna is put into 2HKO range for Choice Specs-boosted Fire Blast, Cyclohm can supply this damage by itself using Volt Switch or Cyclohm's teammates can attack it or set hazards to wear it down. During late game when the opposing team is damaged, Cyclohm should focus on using Draco Meteor in order to hit everything as its strongest unless Fairy or Steel type are present in which case it should pivot out using Volt Switch or Fire Blast. If Cyclohm can take a hit from the foe, it should switch in to deal with the threat, Cawmodore and Tapu Bulu are good targets for Cyclohm to switch in on and take advantage of.

Team Options
========

This set usually does better on an Offensive Team but may be used in Balanced Teams as well. Offensive Cyclohm likes to be paired with bulky pokemon that are able to take hits from Cyclohm's weaknesses, such as Celesteela, Tangrowth and Skarmory. Jumbao, mention how it powers up Fire Blast too Cyclohm is rather slow so pairing it with faster attackers such as Kartana or Greninja are good options. Bulky Hazards removers such as Tomohawk and Landorus-t are good teammates as they help Cyclohm having a longer longevity on the field. Necturna is a good partner for Cyclohm as it can set up Sticky Web making the opponent's team slower which is a big benefit to Cyclohm in order to outspeed Kartana and Ash Greninja. Offensive Cyclohm really enjoys being paired with hazard setters such as Arghonaut, Landorus-T and Ferrothorn in order to wear down foes at a better range for Cyclohm to come in and sweep. Cyclohm becomes limited to switch-ins as it does not carry much bulk, as well as not being able to use Slack Off as reliable recovery so it is usually good paired with a Cleric / Support Pokemon such as Chansey, Florges, Clefable, Kitsunoh remove Kit and Florges, add Jumbao as well as Healing Wish Tomohawk. Being walled by Specially Defensive walls such as Chansey and Clefable, Cyclohm enjoys being paired with Physical WallBreakers wallbreakers such as Mega-Medicham or Mega Crucibelle in order to get rid of them. Priority User such as Mega Medicham, Mega Pinsir, Ash-Greninja and Zygarde also are good teammates as they enable to easily clean foes after receiving a hit by Cyclohm.


[STRATEGY COMMENTS]

Other Options
=============

add vswitch / z-draco / fire blast / slack off set
then TR
then scarf
then rain, but less on that because it's not all that good
whirlwind last


Cyclohm may be run using Choice Scarf in order to outspeed other threats, this set is the same as the offensive one, the only controversy by following that choice would be suffering from the lack of power. Cyclohm can be a good Trick Room abuser due to being able to set it up as well as abusing it, using coverage like Ice Beam to shut down Ground types as well as being able to use Soft Boil and pivot out when needed. This set usually runs Trick Room, Ice Beam, Slack Off change this to Fire Blast, and Volt Switch, holding a Shuca Berry to improve the match up against Landorus-T and Zygarde. The most recommended spread is 252 HP / 36 SpA / 220 SpD with a Modest nature this misses out on the whole point of the spread, which is to deal with kraken too. Cyclohm may also be used under Rain as a rain-setter, offensive or even as a mix of both. Under rain Cyclohm runs Thunder, Hydro Pump, Volt Switch, Slack Off / Rain Dance usually paired with Life Orb / Damp Rock. While this set looks good on paper it isn't used much because of not providing much defense utility and by being outclassed by other electric types such as Tapu Koko. the rain set doesn't need this much detail since it doesn't really do much for rain Physcially Defensive Cyclohm may also run WhirlWind Whirlwind as last option as it can help the team getting rid of set-up sweepers such as Cawmodore as well as Thunderbolt as an alternative option over Volt Switch or Discharge as it enables cyclohm to a stronger move as well as to OHKO Flame Orb Naviathan and can be used with Toxic to prevent clashing status.

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

this section feels really short

**Fairy Types**: Fairy types such as Mega Diancie, Tapu Lele, Clefable, Kerfluffle and Dazzling Gleam Tapu Koko are immuned to Dragon Type attacks and usually can take a hit from Cyclohm but hate getting Paralyzed on a Discharge, they check Cyclohm as they OHKO Cyclohm using Fairy STAB. add Jumbao

**Ground-types**: Colossoil, Landorus-T, Fidgit, and Zygarde are all immune to Discharge and Thunderbolt and can hit Cyclohm super(add space)effectively with their STAB move without worrying about Static. However, they must watch out for Ice Beam and Hydro Pump on the switch?.

**Specially Defensive Pokemon**: Specially Defensive Pokemon such as Chansey and Mollux do not care about Cyclohm as they can tank any hits and use Status Moves such as Toxic to wear it down, Assault Vested Tangrowth, Tapu Bulu and Magearna can also take care of Cyclohm as long as it is not holding Choice Specs.

**Special Attackers**: Powerful Special Attackers such as Krilowatt, Stratagem, Syclant, Latios, Greninja, and Aurumoth can usually tank a hit or two from Defensive Cyclohm and strike back harder.

** Powerful Super Effective Wall Breakers**: change this to "Physical Wallbreakers with Super Effective Coverage" Wall Breakers such as Mega Mawile and Kyurem - Black can easily take down Cyclohm as they are able to get through it.
one thing you need to work on is your prose - there are GP checks, but try to get rid of all the comma splices before it gets there. You don't capitalize stuff like "physically defensive" or "wallbreakers" - i want to see this before last stamp
 

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