cyanize
Mantra Good I Casted So Many Spells U Idiot
[OVERVIEW]
Liepard sets itself a niche in the NU tier as a very reliable weather setter thanks to Prankster, allowing it to set weather before most of the rest of the tier is able to move. An above average Speed tier and access to U-turn allow it to gain momentum decently well, and valuable access to a speedy STAB Knock Off allows it to threaten Pokemon such as Delphox and Mismagius. Liepard also has Prankster Encore, which can lock foes into unfavorable moves, enabling teammates and granting free turns, and, as a Dark-type, it is immune to Prankster attacks from opposing Pokemon. However, Liepard is extremely frail, so it has little defensive value and is KOed easily by most any offensive Pokemon. Liepard's Speed tier is below quite a few potent threats such as Sneasel, Whimsicott, and Sceptile, so it can be threatened by Pokemon such as these easily. Also, Liepard's only notable niche is Prankster Sunny Day and Rain Dance, and without this it faces heavy competition from Alolan Persian and Whimsicott as a pivot and is outclassed by Sneasel as a fast Dark-type attacker.
[SET]
name: Weather Utility
move 1: Rain Dance / Sunny Day
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Encore
move 4: U-turn
item: Damp Rock / Heat Rock
ability: Prankster
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Rain Dance and Sunny Day set their respective weathers, which is Liepard's primary niche. Knock Off is Liepard's strongest and most useful STAB move, and it can disrupt foes by removing their items. Encore can lock foes into moves such as Stealth Rock and Swords Dance, letting Liepard pivot with U-turn into a teammate that can handle the opposing Pokemon on the field better or giving it a turn to set up weather. Encore also deters setup sweepers from using the turn that Liepard sets up weather to set up themselves. U-turn is for pivoting and keeping momentum and is especially useful after Encore to help Liepard to get weather sweepers on the field.
Set Details
========
Maximum EV investment in Speed and Attack maximizes Liepard's offensive ability; there is no use in investing into bulk, as Liepard is still extremely frail even with investment. A Jolly nature gives Liepard a very solid Speed tier, allowing it to outpace threats such as Delphox and Mismagius. Prankster is essential, as it gives Liepard access to priority weather setting moves, making it an invaluable asset to teams based around rain and sun. Damp Rock and Heat Rock extend the turns of Rain Dance and Sunny Day, respectively, giving Pokemon that utilize the weather more turns to do their job.
Usage Tips
========
Liepard's primary job is to set weather, as its ability to use Prankster Sunny Day and Rain Dance to set weather before anything else in the tier can move is extremely valuable. Therefore, do not be afraid to sacrifice it in exchange for setting weather. Encore is a valuable tool to create opportunities for Liepard to bring teammates on to the field or stop threatening setup sweepers in their tracks; however, note that Dark-type sweepers are still threatening, as they are immune to Prankster Encore. Use U-turn to get momentum on Pokemon threatened by Liepard and get its teammates into a more favorable position. However, be careful when using U-turn; due to Liepard's Speed, if it is using U-turn on a turn where the foe can attack freely, it will likely cause one of its offensive partners to take a hit.
Team Options
========
Primary teammates for Liepard are those that utilize the weather it sets up to great effect, such as Ludicolo, Kabutops, Sawsbuck, and Victreebel. Additional weather setters with a bit more longevity, such as Uxie and Regirock, are appreciated, as Liepard is often not very long-lived. Partners that capitalize on free turns created by Encore and use them to set up, such as Kabutops, Omastar, and Sawsbuck, enjoy Liepard's ability to generate free turns for them.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
A utility attacker set outside of rain or sun with Pursuit instead of a weather move and holding Black Glasses is usable, but outside of Prankster Encore it's largely outclassed by Sneasel. Thunder Wave is also an option on a utility set such as this, but Encore is generally superior, as it can allow Liepard to mitigate opposing threats completely as opposed to crippling them some. A Choice Band set with Knock Off, U-turn, Gunk Shot, and Pursuit is also usable and has the ability to gain momentum with U-turn and hit bulky Fairy-types hard, as well as access to Trick to cripple walls—despite this, it is still outclassed by Sneasel. An interesting cleaner set with Dark Pulse, Nasty Plot, Copycat, and Encore is a possibility that utilizes the priority of Prankster Copycat to sweep weakened teams; however, it is easily walled by Pokemon such as Cryogonal, Mega Audino, Golbat, and especially the plethora of Dark-types available in NU that are immune to Prankster.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Offensive Pokemon**: Thanks to Liepard's paper-thin defenses, most offensive Pokemon not weak to Dark or faster than Liepard, such as Sneasel, Emboar, and Sceptile, can take it out with ease. Whimsicott is of special note, as is it is both faster than Liepard and resistant to Dark, though it often doesn't appreciate losing its item.
**Opposing Weather Setters**: Pokemon on the opposing team that can set their own weather remove Liepard's weather from the field and as such its impact from a game. Vanilluxe is especially notable, as it is highly threatening to both rain and sun teams alike. Do note that most weather setters, like Uxie, Vanilluxe, and Ludicolo, aren't particularly keen on taking Knock Off.
**Fighting-types**: Fighting-types, such as Toxicroak, Emboar, and Virizion, switch into Knock Off with ease—and can even benefit from taking one in Virizion's case—and threaten to OHKO Liepard in return with their STAB moves.
**Fairy-types**: Similarly to Fighting-types, Fairy-types, such as Whimsicott, Mega Audino, and Granbull, switch into Knock Off easily, often resist U-turn, and threaten to OHKO Liepard in return.
**Dark-types**: Dark-types are immune to Liepard's Prankster shenanigans, resist Knock Off, and often take very little from Liepard's unboosted U-turn, which allows Pokemon such as Scrafty, Houndoom, and Spiritomb to use Liepard as setup bait. Note that even Dark-types that don't resist U-turn are still majorly threatening; for example, Sneasel is able to outspeed and OHKO Liepard before it gets the opportunity to use the move, and Alolan Raticate can take a U-turn and proceed to threaten Liepard's teammates with +2 Hustle-boosted Sucker Punch.
Liepard sets itself a niche in the NU tier as a very reliable weather setter thanks to Prankster, allowing it to set weather before most of the rest of the tier is able to move. An above average Speed tier and access to U-turn allow it to gain momentum decently well, and valuable access to a speedy STAB Knock Off allows it to threaten Pokemon such as Delphox and Mismagius. Liepard also has Prankster Encore, which can lock foes into unfavorable moves, enabling teammates and granting free turns, and, as a Dark-type, it is immune to Prankster attacks from opposing Pokemon. However, Liepard is extremely frail, so it has little defensive value and is KOed easily by most any offensive Pokemon. Liepard's Speed tier is below quite a few potent threats such as Sneasel, Whimsicott, and Sceptile, so it can be threatened by Pokemon such as these easily. Also, Liepard's only notable niche is Prankster Sunny Day and Rain Dance, and without this it faces heavy competition from Alolan Persian and Whimsicott as a pivot and is outclassed by Sneasel as a fast Dark-type attacker.
[SET]
name: Weather Utility
move 1: Rain Dance / Sunny Day
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Encore
move 4: U-turn
item: Damp Rock / Heat Rock
ability: Prankster
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Rain Dance and Sunny Day set their respective weathers, which is Liepard's primary niche. Knock Off is Liepard's strongest and most useful STAB move, and it can disrupt foes by removing their items. Encore can lock foes into moves such as Stealth Rock and Swords Dance, letting Liepard pivot with U-turn into a teammate that can handle the opposing Pokemon on the field better or giving it a turn to set up weather. Encore also deters setup sweepers from using the turn that Liepard sets up weather to set up themselves. U-turn is for pivoting and keeping momentum and is especially useful after Encore to help Liepard to get weather sweepers on the field.
Set Details
========
Maximum EV investment in Speed and Attack maximizes Liepard's offensive ability; there is no use in investing into bulk, as Liepard is still extremely frail even with investment. A Jolly nature gives Liepard a very solid Speed tier, allowing it to outpace threats such as Delphox and Mismagius. Prankster is essential, as it gives Liepard access to priority weather setting moves, making it an invaluable asset to teams based around rain and sun. Damp Rock and Heat Rock extend the turns of Rain Dance and Sunny Day, respectively, giving Pokemon that utilize the weather more turns to do their job.
Usage Tips
========
Liepard's primary job is to set weather, as its ability to use Prankster Sunny Day and Rain Dance to set weather before anything else in the tier can move is extremely valuable. Therefore, do not be afraid to sacrifice it in exchange for setting weather. Encore is a valuable tool to create opportunities for Liepard to bring teammates on to the field or stop threatening setup sweepers in their tracks; however, note that Dark-type sweepers are still threatening, as they are immune to Prankster Encore. Use U-turn to get momentum on Pokemon threatened by Liepard and get its teammates into a more favorable position. However, be careful when using U-turn; due to Liepard's Speed, if it is using U-turn on a turn where the foe can attack freely, it will likely cause one of its offensive partners to take a hit.
Team Options
========
Primary teammates for Liepard are those that utilize the weather it sets up to great effect, such as Ludicolo, Kabutops, Sawsbuck, and Victreebel. Additional weather setters with a bit more longevity, such as Uxie and Regirock, are appreciated, as Liepard is often not very long-lived. Partners that capitalize on free turns created by Encore and use them to set up, such as Kabutops, Omastar, and Sawsbuck, enjoy Liepard's ability to generate free turns for them.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
A utility attacker set outside of rain or sun with Pursuit instead of a weather move and holding Black Glasses is usable, but outside of Prankster Encore it's largely outclassed by Sneasel. Thunder Wave is also an option on a utility set such as this, but Encore is generally superior, as it can allow Liepard to mitigate opposing threats completely as opposed to crippling them some. A Choice Band set with Knock Off, U-turn, Gunk Shot, and Pursuit is also usable and has the ability to gain momentum with U-turn and hit bulky Fairy-types hard, as well as access to Trick to cripple walls—despite this, it is still outclassed by Sneasel. An interesting cleaner set with Dark Pulse, Nasty Plot, Copycat, and Encore is a possibility that utilizes the priority of Prankster Copycat to sweep weakened teams; however, it is easily walled by Pokemon such as Cryogonal, Mega Audino, Golbat, and especially the plethora of Dark-types available in NU that are immune to Prankster.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Offensive Pokemon**: Thanks to Liepard's paper-thin defenses, most offensive Pokemon not weak to Dark or faster than Liepard, such as Sneasel, Emboar, and Sceptile, can take it out with ease. Whimsicott is of special note, as is it is both faster than Liepard and resistant to Dark, though it often doesn't appreciate losing its item.
**Opposing Weather Setters**: Pokemon on the opposing team that can set their own weather remove Liepard's weather from the field and as such its impact from a game. Vanilluxe is especially notable, as it is highly threatening to both rain and sun teams alike. Do note that most weather setters, like Uxie, Vanilluxe, and Ludicolo, aren't particularly keen on taking Knock Off.
**Fighting-types**: Fighting-types, such as Toxicroak, Emboar, and Virizion, switch into Knock Off with ease—and can even benefit from taking one in Virizion's case—and threaten to OHKO Liepard in return with their STAB moves.
**Fairy-types**: Similarly to Fighting-types, Fairy-types, such as Whimsicott, Mega Audino, and Granbull, switch into Knock Off easily, often resist U-turn, and threaten to OHKO Liepard in return.
**Dark-types**: Dark-types are immune to Liepard's Prankster shenanigans, resist Knock Off, and often take very little from Liepard's unboosted U-turn, which allows Pokemon such as Scrafty, Houndoom, and Spiritomb to use Liepard as setup bait. Note that even Dark-types that don't resist U-turn are still majorly threatening; for example, Sneasel is able to outspeed and OHKO Liepard before it gets the opportunity to use the move, and Alolan Raticate can take a U-turn and proceed to threaten Liepard's teammates with +2 Hustle-boosted Sucker Punch.
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