Ubers Yveltal


smile at hope in the name of despair

QC 3/3 (Minority, Fireburn, Gunner Rohan)
GP 2/2 (frenzyplant, The Dutch Plumberjack)
[OVERVIEW]

Yveltal's combination of typing, movepool, ability, and stat distribution makes it one of Ubers's offensive powerhouses, capable of effectively using multiple different effective sets. Dark- and Flying-type STAB moves make Yveltal a hard to check Pokemon defensively and offensively, and the many other moves it has access to give it the tools to be effective in multiple different scenarios. Dark Aura and Yveltal's unique access to Oblivion Wing further complement its offensive abilities. Yveltal's base 99 Speed also allows it to outspeed a fair number of Pokemon in Ubers, most notably Primal Groudon and Lunala, and the rest of its stats are well rounded for its purposes. Yveltal gives offensive teams a valuable check to threatening Ghost-types such as Lunala, Arceus-Ghost, Marshadow, and Mega Gengar. Yveltal can also threaten all the Psychic-types in the tier, and it puts a lot of pressure on commonly seen Pokemon such as Primal Groudon and support Arceus formes, making it easy to fit onto teams. However, a Stealth Rock weakness, vulnerability to Fairy-types, and weaknesses to common coverage from Pokemon Yveltal is intended to pressure can hamper its effectiveness.

[SET]
name: Life Orb Attacker
move 1: Dark Pulse
move 2: Oblivion Wing
move 3: Taunt / Knock Off
move 4: Knock Off / Sucker Punch / U-turn
item: Life Orb
ability: Dark Aura
nature: Naive / Rash
evs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

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

Dark Pulse is one of Yveltal's strongest STAB moves, boosted by both Life Orb and Dark Aura. It can achieve 2HKOs on support Arceus formes after Stealth Rock, for example. Oblivion Wing combined with Dark Pulse gives Yveltal STAB moves that are hard to switch into and increases Yveltal's offensive potential by hitting typical switch-ins to Dark Pulse such as Xerneas and Arceus-Dark. Oblivion Wing also gives Yveltal large amounts of recovery from dealing damage, combating chip damage, Stealth Rock damage, and Life Orb recoil, which is a rarity for an offensive Pokemon in Ubers. Taunt can prevent Defog and recovery moves from defensive Pokemon, as well as setup moves from offensive threats if necessary. This can make Yveltal very annoying to defensive teams. Knock Off can be run over Taunt or alongside it. It removes key items from Pokemon such as Xerneas and Blissey and deals a lot of damage to Ho-Oh. It doesn't affect the Plates of Arceus formes, Mega Stones, or Z-Crystals, however. Sucker Punch can be used to give Yveltal one of the strongest priority moves around and hits many faster targets such as Arceus-Ghost, Deoxys-A, Mega Gengar, and Choice Scarf Lunala. U-turn can also be used to allow Yveltal to pivot out of Pokemon that it can struggle against such as Arceus-Fairy, Magearna, and Tyranitar into a suitable teammate to deal with them, offering momentum to its team. Heat Wave is another possibility, as it 2HKOes Magearna on the switch and easily KOes Ferrothorn, which can typically take two Dark Pulses if Yveltal is Naive natured. Yveltal can make for a good Magearna lure with Heat Wave. Focus Blast is Yveltal's best damage option against Tyranitar, and also hits Arceus-Dark for heavy damage but has consistency issues due to poor accuracy.

Set Details
========

Maximum Special Attack and Speed EVs provide Yveltal with maximum offensive abilities. A Naive nature maximizes Yveltal's Speed, making the best use of its Speed tier. A drop in Special Defense isn't as detrimental as a drop in another stat, as many of the special attackers in Ubers present either easy matchups or very hard matchups for Yveltal. Rash is an alternative that offers an extra boost to Yveltal's Special Attack. It goes very well with Sucker Punch, which can help to cover the loss in Speed. Natures that drop Defense or Attack are also options depending on what moves Yveltal is using and what targets Yveltal is aiming to take less damage from. Dropping Defense can hurt against offensive teams but aids against defensive teams utilizing a support Arceus forme. The opposite applies to dropping Special Defense.

Usage Tips
========

Yveltal can find opportunities to switch in against many defensive Pokemon in the tier. Switching into Pokemon as they use recovery options, use Defog, or set entry hazards can put a lot of pressure onto the opponent. Ghost- and Psychic-types are also Pokemon that Yveltal can potentially switch into, but you will need to be very careful of coverage options such as Ice Beam or even secondary STAB moves. This also applies to switching into Primal Groudon, as Stone Edge or Fire Blast can actually OHKO Yveltal after Stealth Rock if the Primal Groudon has offensive investment. It is ideal to switch into Primal Groudon only if you suspect it will use a Ground-type move or Stealth Rock. Taking on certain support Arceus formes such as Arceus-Dark and Arceus-Ground can be tricky, as they may have investment in Speed to outspeed Yveltal. If they are running Ice Beam, they can be a difficult task for Yveltal to take down. Dark Pulse is the simplest move to click, as Dark-resistant Pokemon are generally rare and prone to being worn down. Oblivion Wing can catch Xerneas on the switch for high damage and is also good to use to maintain longevity throughout the match. Taunt combined with Oblivion Wing makes it very difficult for most defensive Pokemon to take Yveltal down. Knock Off should be used on defensive Pokemon to strip them of their items. Pokemon such as Blissey and Chansey can thereby be made very vulnerable to Yveltal's possible teammates, such as Mega Gengar against a Blissey without its Shed Shell; Chansey's checking abilities also take a large hit without its Eviolite. Yveltal is capable of breaking these Pokemon on its own with the combination of Taunt and Knock Off if it carries them both, however. Ho-Oh is also vulnerable to being 2HKOed by the combination of Dark Pulse and Knock Off. Coverage options such as Heat Wave and Focus Blast are ideally used to catch out a check and are therefore best kept hidden until the time is right. Yveltal's moves outside of Dark Pulse and Oblivion Wing can actually be rather unpredictable and can be hard to scout for without taking a lot of damage. This makes surprising targets of coverage moves, Sucker Punch, or Knock Off a little easier.

Team Options
========

Primal Groudon can fit alongside almost any Pokemon, and Yveltal is no exception. It can use a Stealth Rock set to assist Yveltal in beating down Fairy-types and support Arceus formes. Stealth Rock support also breaks Lunala's Shadow Shield, guaranteeing that Sucker Punch gets an OHKO on Choice Scarf sets. Primal Groudon can also help Yveltal against Magearna, Xerneas, Primal Kyogre, and most Arceus formes capable of checking Yveltal. In return, Yveltal can break down the defensive cores of the enemy team, opening up opportunities for offensive Primal Groudon to do work later in the match. Mega Gengar takes advantage of most Yveltal checks, especially Fairy-types. A U-turn from Yveltal can get Mega Gengar in safely against Pokemon such as Xerneas and Arceus-Fairy, making it easy to get them out of the way. Yveltal also breaks down the defensive Pokemon that could otherwise stand up to Mega Gengar, such as Primal Groudon and Zygarde-C. Swords Dance Arceus formes, Xerneas, and Mega Salamence all appreciate Yveltal's ability to break down their checks. Arceus-Ground in particular can double up on Primal Groudon answers while giving Yveltal a buffer against Rock- and Electric-type moves. Keep in mind that using both Yveltal and Mega Salamence does stack Stealth Rock weaknesses, which will require careful teambuilding as well as careful play to work around. Excadrill and Deoxys-S make for effective entry hazard setters alongside Yveltal on offensive teams, as they can almost guarantee the setting of Stealth Rock, while Yveltal uses the extra damage and Taunt to break through Arceus formes that carry Defog, either keeping Stealth Rock up or potentially taking them out. Yveltal can also fit onto teams built around Sticky Web, as offensive teams affected by it then become very hard pressed to deal with Yveltal efficiently. Yveltal can Taunt even the fastest of Defog Arceus formes when their Speed is reduced by Sticky Web, helping to keep the entry hazard up.

[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Dark Pulse
move 2: Foul Play
move 3: Oblivion Wing
move 4: U-turn
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Dark Aura
nature: Modest / Timid
evs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

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

Dark Pulse is the main consistent damage option for this set. Keep in mind, however, that the damage output from this Yveltal set can be low due to not having boosts from an item such as Choice Specs or Life Orb. Foul Play is key to a Choice Scarf set, as it lets Yveltal revenge kill many Swords Dance Arceus formes by outspeeding them and taking advantage of their own Attack boosts. It can also revenge kill +2 Primal Groudon and comes very close to OHKOing +2 Mega Lucario. Oblivion Wing offers offensive recovery and the ability to revenge kill Fighting-types such as Mega Lucario, Mega Blaziken, and Marshadow. U-turn grants offensive momentum while also getting chip damage on opposing Dark-types such as Tyranitar and Arceus-Dark.

Set Details
========

Maximum Special Attack and Speed EVs make the best use of Yveltal's offensive stats. A Modest nature combined with a Choice Scarf allows Yveltal to outspeed Pokemon up to maximum Speed Pheromosa. Modest is generally preferred to avoid being too weak, as Timid's Speed benchmarks are more limited. Timid can be used to revenge kill +1 Adamant Mega Blaziken. This comes at a further loss to power, however.

Usage Tips
========

This Yveltal set should mainly play the role of revenge killer. Due to the lack of power behind this Yveltal set's attacks, it may be better to use U-turn against incoming checks rather than trying to whittle them down. Yveltal holding a Choice item means that its moves should be picked carefully. Even if Yveltal uses the right move at the right time, a Pokemon such as Geomancy Xerneas can come in right after and threaten to set up, so you should have a plan to deal with anything that can take advantage of a Choice-locked Yveltal. Keeping Yveltal healthy until the opponent's Arceus forme is revealed should be kept in mind. Keep Stealth Rock off the field so that Yveltal is healthy and has a chance to revenge kill Extreme Killer Arceus at full HP. While Yveltal may be faster than most threats with a Choice Scarf, priority users such as Extreme Killer Arceus and Mega Lucario may be able to move first and bypass Yveltal anyway.

Team Options
========

Choice Scarf Yveltal adds some security to teams afraid of Swords Dance Arceus formes and Marshadow and fits best on teams with a defensive backbone to assist Yveltal, as this set's lower power compared to other sets can make it vulnerable to many offensive threats. Primal Groudon and other checks to Fairy-types such as Ferrothorn and Magearna are needed with this Yveltal set, as it invites many of them in. Yveltal also pairs well with Fairy-types such as Xerneas and Magearna, as they can assist Yveltal against opposing Dark-types like Tyranitar and Arceus-Dark. Mega Gengar can take advantage of Yveltal's U-turn to get in safely against Yveltal's checks, trapping and removing them. It can also double up on checking Extreme Killer Arceus alongside Yveltal. Mega Lucario can provide a soft check to Xerneas and beat up Arceus-Dark and Tyranitar for Yveltal. Defog users such as Arceus-Water and Giratina-O make for good partners to Choice Scarf Yveltal, as they can help against physical threats alongside Yveltal while also removing Stealth Rock to keep it healthy.

[SET]
name: Choice Specs
move 1: Dark Pulse
move 2: Oblivion Wing
move 3: U-turn
move 4: Heat Wave / Focus Blast
item: Choice Specs
ability: Dark Aura
nature: Timid / Modest
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

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

Dark Pulse backed by Choice Specs yields one of the highest damage outputs Yveltal can reach. It 2HKOes bulky Arceus formes and specially defensive Primal Groudon, even without Stealth Rock. Oblivion Wing rounds out Yveltal's STAB combination, getting a clean 2HKO on standard Geomancy Xerneas after Stealth Rock damage and forcing Arceus-Fairy to use Recover. U-turn lets Yveltal pivot out of Tyranitar and Arceus-Dark, which can take even Choice Specs-boosted Dark Pulses easily. Heat Wave blows away Magearna, which resists both of Yveltal's STAB moves. Focus Blast is an option that deals very high damage to Arceus-Dark and Tyranitar, OHKOing the latter if it is not holding Chople Berry.

Set Details
========

Maximum Special Attack and Speed EVs get the most out of Yveltal's offensive stats. Choice Specs adds a large power boost to Yveltal's moves. A Timid nature is an easier choice for a Choice Specs set, as it still outdamages Life Orb Yveltal sets running a Special Attack-boosting nature. A Modest nature can be run for maximum power, giving Oblivion Wing a high chance to 2HKO Geomancy Xerneas without Stealth Rock up and a high chance for Focus Blast to OHKO Arceus-Dark and Arceus-Rock after Stealth Rock damage. It gets a clean OHKO on Arceus-Ice after Stealth Rock, too.

Usage Tips
========

Choice Specs-boosted Dark Pulses are easy to throw around. Due to its Choice item, this Yveltal set has to be a bit more careful selecting moves, because it cannot switch moves to better hit incoming checks. Aim to force out Pokemon weak to Yveltal's STAB moves and break down the enemy team. U-turn makes pivoting out of Arceus-Dark, Tyranitar, and Xerneas into a teammate easy. In situations where clicking a STAB move can be risky, it's not a bad idea to just force out a Pokemon and then use U-turn. Locking Yveltal into coverage moves can be easily punished even if they hit their intended target, so be wary. Use the extra power of Oblivion Wing to keep Yveltal healthy despite chip damage and Stealth Rock damage. The lack of Life Orb recoil means the longevity of this set is easier to control.

Team Options
========

Choice Specs Yveltal can fit offensive teams very well. It can also fit more balance-oriented teams thanks to its staying power and wallbreaking ability. Mega Gengar is one of the best partners to this set; as Yveltal has no room for Taunt or physical moves to help deal with Blissey and Chansey, Mega Gengar can use Yveltal's U-turn to get in to potentially trap and KO them, and Yveltal helps deal with Lunala and Marshadow in return. This set can fit offensive teams that make use of a dedicated entry hazard setter to ensure Yveltal lands the 2HKO on Geomancy Xerneas. Such setters include Excadrill, Deoxys-S, and Cloyster. Defog users such as Arceus-Water and Giratina-O can keep Stealth Rock away to help out Yveltal. Glare Zygarde-C and other paralysis users can paralyze support Arceus formes and Arceus-Fairy to make them easier prey for Yveltal. A paralyzed Arceus-Fairy is prone to being 2HKOed by Modest Yveltal after Stealth Rock. Fairy-types can pair well with Yveltal regardless of overall team composition. Offensive teams can use Xerneas alongside Yveltal to pressure Arceus-Dark and Tyranitar. In return, Yveltal breaks down Primal Groudon and Steel-types, opening a path for Xerneas. Balanced teams can utilize Xerneas as well, but other options include Magearna, Klefki, and Arceus-Fairy.

[SET]
name: Physically Defensive
move 1: Foul Play
move 2: Roost
move 3: Taunt
move 4: Toxic / Sucker Punch
item: Leftovers / Charti Berry
ability: Dark Aura
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD

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

This set takes a different approach to Yveltal than offensive sets, making use of its high HP stat and typing to become a physical wall. Foul Play turns the Attack boosts of setup sweepers such as Swords Dance Arceus formes, Primal Groudon, and Mega Lucario against them. Roost is required on this set to keep Yveltal healthy in order to check the aforementioned threats. Taunt can prevent Yveltal from getting inflicted with status by slower Pokemon such as Zygarde-C, Primal Groudon, Blissey, and Chansey. It also prevents sweepers from boosting in front of Yveltal. Toxic puts many of Yveltal's switch-ins on a timer, preventing them from being a threat for very long. Sucker Punch can catch out would-be revenge killers such as Mega Gengar, Deoxys-A, and offensive Primal Groudon that expect to outspeed and KO Yveltal. Knock Off can be used on this set to remove items from other passive Pokemon that may try to stall out Yveltal.

Set Details
========

Full investment in HP and Defense allows Yveltal to take on physical attackers such as Mega Salamence, Swords Dance Arceus formes, Marshadow, and even Mega Lucario if Stealth Rock is down. Leftovers helps to mitigate chip damage as well as damage from Stealth Rock, keeping Yveltal as healthy as possible. Charti Berry can be used to handle Rock-type coverage from Primal Groudon and Arceus-Ground. This set's rarity means that Rock-type coverage is rarer on setup sweepers overall, however, and Charti Berry comes at the cost of passive recovery. Dread Plate is another alternative item choice that boosts Foul Play and Sucker Punch's damage, allowing Foul Play to secure an OHKO on a boosted Extreme Killer Arceus as well as a boosted Mega Lucario.

Usage Tips
========

Yveltal makes for a decent check against suspected Swords Dance Arceus formes and can switch into most of them. Keep in mind that Primal Groudon and Arceus-Ground are shaky matchups for non-Charti Berry Yveltal, as a boosted Stone Edge will KO Yveltal. Keep Stealth Rock off the field to ensure Yveltal stands a chance against its intended targets. If it is constantly forced to Roost off damage, it can be easily overwhelmed and give away free turns. While this set can take on some Primal Groudon and Ho-Oh variants, burns from Lava Plume and Sacred Fire are very detrimental, as they halve the damage of Foul Play and negate potential Leftovers recovery. Yveltal can surprise faster threats with Sucker Punch if it is running it.

Team Options
========

This Yveltal set is much more passive in nature than offensive variants and therefore fits best on more defensive teams that it can help form a backbone. It can also find a place alongside an Arceus forme that struggles against Primal Groudon, such as Arceus-Fairy or Arceus-Poison. Checks to Fairy-types are a necessity, as this set is much more vulnerable to them. Primal Groudon, Magearna, Ferrothorn, Bronzong, and Celesteela make for effective partners. Bronzong and Celesteela in particular can make for backup checks to Swords Dance Arceus formes and Primal Groudon lacking Fire-type moves. Anti-entry hazard support is also key to keep Yveltal from falling into KO range of the sweepers it intends to check. Defog from support Arceus formes and Giratina formes can help Yveltal a lot. Fairy-types can work alongside this set to combat Arceus-Dark, but defensive Yveltal is a bit harder pressed to get damage on Steel-types for them. Yveltal does well against physical variants of Rock Polish Primal Groudon for Fairy-type teammates, however.

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

A more defensive spread of 48 HP / 68 Atk / 252 Def / 140 Spe can be used on Yveltal's Choice Scarf set with a Jolly nature. This gives a Yveltal a much better chance of standing up to Extreme Killer Arceus. However, this set also requires a moveset change to Foul Play, U-turn, Toxic, and Knock Off to make the most use of it, and it suffers from being inconsistent and rather niche overall. Choice Band can convert Yveltal's physical damage output into lethal amounts against Ho-Oh, Blissey, Chansey, and the rare Klefki. However, support Arceus formes and Z-Geomancy Xerneas wall such a set very easily. Darkinium Z and Flyinium Z are options for strong one-time STAB moves, but these sets lack consistent damage. Hone Claws and Sky Attack combined with a Power Herb can net a surprise OHKO on Geomancy Xerneas, but Z-Geomancy Xerneas can still shrug it off. This set is also far too specific in targets and usage to warrant serious use on teams.

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

**Fairy-types**: Arceus-Fairy is the safest Yveltal counter available, only bothered by Toxic or a potential U-turn from Yveltal to Mega Gengar. Xerneas, Magearna, and Clefable also make for very effective checks to Yveltal, as they can come in on any of its STAB moves at least once and force Yveltal out. Klefki and Tapu Koko are rarer, but they can also deal with Yveltal by forcing it out because they resist both of its STAB moves. Tapu Lele struggles to switch into Yveltal, but can take a hit and threaten with STAB Moonblast.

**Rock-types**: Arceus-Rock makes for a great check to Yveltal, resisting Oblivion Wing and being able to outspeed non-Choice Scarf sets. It threatens to do very high damage to Yveltal with Judgment and can use Recover to heal off any damage dealt to it. Tyranitar resists both of Yveltal's STAB moves and threatens to deal high damage back with Rock-type STAB moves. Defensive Tyranitar commonly holds Chople Berry and can even take a Focus Blast. Mega Tyranitar usually has less defensive investment but can hold out against any attack that isn't Focus Blast.

**Arceus-Dark**: Arceus-Dark resists Yveltal's most commonly used move, Dark Pulse, and avoids the 2HKO from Oblivion Wing, making it a decent check to most sets. However, Taunt and repeated uses of Oblivion Wing can let Yveltal beat Arceus-Dark one-on-one, unless it is carrying Ice Beam or Thunder.

**Ho-Oh**: Ho-Oh takes Yveltal's special moves rather well unless Stealth Rock is up. Physical attacks like Knock Off and Foul Play deal high damage to Ho-Oh, however, so it must be wary of them.

**Blissey and Chansey**: Blissey and Chansey take all of Yveltal's special moves with ease and can stall it out with Toxic and recovery. Knock Off and Taunt severely cripple these two, however.

**Faster Attackers**: Pokemon faster than Yveltal such as Mega Gengar, Mega Salamence, and Marshadow can revenge kill or trade with a weakened Yveltal, but they have to play carefully around a potential Sucker Punch.

**Electric-types**: Arceus-Electric and Zekrom, while rare, resist Oblivion Wing and threaten Yveltal out with their Electric-type STAB moves.

**Ice-types**: Arceus-Ice and Kyurem-W take advantage of Yveltal's typing and threaten to OHKO it with Judgment or Ice Beam after Stealth Rock damage. However, Kyurem-W finds it very difficult to switch in directly. Arceus-Ice can also be surprised by the rare Focus Blast.

* Yveltal's combination of typing, movepool, ability, and stat distribution make it one of Ubers' offensive powerhouses, capable of multiple different effective sets.
* Dark / Flying STAB moves make Yveltal a hard to check Pokemon defensively and offensively, and the many other moves it has access to give it the tools to make it effective in many different scenarios. Dark Aura and Yveltal's unique access to Oblivion Wing further compliment its offensive abilities.
* Yveltal's base 99 Speed lets it outspeed a fair amount of Pokemon in Ubers, notably Primal Groudon and Lunala, and the rest of its stats are well rounded for its purposes.
* Yveltal gives offensive teams a valuable check to threatening Ghost-types such as Lunala, Arceus-Ghost, and Mega Gengar. Yveltal can also threaten all the Psychic-types in the tier, and puts a lot of pressure on commonly seen Pokemon such as Primal Groudon and support Arceus formes, making it easy to fit onto teams.
* A Stealth Rock weakness, vulnerablity to Fairy-types, and weaknesses to common coverage from Pokemon it is intended to pressure can hamper its effectiveness.

[SET]
name: Life Orb Attacker
move 1: Dark Pulse
move 2: Oblivion Wing
move 3: Taunt / Knock Off
move 4: Knock Off / Sucker Punch / U-turn
item: Life Orb
ability: Dark Aura
nature: Naive / Rash
evs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

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

* Dark Pulse is one of Yveltal's strongest STAB moves, boosted by both Life Orb and Dark Aura. It can achieve 2HKOs on support Arceus formes after Stealth Rock, for example.
* Oblivion Wing combined with Dark Pulse give Yveltal hard to switch into STAB moves, and increases Yveltal's offensive abilities by hitting typical switches into Dark Pulse such as Xerneas and some other Fairy-types. Oblivion Wing also gives Yveltal large amounts of recovery from dealing damage, helping to combat against chip damage, Stealth Rock damage, and Life Orb recoil, a rarity for an offensive Pokemon in Ubers.
* Taunt can prevent Defog and recovery moves from defensive Pokemon, while also preventing setup moves from offensive ones in a pinch. This can make Yveltal very annoying to defensively oriented teams.
* Knock Off can be run over Taunt or run alongside it. It removes key items from Pokemon such as Xerneas and Blissey, and chunks Ho-Oh. It doesn't affect the items of Arceus formes, or holders of Mega Stones and Z-Crystals, however.
* Sucker Punch gives Yveltal one of the strongest priority moves around, and hits many faster targets such as Arceus-Ghost, Deoxys-A, Mega Gengar, as well as Choice Scarf Lunala.
* U-turn allows Yveltal to pivot out of Pokemon that it can struggle against such as Arceus-Fairy, Magearna, and Tyranitar into a suitable teammate to deal with them, offering momentum to its team.
* Heat Wave 2HKOs Magearna on the switch and easily KOs Ferrothorn, who can live 2 Dark Pulses if Yveltal is Naive nature. Yveltal can make for a good Magearna lure this way.
* Focus Blast is Yveltal's best damage option against Tyranitar, and also hits Arceus-Dark for higher damage, but has consistency issues due to poor accuracy.

Set Details
========

* Maximum Special Attack and Speed EVs provide Yveltal with optimal offensive abilities.
* Naive nature maximizes Yveltal's Speed, making the best use of its Speed tier. A drop to Special Defense isn't as detrimental as many of Ubers' special attackers are either easy matchups or very hard matchups for Yveltal.
* Rash is an alternative that offers that extra boost to Yveltal's Special Attack. It goes very well with Sucker Punch.
* Natures that drop Defense or Attack are also options depending on what moves Yveltal is running and what targets Yveltal wishes to take less damage from. Dropping Defense can hurt against offensive teams, but aids against defensive teams utilizing support Arceus. The opposite applies to dropping Special Defense.

Usage Tips
========

* Yveltal can find switch-in opportunities against many defensive Pokemon in the tier. Switching into Pokemon as they use recovery options, Defog, or as they set entry hazards can put a lot of pressure onto the opponent.
* Ghost- and Psychic-types are also potential switchins, but Yveltal will need to be very careful of coverage options such as Ice Beam or even secondary STAB moves. This also applies to switching into Primal Groudon, as Stone Edge or Fire Blast can actually OHKO Yveltal after Stealth Rock, if the Primal Groudon is offensively invested. It is best to switch into Primal Groudon only if you suspect it will use a Ground-type move or set Stealth Rock.
* Taking on certain support Arceus such as Arceus-Dark and Arceus-Ground can be tricky, as they may be invested in Speed to outspeed Yveltal. If they are running Ice Beam, they can be a difficult task for Yveltal to take down.
* Dark Pulse is the simplest move to click, as Dark resistant Pokemon are generally rare and prone to being worn down. Oblivion Wing can catch Xerneas on the switch for high damage, and is also good to use to maintain longevity throughout the match with its healing potential. Taunt combined with Oblivion Wing makes it very difficult for most defensive Pokemon to take Yveltal down.
* Knock Off should be used on defensive Pokemon to strip them of their item. Pokemon such as Blissey and Chansey can be very vulnerable to Yveltal's possible teammates such as Mega Gengar without a Shed Shell. Chansey's checking abilities take a large hit without its Eviolite. Yveltal can break these Pokemon on its own with the combination of Taunt and Knock Off. Ho-Oh is also vulnerable to being 2HKOd by the combination of Dark Pulse and Knock Off.
* Coverage options are best used to catch out an incoming check and are therefore best kept hidden until the time is right.
* Yveltal's moves outside of Dark Pulse and Oblivion Wing can actually be rather unpredictable and can be hard to scout for without taking a lot of damage. This makes surprising targets of coverage moves, Sucker Punch, or Knock Off a little easier.

Team Options
========

* Primal Groudon can fit alongside almost any Pokemon, and Yveltal is no exception. It can use a Stealth Rock set to assist Yveltal in beating down Fairy-types and support Arceus formes. Stealth Rock support also breaks Lunala's Shadow Shield, allowing Sucker Punch to get a guaranteed OHKO on a Choice Scarf Lunala. Primal Groudon can also help Yveltal against Magearna, Xerneas, Primal Kyogre, and most Arceus formes capable of checking Yveltal. In return, Yveltal can break down the defensive cores of the enemy team, opening up opportunities for Primal Groudon to do work later in the match if it is an offensive set.
* Mega Gengar takes advantage of most Yveltal checks, especially Fairy-types. A U-turn from Yveltal can get Mega Gengar in safely against Pokemon such as Xerneas and Arceus-Fairy, making it easy to get them out of the way. Yveltal breaks down the defensive Pokemon that could otherwise stand up to Mega Gengar, such as Primal Groudon and Zygarde-C.
* Swords Dance Arceus formes, Xerneas, and Mega Salamence all appreciate Yveltal's ability to break down their checks. Arceus-Ground in particular can double up on Primal Groudon answers, while giving Yveltal a buffer against Rock- and Electric-type moves. Keep in mind that using both Yveltal and Mega Salamence does stack Stealth Rock weaknesses, which will require careful building to work around.
* Excadrill and Deoxys-S make for effective entry hazard setters alongside Yveltal on offensive teams, as they can almost guarantee Stealth Rock setting, while Yveltal uses the extra damage and Taunt to break through Arceus formes using Defog, keeping Stealth Rock up.
* Yveltal can also fit onto teams built around Sticky Web, as offensive teams then become very hard pressed to deal with Yveltal efficiently. Yveltal can Taunt even the fastest of Defog Arceus formes when their Speed is reduced.

[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Dark Pulse
move 2: Foul Play
move 3: Oblivion Wing
move 4: U-turn
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Dark Aura
nature: Modest / Timid
evs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

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

* Dark Pulse is the main consistent damage option for this set. Due to not having any boosts from items such as Life Orb or Choice Specs, however, the damage output from this Yveltal set can be middling.
* Foul Play is key to a Choice Scarf set, as it lets Yveltal revenge kill just about any Swords Dance Arceus forme by taking advantage of their own Attack boosts. It can also revenge kill a +2 Primal Groudon, and comes very close to OHKOing a +2 Mega Lucario, despite Mega Lucario resisting the move.
* Oblivion Wing offers offensive recovery and the ability to revenge kill Fighting-types such as Mega Lucario, Mega Blaziken, and Mega Mewtwo X.
* U-turn grants offensive momentum while also getting chip damage on opposing Dark-types such as Tyranitar and Arceus-Dark.

Set Details
========

* Maximum Special Attack and Speed EVs make the best use of Yveltal's offensive stats.
* Modest nature combined with a Choice Scarf allows Yveltal to outspeed up to max Speed Pheromosa. Modest is generally preferred to avoid being too weak, and Timid's benchmarks are a bit more sparse.
* A Timid nature can be used to outspeed Timid Choice Scarf Lunala, and revenge kill Adamant Mega Blaziken while its at +1 Speed. This comes at a further loss to power, however.

Usage Tips
========

* This Yveltal set should mainly play the role of revenge killer. It adds some security to teams afraid of Swords Dance Arceus formes.
* It better fits on teams with a defensive backbone to assist Yveltal, as its lower power can make it vulnerable to many offensive threats.
* Due to the lack of power behind this Yveltal set's attacks, it may be better to use U-turn against incoming checks rather than trying to whittle them down.
* Holding a choice item means that moves should be picked carefully. Even if Yveltal uses the right move at the right time, a Pokemon such as Geomancy Xerneas can come in right after and threaten to set up. Have a plan to deal with anything that can take advantage of a choice-locked Yveltal.
* Keeping Yveltal healthy until the opponent's Arceus is revealed should be kept in mind. While Yveltal may be faster than most threats with a Choice Scarf, priority users may be able to move first and bypass Yveltal anyway. Keep Stealth Rock off the field so that Yveltal has a chance to revenge kill Extreme Killer Arceus at full HP.

Team Options
========

* Primal Groudon and other checks to Fairy-types such as Ferrothorn and Magearna are needed with this Yveltal set, as it invites many of them in relatively easily.
* Yveltal also pairs well with Fairy-types such as Xerneas and Magearna, as they can assist Yveltal against opposing Dark-types like Tyranitar and Arceus-Dark.
* Mega Gengar can take advantage of Yveltal's U-turn to get in safely against Yveltal's checks, trapping and removing them. It can also double up on Extreme Killer Arceus checks alongside Yveltal.
* Mega Lucario can provide a soft check to Xerneas, and can also beat up Arceus-Dark and Tyranitar for Yveltal.
* Defog users such as Arceus-Water and Giratina-O make for partners to Yveltal, as they can help against physical threats alongside Yveltal while also removing Stealth Rock to keep it healthy.

[SET]
name: Choice Specs
move 1: Dark Pulse
move 2: Oblivion Wing
move 3: U-turn
move 4: Heat Wave / Focus Blast
item: Choice Specs
ability: Dark Aura
nature: Timid / Modest
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

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

* Dark Pulse backed by Choice Specs is one the highest damage outputs Yveltal can reach. It 2HKOs bulky Arceus formes and specially defensive Primal Groudon, even without Stealth Rock.
* Oblivion Wing rounds out Yveltal's offensive STABs, nabbing a clean 2HKO on standard Geomancy Xerneas after Stealth Rock. It can also force Arceus-Fairy to Recover.
* U-turn pivots out of Tyranitar and Arceus-Dark, who can take even Choice Specs-boosted Dark Pulses easily.
* Heat Wave blows away Magearna, who resists both of Yveltal's STAB moves.
* Focus Blast deals very high damage to Arceus-Dark and Tyranitar. Tyranitar is easily OHKOd if not holding a Chople Berry.

Set Details
========

* Maximum Special Attack and Speed get the most out of Yveltal's offensive stats.
* Choice Specs adds a large power boost to Yveltal's moves.
* Timid nature is easier to take on a Choice Specs set, as it still outdamages Life Orb Yveltal sets running a Special Attack boosting nature.
* Modest can be run for maximum power, giving Oblivion Wing a high chance to 2HKO Geomancy Xerneas without Stealth Rock, and also having a high chance to OHKO Arceus-Dark and Arceus-Rock after Stealth Rock. It gets a clean OHKO on Arceus-Ice after Stealth Rock, too.

Usage Tips
========

* Choice Specs-boosted Dark Pulses are easy to throw around. This set can fit offensive teams very well.
* Due to the locked in nature of Choice Specs, this Yveltal set has to be a bit more careful selecting moves. It cannot switch moves to better hit incoming checks.
* Force out Pokemon weak to Yveltal's STABs and get strong attacks going to break down the enemy team.
* U-turn can make pivoting out of Arceus-Dark, Tyranitar, and Xerneas into a teammate easy. In situations where clicking a STAB move can be risky, its not a bad idea to just force out a Pokemon and then U-turn.
* Locking into coverage moves can be easily punished even if they hit their intended target - be wary.
* Use the strong Oblivion Wings to keep Yveltal healthy from chip damage and Stealth Rock damage. The lack of Life Orb recoil means the longevity of this set is easier to control.

Team Options
========

* Mega Gengar is one of the best partners to this set. As Yveltal has no room for Taunt or physical moves to help deal with Blissey and Chansey, Mega Gengar can use Yveltal's U-turn to get in against them. Yveltal helps deal with Choice Scarf Lunala and Mewtwo in return.
* This set can fit offensive teams that make use of a dedicated entry hazard setter to ensure Yveltal lands the earlier noted 2HKOs and OHKOs. Such setters include Excadrill, Deoxys-S, and Cloyster.
* It can also fit more balance-oriented teams thanks to its staying power and wallbreaking ability. Defog users such as Arceus-Water and Giratina-O can keep Stealth Rock away to help out Yveltal.
* Glare Zygarde-C and other paralysis users can paralyze support Arceus formes and Arceus-Fairy to make them easier prey for Yveltal. A paralyzed Arceus-Fairy is prone to being 2HKOd by Yveltal after Stealth Rock, if Yveltal is running a Modest nature.
* Fairy-types can pair well with Yveltal regardless of overall team composition. Offensive teams can use Xerneas alongside Yveltal to pressure Arceus-Dark and Tyranitar. In return, Yveltal breaks down Primal Groudon and Steel-types, opening a path for Xerneas. Balanced teams can utilize Xerneas as well, but other options include Magearna, Klefki, and Arceus-Fairy.

[SET]
name: Physically Defensive
move 1: Foul Play
move 2: Roost
move 3: Taunt
move 4: Toxic / Sucker Punch
item: Leftovers / Charti Berry
ability: Dark Aura
nature: Impish
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD

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

* This set takes a different approach to Yveltal, making use of its high HP stat and typing to become a physical wall.
* Foul Play turns the Attack boosts of setup sweepers such as Swords Dance Arceus formes, Primal Groudon, and Mega Lucario against them.
* Roost is required on this set to keep Yveltal around and healthy to check the aforementioned threats.
* Taunt can prevent Yveltal from getting statused by slower Pokemon such as Zygarde, Primal Groudon, Blissey, and Chansey. It also prevents sweepers from boosting in front of Yveltal.
* Toxic puts many of the switchins to Yveltal on a timer, preventing them from being a threat for very long.
* Sucker Punch can catch out would-be revenge killers that expect to outspeed and KO Yveltal. Mega Gengar, Deoxys-A, and offensive Primal Kyogre can be vulnerable to Sucker Punch.
* Knock Off can be used on this set to remove items from other passive Pokemon that may try to sit on Yveltal.

Set Details
========

* Full investment in HP and Defense allows Yveltal to take on physical attackers such as Mega Salamence, Swords Dance Arceus formes, and even Mega Lucario if Stealth Rock is down.
* Leftovers helps to mitigate damage from chip as well as Stealth Rock, keeping Yveltal as healthy as possible.
* Charti Berry can be used to handle Rock-type coverage from Primal Groudon and Arceus-Ground. This set's rarity means that Rock-type coverage is rarer on setup sweepers overall, and comes at the cost of passive recovery.
* Dread Plate boosts Foul Play's damage, securing an OHKO on a boosted Extreme Killer Arceus, as well as Mega Lucario.

Usage Tips
========

* Yveltal makes for a decent check against suspected Swords Dance Arceus formes, and can be switched into most of them.
* Primal Groudon and Arceus-Ground are shaky matchups without a Charti Berry, as a boosted Stone Edge will KO Yveltal. Keep this in mind.
* Keep Stealth Rock off the field to ensure Yveltal stands a chance against its intended targets. If it is constantly forced to Roost off damage, it can be easily overwhelmed and give away free turns.
* While this set can take on some Primal Groudon and Ho-Oh variants, burns from Lava Plume and Sacred Fire are very detrimental, as they still halve the damage of Foul Play and negate potential Leftovers recovery.
* Yveltal can surprise faster threats with Sucker Punch if it is running it.

Team Options
========

* This Yveltal set is much more passive in nature, and is therefore best fitting on more defensive teams that it can help form a backbone with.
* Fairy-type checks are a necessity, as this set is much more vulnerable to them. Primal Groudon, Magearna, Ferrothorn, Bronzong, and Celesteela make for effective partners. Bronzong and Celesteela in particular can make for backup checks to Swords Dance Arceus formes and Primal Groudon lacking Fire-type moves.
* Anti-hazard support will also be key to keep Yveltal from falling into KO range of the sweepers it intends to check. Defog from support Arceus formes and Giratina formes can help a lot.
* Fairy-types can work alongside this set to combat Arceus-Dark, but Yveltal is a bit harder pressed to get damage on Steel-types for them. Yveltal does well against Primal Groudon for Fairy-type teammates, however.

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

* A more defensive spread of 48 HP / 68 Atk / 252 Def / 140 Spe can be used on Yveltal's Choice Scarf set with a Jolly nature. This gives a Yveltal a much better chance of standing up to Extreme Killer Arceus. However, this set also requires a moveset change to Foul Play, U-turn, Toxic, and Knock Off to make the most use of it, and suffers from being inconsistent and rather niche overall.
* Choice Band can turn Yveltal's physical movepool into lethal amounts of damage against Ho-Oh, Blissey, Chansey, and the rare Klefki. However, support Arceus formes wall such a set very easily, and Z-Geomancy Xerneas is a hard stop to such a set.
* Darkinium Z and Flyinium Z are options for strong one time STAB moves to surprise a specific target, but lack consistent damage.
* Hone Claws and Sky Attack combined with a Power Herb can net a surprise OHKO on Geomancy Xerneas, but Z-Geomancy Xerneas can still shrug it off. It is also far too specific in targets and usage to warrant serious use on teams.

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

**Fairy-types**: Arceus-Fairy is the safest Yveltal counter available, only bothered by Toxic. Xerneas, Magearna, and Clefable also make for very effective checks, as they can come in on either STAB at least once and threaten Yveltal out. Klefki and Tapu Koko are rarer to come across, but can also deal with Yveltal by resisting both STAB moves. Tapu Lele struggles to switch into Yveltal, but can take a hit and threaten with STAB Moonblast.

**Rock-types**: Arceus-Rock makes for a great check to Yveltal, resisting Oblivion Wing and being able to outspeed non Choice Scarf sets. It threatens very high damage on Yveltal with Judgment, and can Recover off any damage dealt to it. Tyranitar resists both STAB moves and threatens to OHKO Yveltal with Rock-type STAB moves. Defensive Tyranitar commonly holds a Chople Berry and can even take a Focus Blast. Mega Tyranitar usually has less defensive investment, but can hold out against any attack that isn't Focus Blast.

**Arceus-Dark**: Arceus-Dark resists Yveltal's most commonly used move, and avoids the 2HKO from Oblivion Wing, making it a decent check to most sets. However, Taunt and repeated Oblivion Wings can threaten to beat Arceus-Dark in a 1v1, unless it carries Ice Beam or Thunder.

**Ho-Oh**: Ho-Oh takes Yveltal's special moves rather well unless Stealth Rock is up. Physical attacks like Knock Off and Foul Play deal high damage to Ho-Oh, however, so it must be wary of them.

**Blissey and Chansey**: Blissey and Chansey take all of Yveltal's special moves with ease, and can stall it out with Toxic and recovery. Knock Off and Taunt severely cripple these two, however.

**Faster Attackers**: Pokemon faster than Yveltal can revenge kill or trade with it, but have to play carefully around a potential Sucker Punch. Mega Salamence, Mega Gengar, and Arceus formes can all threaten to take out a weakened Yveltal.

**Electric-types**: Arceus-Electric and Zekrom, while rare, resist Oblivion Wing and threaten Yveltal out with their Electric-type STAB.

**Ice-types**: Arceus-Ice and Kyurem-W take advantage of Yveltal's typing and threaten to OHKO with Judgment or Ice Beam after Stealth Rock. However, Kyurem-W finds it very difficult to switch in directly. Arceus-Ice can also be surprised by Focus Blast.
 
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Minority

Numquam Vincar
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How do we feel about Knock Off as a moves mention for the defensive set?

Otherwise we discussed during the process of this being written.


QC: 1/3
 
this is written up

writing most of the prose into the bullet points was a great idea, i had far less extra writing to do than i thought...
 

The Gunner

formerly Enzo Gorlami
is a Tiering Contributor
I think you can possibly mention a lil more clearly about how defensive yveltal fits well onto teams that have no checks to RP don, for ex if ur not running fairyceus / psnceus, defensive yveltal can fit right in. looks good otherwise 3/3.
 
I gave this a once over but a 4 sets analysis is bound to have some GP errors. Ready for GP checks.
 

frenzyplant

Inertia is a property of matter.
is a Top Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnus
1/2 :)

add remove (comments)

[OVERVIEW]

Yveltal's combination of typing, movepool, ability, and stat distribution make makes (combination ... makes) it one of Ubers's offensive powerhouses, capable of effectively using (or something similar) multiple different effective sets. Dark- and Flying-type STAB moves make Yveltal a hard to check Pokemon defensively and offensively, and the many other moves it has access to give it the tools to make it be effective in many (consider a different word, you use "many" earlier in the sentence) different scenarios. Dark Aura and Yveltal's unique access to Oblivion Wing further compliment complement its offensive abilities. Yveltal's base 99 Speed also allows it to outspeed a fair amount of Pokemon in Ubers, more most notably Primal Groudon and Lunala, and the rest of its stats are well rounded for its purposes. Yveltal gives offensive teams a valuable check to threatening Ghost-types such as Lunala, Arceus-Ghost, Marshadow, and Mega Gengar. Yveltal can also threaten all the Psychic-types in the tier, and it puts a lot of pressure on commonly seen Pokemon such as Primal Groudon and support Arceus formes, making it easy to fit onto teams. However, a Stealth Rock weakness, vulnerablity vulnerability to Fairy-types, and weaknesses to common coverage from Pokemon it Yveltal is intended to pressure can hamper its effectiveness.

[SET]
name: Life Orb Attacker
move 1: Dark Pulse
move 2: Oblivion Wing
move 3: Taunt / Knock Off
move 4: Knock Off / Sucker Punch / U-turn
item: Life Orb
ability: Dark Aura
nature: Naive / Rash
evs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

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

Dark Pulse is one of Yveltal's strongest STAB moves, boosted by both Life Orb and Dark Aura. It can achieve 2HKOs on support Arceus formes after Stealth Rock, for example. Oblivion Wing combined with Dark Pulse give gives Yveltal STAB moves that are hard to switch into STAB moves, (remove comma) and increases Yveltal's offensive abilities (abilities seems like a strange word here, maybe coverage?) by hitting typical switches into Dark Pulse such as Xerneas and Arceus-Dark. Oblivion Wing also gives Yveltal large amounts of recovery from dealing damage, helping to combat against combating chip damage, Stealth Rock damage, and Life Orb recoil, which is a rarity for an offensive Pokemon in Ubers. Taunt can prevent Defog and recovery moves from defensive Pokemon, while also preventing setup moves from offensive threats if necessary. This can make Yveltal very annoying to defensively oriented teams. Knock Off can be run over Taunt or run alongside it. It removes key items from Pokemon such as Xerneas and Blissey, (remove comma) and deals a lot of damage to Ho-Oh. It doesn't affect the items of Arceus formes, or holders of Mega Stones, or and Z-Crystals, (it affects the holders but not the items) however. Sucker Punch can be used to give Yveltal one of the strongest priority moves around, (remove comma) and hits many faster targets such as Arceus-Ghost, Deoxys-A, Mega Gengar, as well as hitting and Choice Scarf Lunala. U-turn can also be used to allow Yveltal to pivot out of Pokemon that it can struggle against such as Arceus-Fairy, Magearna, and Tyranitar into a suitable teammate to deal with them, offering momentum to its team. Heat Wave is another possibility, as it 2HKOs 2HKOes Magearna on the switch and easily KOs KOes Ferrothorn, who can typically take 2 Dark Pulses if Yveltal is Naive natured. Yveltal can make for a good Magearna lure with Heat Wave. Focus Blast is Yveltal's best damage option against Tyranitar, (remove comma) and also hits Arceus-Dark for heavy damage, but it has consistency issues due to its poor accuracy.

Set Details
========

Maximum Special Attack and Speed EVs provide Yveltal with optimal offensive abilities. A Naive nature maximizes Yveltal's Speed, making the best use of its Speed tier. A drop to in Special Defense isn't as detrimental as a drop in another stat, as many of the special attackers in Ubers are present either easy matchups or very hard matchups for Yveltal, making it less of an issue. (stated earlier in the sentence) Rash is an alternative that offers an extra boost to Yveltal's Special Attack. It goes very well with Sucker Punch, (comma) which as it can help to cover the loss in Speed. Natures that drop Defense or Attack are also options depending on what moves Yveltal is using and what targets Yveltal is aiming to take less damage from. Dropping Defense can hurt against offensive teams, (remove comma) but aids against defensive teams utilizing support Arceus. ("a support Arceus forme" for clarity?) The opposite applies to dropping Special Defense.

Usage Tips
========

Yveltal can find switch-in opportunities against many defensive Pokemon in the tier. Switching into Pokemon as they use recovery options, use Defog, or as they set entry hazards can put a lot of pressure onto on the opponent. Ghost- and Psychic-types are also potential switchins, Pokemon that Yveltal can potentially switch into, but Yveltal you will need to be very careful of coverage options such as Ice Beam or even secondary STAB moves. This also applies to switching into Primal Groudon, as Stone Edge or Fire Blast can actually OHKO Yveltal after Stealth Rock if the Primal Groudon has offensive investment. is offensively invested. It is ideal to switch into Primal Groudon only if you suspect it will use a Ground-type move or set Stealth Rock. Taking on certain support Arceus formes such as Arceus-Dark and Arceus-Ground can be tricky, as they may be invested have investment in Speed to outspeed Yveltal. If they are running Ice Beam, they can be a difficult task for Yveltal to take down. Dark Pulse is the simplest move to click, as Dark-resistant (hyphen) Pokemon are generally rare and prone to being worn down. Oblivion Wing can catch Xerneas on the switch for high damage, (remove comma) and is also good to use to maintain longevity throughout the match with its healing potential. (optional, but I think this is implied) Taunt combined with Oblivion Wing makes it very difficult for most defensive Pokemon to take Yveltal down. Knock Off should be used on defensive Pokemon to strip them of their items. Pokemon such as Blissey and Chansey can thereby (or similar, I'm guessing this is what you mean?) be made very vulnerable to Yveltal's possible teammates, such as Mega Gengar against a Blissey without a its Shed Shell; (period to semicolon. optional, but makes it more clear these sentences are related) Chansey's checking abilities take a large hit without its Eviolite. Yveltal is capable of breaking these Pokemon on its own with the combination of Taunt and Knock Off if it carries them both, however. Ho-Oh is also vulnerable to being 2HKOd 2HKOed by the combination of Dark Pulse and Knock Off. Coverage options such as Heat Wave and Focus Blast are best used to catch out a check and are therefore best (consider another verb, since you use "are best" before in this sentence) kept hidden until the time is right. Yveltal's moves outside of Dark Pulse and Oblivion Wing can actually be rather unpredictable and can be hard to scout for without taking a lot of damage. This makes surprising targets of coverage moves, Sucker Punch, or Knock Off a little easier.

Team Options
========

Primal Groudon can fit alongside almost any Pokemon, and Yveltal is no exception. It Primal Groudon can use a Stealth Rock set to assist Yveltal in beating down Fairy-types and support Arceus formes. Stealth Rock support also breaks Lunala's Shadow Shield, helping guaranteeing that Sucker Punch gets an guaranteed OHKO on a Choice Scarf Lunala. Primal Groudon can also help Yveltal against Magearna, Xerneas, Primal Kyogre, and most Arceus formes capable of checking Yveltal. In return, Yveltal can break down the defensive cores of the enemy team, opening up opportunities for offensive Primal Groudon to do work later in the match if it is an offensive set. Mega Gengar takes advantage of most Yveltal checks, especially Fairy-types. A U-turn from Yveltal can get Mega Gengar in safely against Pokemon such as Xerneas and Arceus-Fairy, making it easy to get them out of the way. Yveltal also breaks down the defensive Pokemon that could otherwise stand up to Mega Gengar, such as Primal Groudon and Zygarde-C. Swords Dance Arceus formes, Xerneas, and Mega Salamence all appreciate Yveltal's ability to break down their checks. Arceus-Ground in particular can double up on Primal Groudon answers, (remove comma) while giving Yveltal a buffer against Rock- and Electric-type moves. Keep in mind that using both Yveltal and Mega Salamence does stack Stealth Rock weaknesses, which will require careful teambuilding (just for clarity) as well as careful play to work around. Excadrill and Deoxys-S make for effective entry hazard setters alongside Yveltal on offensive teams, as they can almost guarantee the setting of Stealth Rock, while Yveltal uses the extra damage and Taunt to break through Arceus formes using that carry Defog, either keeping Stealth Rock up or potentially taking them out instead. Yveltal can also fit onto teams built around Sticky Web, as offensive teams affected by it (for clarity) then become very hard pressed to deal with Yveltal efficiently. Yveltal can Taunt even the fastest of Defog Arceus formes when their Speed is reduced by Sticky Web, helping to keep the entry hazard up.

[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Dark Pulse
move 2: Foul Play
move 3: Oblivion Wing
move 4: U-turn
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Dark Aura
nature: Modest / Timid
evs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

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

Dark Pulse is the main consistent damage option for this set. Due to not having any boosts from items such as Life Orb or Choice Specs, Keep in mind, however, that the damage output from this Yveltal set can be low due to not having boosts from an item such as Life Orb or Choice Specs. weak, so keep this in mind. (having "keep this in mind" at the very end seems slightly ineffective but you can keep the original sentence structure if you want to. just make the changes to the "due to" clause) Foul Play is key to a Choice Scarf set, as it lets Yveltal revenge kill many Swords Dance Arceus formes by outspeeding them and then taking advantage of their own Attack boosts. It can also revenge kill a +2 Primal Groudon, (remove comma) and comes very close to OHKOing a +2 Mega Lucario, despite Mega Lucario resisting the move. Oblivion Wing offers offensive recovery and the ability to revenge kill Fighting-types such as Mega Lucario, Mega Blaziken, and Marshadow. U-turn grants offensive momentum while also getting chip damage on opposing Dark-types such as Tyranitar and Arceus-Dark.

Set Details
========

Maximum Special Attack and Speed EVs make the best use of Yveltal's offensive stats. A Modest nature combined with a Choice Scarf allows Yveltal to outspeed Pokemon up to maximum Speed Pheromosa. Modest is generally preferred to avoid being too weak, and as Timid's Speed benchmarks are a bit more limited. Timid can be used to outspeed Timid Choice Scarf Lunala, (remove comma) and revenge kill +1 Adamant Mega Blaziken while its at +1 Speed. This but comes at a further loss to power, however.

Usage Tips
========

This Yveltal set should mainly play the role of revenge killer. It adds some security to teams afraid of Swords Dance Arceus formes and Marshadow. It better and fits best (or do you mean that it fits better on defensive teams than on teams afraid of SD Arceus formes and Marshadow?) on teams with a defensive backbone to assist Yveltal, as its Choice Scarf Yveltal's lower power compared to other sets can make it vulnerable to many offensive threats. (should these sentences after the first ("It adds security" to "many offensive threats") go in Team Options?) Due to the lack of power behind this Yveltal set's attacks, it may be better to use U-turn against incoming checks rather than trying to whittle them down. Yveltal holding a Choice item means that its moves should be picked carefully. Even if Yveltal uses the right move at the right time, a Pokemon such as Geomancy Xerneas can come in right after and threaten to set up, (period to comma) so have a plan to deal with anything that can take advantage of a Choice-locked Yveltal. Keeping Yveltal healthy until the opponent's Arceus forme is revealed should be kept in mind. While Yveltal may be faster than most threats with a Choice Scarf, priority users (give examples) may be able to move first and bypass Yveltal anyway. Keep Stealth Rock off the field so that Yveltal is healthy and has a chance to revenge kill Extreme Killer Arceus at full HP. (consider moving this sentence closer to the other sentences discussing Arceus)

Team Options
========

Primal Groudon and other checks to Fairy-types such as Ferrothorn and Magearna are needed with this Yveltal set, as it invites many of them in. Yveltal also pairs well with Fairy-types such as Xerneas and Magearna, as they can assist Yveltal against opposing Dark-types like Tyranitar and Arceus-Dark. Mega Gengar can take advantage of Yveltal's U-turn to get in safely against Yveltal's checks, trapping and removing them. It can also double up on checking Extreme Killer Arceus checks alongside Yveltal. Mega Lucario can provide a soft check to Xerneas, (remove comma) and can also beat up Arceus-Dark and Tyranitar for Yveltal. Defog users such as Arceus-Water and Giratina-O make for (good, decent, great?) partners to Yveltal, as they can help against physical threats alongside Yveltal while also removing Stealth Rock to keep it healthy.

[SET]
name: Choice Specs
move 1: Dark Pulse
move 2: Oblivion Wing
move 3: U-turn
move 4: Heat Wave / Focus Blast
item: Choice Specs
ability: Dark Aura
nature: Timid / Modest
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

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

Dark Pulse backed by Choice Specs is yields one of the highest damage outputs Yveltal can reach. It 2HKOs 2HKOes bulky Arceus formes and specially defensive Primal Groudon, even without Stealth Rock. Oblivion Wing rounds out Yveltal's offensive STABs combination, getting a clean 2HKO on standard Geomancy Xerneas after Stealth Rock damage. It can also force and forcing Arceus-Fairy to use Recover. U-turn pivots lets Yveltal pivot out of Tyranitar and Arceus-Dark, who (add "the latter of" if you only mean Arceus-Dark) which can take even Choice Specs-boosted Dark Pulses easily. Heat Wave blows away Magearna, who which resists both of Yveltal's STAB moves. Focus Blast deals very high damage to Arceus-Dark and Tyranitar, OHKOing the latter if it is. Tyranitar is easily OHKOd if not holding a Chople Berry.

Set Details
========

Maximum Special Attack and Speed EVs get the most out of Yveltal's offensive stats. Choice Specs adds a large power boost to Yveltal's moves. A Timid nature is an easier choice for a Choice Specs set, as it still outdamages Life Orb Yveltal sets even if it (do you mean Choice Specs or Life Orb Yveltal here?) runs a Special Attack-boosting (hyphen) nature. A Modest nature can be run for maximum power, giving Oblivion Wing a high chance to 2HKO Geomancy Xerneas without Stealth Rock up, and also having a high chance and a high chance (remove comma) to OHKO Arceus-Dark and Arceus-Rock after Stealth Rock damage. It gets a clean OHKO on Arceus-Ice after Stealth Rock, too.

Usage Tips
========

Choice Specs-boosted Dark Pulses are easy to throw around. This set can fit offensive teams very well. (should this go in Team Options?) Due to its Choice item, the locked in nature of Choice Specs, this Yveltal set has to be a bit more careful selecting moves. It because it cannot switch moves to better hit incoming checks. Aim to force out Pokemon weak to Yveltal's STAB moves and get strong attacks going to break down the enemy team. U-turn can make makes pivoting out of Arceus-Dark, Tyranitar, and Xerneas into a teammate easy. In situations where clicking a STAB move can be risky, its it's not a bad idea to just force out a Pokemon and then use U-turn. Locking Yveltal into coverage moves can be easily punished even if they hit their intended target, so be wary. Use the extra power on of Oblivion Wing to keep Yveltal healthy from despite (or another replacement, "healthy from damage" doesn't sit well with me) chip damage and Stealth Rock damage. The lack of Life Orb recoil means the longevity of this set is easier to control.

Team Options
========

Mega Gengar is one of the best partners to this set. As Yveltal has no room for Taunt or physical moves to help deal with Blissey and Chansey, Mega Gengar can use Yveltal's U-turn to get in against and heavily damage them. Yveltal helps deal with Lunala and Marshadow in return. This set can fit offensive teams that make use of a dedicated entry hazard setter to ensure Yveltal lands the earlier noted 2HKOs and OHKOs. (maybe specify against which Pokemon ("2HKOs against a, b, and c and OHKOs against x, y, and z" or something like that), it's been a few sections since you mentioned most) Such setters include Excadrill, Deoxys-S, and Cloyster. It Yveltal can also fit more balance-oriented teams thanks to its staying power and wallbreaking ability. (maybe put this at the beginning of the paragraph as it's more general) Defog users such as Arceus-Water and Giratina-O can keep Stealth Rock away to help out Yveltal. Glare Zygarde-C and other paralysis users can paralyze support Arceus formes and Arceus-Fairy to make them easier prey for Yveltal. A paralyzed Arceus-Fairy is prone to being 2HKOd 2HKOed by Modest Yveltal after Stealth Rock damage., if Yveltal is running a Modest nature. Fairy-types can pair well with Yveltal regardless of overall team composition. Offensive teams can use Xerneas alongside Yveltal to pressure Arceus-Dark and Tyranitar. In return, Yveltal breaks down Primal Groudon and Steel-types, opening a path for Xerneas. Balanced teams can utilize Xerneas as well, but other options include Magearna, Klefki, and Arceus-Fairy.

[SET]
name: Physically Defensive
move 1: Foul Play
move 2: Roost
move 3: Taunt
move 4: Toxic / Sucker Punch
item: Leftovers / Charti Berry
ability: Dark Aura
nature: Impish
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD

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

This set takes a different approach to Yveltal than offensive sets, making use of its high HP stat and typing to become a physical wall. Foul Play turns the Attack boosts of setup sweepers such as Swords Dance Arceus formes, Primal Groudon, and Mega Lucario against them. Roost is required on this set to keep Yveltal around and healthy in order to check the aforementioned threats. Taunt can prevent Yveltal from getting statused inflicted with status by slower Pokemon such as Zygarde-C, Primal Groudon, Blissey, and Chansey. It also prevents sweepers from boosting in front of Yveltal. Toxic puts many of the switchins to Yveltal on a timer, preventing them from being a threat for very long. Sucker Punch can catch out would-be revenge killers such as Mega Gengar, Deoxys-A, and offensive Primal Groudon that expect to outspeed and KO Yveltal. Mega Gengar, Deoxys-A, and offensive Primal Kyogre can be vulnerable to Sucker Punch. Knock Off can be used on this set to remove items from other passive Pokemon that may try to sit on (could you clarify whether this means "stall out" or "attack"?) Yveltal.

Set Details
========

Full investment in HP and Defense allows Yveltal to take on physical attackers such as Mega Salamence, Swords Dance Arceus formes, Marshadow, and even Mega Lucario if Stealth Rock is down. Leftovers helps to mitigate damage from chip damage as well as damage from Stealth Rock, keeping Yveltal as healthy as possible. Charti Berry can be used to handle Rock-type coverage from Primal Groudon and Arceus-Ground. This set's rarity means that Rock-type coverage is rarer on setup sweepers overall, however, and running Charti Berry comes at the cost of passive recovery. Dread Plate is another alternative item choice that boosts Foul Play and Sucker Punch's damage, allowing Foul Play to secure an OHKO on a boosted Extreme Killer Arceus, (remove comma) as well as (unboosted?) Mega Lucario.

Usage Tips
========

Yveltal makes for a decent check against suspected Swords Dance Arceus formes, (remove comma) and can be switched switch into most of them. Keep in mind that Primal Groudon and Arceus-Ground are shaky matchups for non-Charti Berry Yveltal without a Charti Berry, as a boosted Stone Edge will KO Yveltal. Keep this in mind. Keep Stealth Rock off the field to ensure Yveltal stands a chance against its intended targets. If it is constantly forced to Roost off damage, it can be easily overwhelmed and give away free turns. While this set can take on some Primal Groudon and Ho-Oh variants, burns from Lava Plume and Sacred Fire are very detrimental, as they still halve the damage of Foul Play and negate potential Leftovers recovery. Yveltal can surprise faster threats with Sucker Punch if it is using running it.

Team Options
========

This Yveltal set is much more passive in nature, (remove comma) than offensive variants and is therefore fits best fitting on more defensive teams that it can help form a backbone with. It can also find a place on teams that are utilizing alongside an Arceus forme that struggles against Primal Groudon, such as Arceus-Fairy or Arceus-Poison. Fairy-type checks Checks to Fairy-types are a necessity, as this set is much more vulnerable to them. Primal Groudon, Magearna, Ferrothorn, Bronzong, and Celesteela make for effective partners. Bronzong and Celesteela in particular can make for backup checks to Swords Dance Arceus formes and Primal Groudon lacking Fire-type moves. Anti-entry hazard support will also be is also key to keep Yveltal from falling into KO range of the sweepers it intends to check. Defog from support Arceus formes and Giratina formes can help Yveltal a lot. Fairy-types can work alongside this set to combat Arceus-Dark, but defensive Yveltal is a bit harder pressed to get damage on Steel-types for them. Yveltal does well against physical variants of Rock Polish Primal Groudon for Fairy-type teammates, however.

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

A more defensive spread of 48 HP / 68 Atk / 252 Def / 140 Spe can be used on Yveltal's Choice Scarf set with a Jolly nature. This gives a Yveltal a much better chance of standing up to Extreme Killer Arceus. However, this set also requires a moveset change to Foul Play, U-turn, Toxic, and Knock Off to make the most use of it, and it suffers from being inconsistent and rather niche overall. Choice Band can convert Yveltal's physical damage output into lethal amounts against Ho-Oh, Blissey, Chansey, and the rare Klefki. However, support Arceus formes and Z-Geomancy Xerneas wall such a set very easily. Darkinium Z and Flyinium Z are options for strong one time one-time STAB moves, but lacks these sets lack a lot in terms of (you can delete this) consistent damage. Hone Claws and Sky Attack combined with a Power Herb can net a surprise OHKO on Geomancy Xerneas, but Z-Geomancy Xerneas can still shrug it off. It This set is also far too specific in targets and usage to warrant serious use on teams.

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

**Fairy-types**: Arceus-Fairy is the safest Yveltal counter available, only bothered by Toxic or a potential U-turn from Yveltal to Mega Gengar. Xerneas, Magearna, and Clefable also make for very effective checks to Yveltal, as they can come in on either any of its STAB moves at least once and threaten Yveltal out. Klefki and Tapu Koko are rarer to come across, but they can also deal with Yveltal by forcing it out because they resist resisting both of its STAB moves and forcing Yveltal out. Tapu Lele struggles to switch into Yveltal, but can take a hit and threaten with STAB Moonblast.

**Rock-types**: Arceus-Rock makes for a great check to Yveltal, resisting Oblivion Wing and being able to outspeed non Choice non-Choice Scarf sets. It threatens to do very high damage on to Yveltal with Judgment, (remove comma) and can use Recover to heal off any damage dealt to it. Tyranitar resists both of Yveltal's STAB moves and threatens to OHKO Yveltal it with Rock-type STAB moves. Defensive Tyranitar commonly holds a Chople Berry and can even take a Focus Blast. Mega Tyranitar usually has less defensive investment, (remove comma) but can hold out against any attack that isn't Focus Blast.

**Arceus-Dark**: Arceus-Dark resists Yveltal's most commonly used move, Dark Pulse, and avoids the 2HKO from Oblivion Wing, making it a decent check to most sets. However, Taunt and repeated uses of Oblivion Wing can threaten to beat Arceus-Dark in a 1v1, one-on-one unless it is carrying Ice Beam or Thunder.

**Ho-Oh**: Ho-Oh takes Yveltal's special moves rather well unless Stealth Rock is up. Physical attacks like Knock Off and Foul Play deal high damage to Ho-Oh, however, so it must be wary of them.

**Blissey and Chansey**: Blissey and Chansey take all of Yveltal's special moves with ease, (remove comma) and can stall it out with Toxic and recovery. Knock Off and Taunt severely cripple these two, however.

**Faster Attackers**: Pokemon faster than Yveltal such as Mega Salamence, Mega Gengar, and Arceus formes can revenge kill or trade with it, a weakened Yveltal, but they have to play carefully around a potential Sucker Punch. Mega Salamence, Mega Gengar, and Arceus formes can all threaten to take out a weakened Yveltal. (combined with previous sentence)

**Electric-types**: Arceus-Electric and Zekrom, while rare, resist Oblivion Wing and threaten Yveltal out with their Electric-type STAB moves.

**Ice-types**: Arceus-Ice and Kyurem-W take advantage of Yveltal's typing and threaten to OHKO it with Judgment or Ice Beam after Stealth Rock damage. However, Kyurem-W finds it very difficult to switch in directly. Arceus-Ice can also be surprised by the rare Focus Blast.
 

Lumari

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GP 2/2
[OVERVIEW]

Yveltal's combination of typing, movepool, ability, and stat distribution makes it one of Ubers's offensive powerhouses, capable of effectively using multiple different effective sets. Dark- and Flying-type STAB moves make Yveltal a hard to check Pokemon defensively and offensively, and the many other moves it has access to give it the tools to be effective in multiple different scenarios. Dark Aura and Yveltal's unique access to Oblivion Wing further complement its offensive abilities. Yveltal's base 99 Speed also allows it to outspeed a fair amount number of Pokemon in Ubers, most notably Primal Groudon and Lunala, and the rest of its stats are well rounded for its purposes. Yveltal gives offensive teams a valuable check to threatening Ghost-types such as Lunala, Arceus-Ghost, Marshadow, and Mega Gengar. Yveltal can also threaten all the Psychic-types in the tier, and it puts a lot of pressure on commonly seen Pokemon such as Primal Groudon and support Arceus formes, making it easy to fit onto teams. However, a Stealth Rock weakness, vulnerability to Fairy-types, and weaknesses to common coverage from Pokemon Yveltal is intended to pressure can hamper its effectiveness.

[SET]
name: Life Orb Attacker
move 1: Dark Pulse
move 2: Oblivion Wing
move 3: Taunt / Knock Off
move 4: Knock Off / Sucker Punch / U-turn
item: Life Orb
ability: Dark Aura
nature: Naive / Rash
evs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

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

Dark Pulse is one of Yveltal's strongest STAB moves, boosted by both Life Orb and Dark Aura. It can achieve 2HKOs on support Arceus formes after Stealth Rock, for example. Oblivion Wing combined with Dark Pulse gives Yveltal STAB moves that are hard to switch into and increases Yveltal's offensive potential by hitting typical switches into switch-ins to Dark Pulse such as Xerneas and Arceus-Dark. Oblivion Wing also gives Yveltal large amounts of recovery from dealing damage, combating chip damage, Stealth Rock damage, and Life Orb recoil, which is a rarity for an offensive Pokemon in Ubers. Taunt can prevent Defog and recovery moves from defensive Pokemon, while also preventing as well as setup moves from offensive threats if necessary. This can make Yveltal very annoying to defensive teams. Knock Off can be run over Taunt or alongside it. It removes key items from Pokemon such as Xerneas and Blissey and deals a lot of damage to Ho-Oh. It doesn't affect the items Plates (p sure it removes EKiller's items just fine?) of Arceus formes, Mega Stones, or Z-Crystals, however. Sucker Punch can be used to give Yveltal one of the strongest priority moves around and hits many faster targets such as Arceus-Ghost, Deoxys-A, Mega Gengar, and Choice Scarf Lunala. U-turn can also be used to allow Yveltal to pivot out of Pokemon that it can struggle against such as Arceus-Fairy, Magearna, and Tyranitar into a suitable teammate to deal with them, offering momentum to its team. Heat Wave is another possibility, as it 2HKOes Magearna on the switch and easily KOes Ferrothorn, who which can typically take two Dark Pulses if Yveltal is Naive natured. Yveltal can make for a good Magearna lure with Heat Wave. Focus Blast is Yveltal's best damage option against Tyranitar, and also hits Arceus-Dark for heavy damage but has consistency issues due to poor accuracy.

Set Details
========

Maximum Special Attack and Speed EVs provide Yveltal with optimal maximum offensive abilities. A Naive nature maximizes Yveltal's Speed, making the best use of its Speed tier. A drop in Special Defense isn't as detrimental as a drop in another stat, as many of the special attackers in Ubers present either easy matchups or very hard matchups for Yveltal. Rash is an alternative that offers an extra boost to Yveltal's Special Attack. It goes very well with Sucker Punch, which can help to cover the loss in Speed. Natures that drop Defense or Attack are also options depending on what moves Yveltal is using and what targets Yveltal is aiming to take less damage from. Dropping Defense can hurt against offensive teams but aids against defensive teams utilizing a support Arceus forme. The opposite applies to dropping Special Defense.

Usage Tips
========

Yveltal can find switch-in opportunities to switch in against many defensive Pokemon in the tier. Switching into Pokemon as they use recovery options, use Defog, or set entry hazards can put a lot of pressure onto the opponent. Ghost- and Psychic-types are also Pokemon that Yveltal can potentially switch into, but you will need to be very careful of coverage options such as Ice Beam or even secondary STAB moves. This also applies to switching into Primal Groudon, as Stone Edge or Fire Blast can actually OHKO Yveltal after Stealth Rock if the Primal Groudon has offensive investment. It is ideal to switch into Primal Groudon only if you suspect it will use a Ground-type move or Stealth Rock. Taking on certain support Arceus formes such as Arceus-Dark and Arceus-Ground can be tricky, as they may have investment in Speed to outspeed Yveltal. If they are running Ice Beam, they can be a difficult task for Yveltal to take down. Dark Pulse is the simplest move to click, as Dark-resistant Pokemon are generally rare and prone to being worn down. Oblivion Wing can catch Xerneas on the switch for high damage and is also good to use to maintain longevity throughout the match. Taunt combined with Oblivion Wing makes it very difficult for most defensive Pokemon to take Yveltal down. Knock Off should be used on defensive Pokemon to strip them of their items. Pokemon such as Blissey and Chansey can thereby be made very vulnerable to Yveltal's possible teammates, such as Mega Gengar against a Blissey without its Shed Shell; Chansey's checking abilities also take a large hit without its Eviolite. Yveltal is capable of breaking these Pokemon on its own with the combination of Taunt and Knock Off if it carries them both, however. Ho-Oh is also vulnerable to being 2HKOed by the combination of Dark Pulse and Knock Off. Coverage options such as Heat Wave and Focus Blast are ideally used to catch out a check and are therefore best kept hidden until the time is right. Yveltal's moves outside of Dark Pulse and Oblivion Wing can actually be rather unpredictable and can be hard to scout for without taking a lot of damage. This makes surprising targets of coverage moves, Sucker Punch, or Knock Off a little easier.

Team Options
========

Primal Groudon can fit alongside almost any Pokemon, and Yveltal is no exception. Primal Groudon It can use a Stealth Rock set to assist Yveltal in beating down Fairy-types and support Arceus formes. Stealth Rock support also breaks Lunala's Shadow Shield, guaranteeing that Sucker Punch gets an OHKO on Choice Scarf Lunala sets. Primal Groudon can also help Yveltal against Magearna, Xerneas, Primal Kyogre, and most Arceus formes capable of checking Yveltal. In return, Yveltal can break down the defensive cores of the enemy team, opening up opportunities for offensive Primal Groudon to do work later in the match. Mega Gengar takes advantage of most Yveltal checks, especially Fairy-types. A U-turn from Yveltal can get Mega Gengar in safely against Pokemon such as Xerneas and Arceus-Fairy, making it easy to get them out of the way. Yveltal also breaks down the defensive Pokemon that could otherwise stand up to Mega Gengar, such as Primal Groudon and Zygarde-C. Swords Dance Arceus formes, Xerneas, and Mega Salamence all appreciate Yveltal's ability to break down their checks. Arceus-Ground in particular can double up on Primal Groudon answers while giving Yveltal a buffer against Rock- and Electric-type moves. Keep in mind that using both Yveltal and Mega Salamence does stack Stealth Rock weaknesses, which will require careful teambuilding as well as careful play to work around. Excadrill and Deoxys-S make for effective entry hazard setters alongside Yveltal on offensive teams, as they can almost guarantee the setting of Stealth Rock, while Yveltal uses the extra damage and Taunt to break through Arceus formes that carry Defog, either keeping Stealth Rock up or potentially taking them out. Yveltal can also fit onto teams built around Sticky Web, as offensive teams affected by it then become very hard pressed to deal with Yveltal efficiently. Yveltal can Taunt even the fastest of Defog Arceus formes when their Speed is reduced by Sticky Web, helping to keep the entry hazard up.

[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Dark Pulse
move 2: Foul Play
move 3: Oblivion Wing
move 4: U-turn
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Dark Aura
nature: Modest / Timid
evs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

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

Dark Pulse is the main consistent damage option for this set. Keep in mind, however, that the damage output from this Yveltal set can be low due to not having boosts from an item such as Choice Specs or Life Orb. Foul Play is key to a Choice Scarf set, as it lets Yveltal revenge kill many Swords Dance Arceus formes by outspeeding them and taking advantage of their own Attack boosts. It can also revenge kill +2 Primal Groudon and comes very close to OHKOing +2 Mega Lucario. Oblivion Wing offers offensive recovery and the ability to revenge kill Fighting-types such as Mega Lucario, Mega Blaziken, and Marshadow. U-turn grants offensive momentum while also getting chip damage on opposing Dark-types such as Tyranitar and Arceus-Dark.

Set Details
========

Maximum Special Attack and Speed EVs make the best use of Yveltal's offensive stats. A Modest nature combined with a Choice Scarf allows Yveltal to outspeed Pokemon up to maximum Speed Pheromosa. Modest is generally preferred to avoid being too weak, as Timid's Speed benchmarks are more limited. Timid can be used to revenge kill +1 Adamant Mega Blaziken. This comes at a further loss to power, however.

Usage Tips
========

This Yveltal set should mainly play the role of revenge killer. Due to the lack of power behind this Yveltal set's attacks, it may be better to use U-turn against incoming checks rather than trying to whittle them down. Yveltal holding a Choice item means that its moves should be picked carefully. Even if Yveltal uses the right move at the right time, a Pokemon such as Geomancy Xerneas can come in right after and threaten to set up, so you should have a plan to deal with anything that can take advantage of a Choice-locked Yveltal. Keeping Yveltal healthy until the opponent's Arceus forme is revealed should be kept in mind. Keep Stealth Rock off the field so that Yveltal is healthy and has a chance to revenge kill Extreme Killer Arceus at full HP. While Yveltal may be faster than most threats with a Choice Scarf, priority users such as Extreme Killer Arceus and Mega Lucario may be able to move first and bypass Yveltal anyway.

Team Options
========

Choice Scarf Yveltal adds some security to teams afraid of Swords Dance Arceus formes and Marshadow and fits best on teams with a defensive backbone to assist Yveltal, as this set's lower power compared to other sets can make it vulnerable to many offensive threats. Primal Groudon and other checks to Fairy-types such as Ferrothorn and Magearna are needed with this Yveltal set, as it invites many of them in. Yveltal also pairs well with Fairy-types such as Xerneas and Magearna, as they can assist Yveltal against opposing Dark-types like Tyranitar and Arceus-Dark. Mega Gengar can take advantage of Yveltal's U-turn to get in safely against Yveltal's checks, trapping and removing them. It can also double up on checking Extreme Killer Arceus alongside Yveltal. Mega Lucario can provide a soft check to Xerneas and beat up Arceus-Dark and Tyranitar for Yveltal. Defog users such as Arceus-Water and Giratina-O make for good partners to Choice Scarf Yveltal, as they can help against physical threats alongside Yveltal while also removing Stealth Rock to keep it healthy.

[SET]
name: Choice Specs
move 1: Dark Pulse
move 2: Oblivion Wing
move 3: U-turn
move 4: Heat Wave / Focus Blast
item: Choice Specs
ability: Dark Aura
nature: Timid / Modest
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

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

Dark Pulse backed by Choice Specs yields one of the highest damage outputs Yveltal can reach. It 2HKOes bulky Arceus formes and specially defensive Primal Groudon, even without Stealth Rock. Oblivion Wing rounds out Yveltal's STAB combination, getting a clean 2HKO on standard Geomancy Xerneas after Stealth Rock damage and forcing Arceus-Fairy to use Recover. U-turn lets Yveltal pivot out of Tyranitar and Arceus-Dark, which can take even Choice Specs-boosted Dark Pulses easily. Heat Wave blows away Magearna, which resists both of Yveltal's STAB moves. Focus Blast is an option that deals very high damage to Arceus-Dark and Tyranitar, OHKOing the latter if it is not holding Chople Berry.

Set Details
========

Maximum Special Attack and Speed EVs get the most out of Yveltal's offensive stats. Choice Specs adds a large power boost to Yveltal's moves. A Timid nature is an easier choice for a Choice Specs set, as it still outdamages Life Orb Yveltal sets running a Special Attack-boosting nature. A Modest nature can be run for maximum power, giving Oblivion Wing a high chance to 2HKO Geomancy Xerneas without Stealth Rock up and a high chance to OHKO Arceus-Dark and Arceus-Rock after Stealth Rock damage. (double check these calcs, looks like something went really wrong here) It gets a clean OHKO on Arceus-Ice after Stealth Rock, too.

Usage Tips
========

Choice Specs-boosted Dark Pulses are easy to throw around. Due to its Choice item, this Yveltal set has to be a bit more careful selecting moves, because it cannot switch moves to better hit incoming checks. Aim to force out Pokemon weak to Yveltal's STAB moves and break down the enemy team. U-turn makes pivoting out of Arceus-Dark, Tyranitar, and Xerneas into a teammate easy. In situations where clicking a STAB move can be risky, it's not a bad idea to just force out a Pokemon and then use U-turn. Locking Yveltal into coverage moves can be easily punished even if they hit their intended target, so be wary. Use the extra power of Oblivion Wing to keep Yveltal healthy despite chip damage and Stealth Rock damage. The lack of Life Orb recoil means the longevity of this set is easier to control.

Team Options
========

Choice Specs Yveltal can fit offensive teams very well. It can also fit more balance-oriented teams thanks to its staying power and wallbreaking ability. Mega Gengar is one of the best partners to this set; (SC) as Yveltal has no room for Taunt or physical moves to help deal with Blissey and Chansey, Mega Gengar can use Yveltal's U-turn to get in to potentially trap and KO them, (comma) and Yveltal helps deal with Lunala and Marshadow in return. This set can fit offensive teams that make use of a dedicated entry hazard setter to ensure Yveltal lands the 2HKO on Geomancy Xerneas. Such setters include Excadrill, Deoxys-S, and Cloyster. Defog users such as Arceus-Water and Giratina-O can keep Stealth Rock away to help out Yveltal. Glare Zygarde-C and other paralysis users can paralyze support Arceus formes and Arceus-Fairy to make them easier prey for Yveltal. A paralyzed Arceus-Fairy is prone to being 2HKOed by Modest Yveltal after Stealth Rock. Fairy-types can pair well with Yveltal regardless of overall team composition. Offensive teams can use Xerneas alongside Yveltal to pressure Arceus-Dark and Tyranitar. In return, Yveltal breaks down Primal Groudon and Steel-types, opening a path for Xerneas. Balanced teams can utilize Xerneas as well, but other options include Magearna, Klefki, and Arceus-Fairy.

[SET]
name: Physically Defensive
move 1: Foul Play
move 2: Roost
move 3: Taunt
move 4: Toxic / Sucker Punch
item: Leftovers / Charti Berry
ability: Dark Aura
nature: Impish (shouldn't Bold be a first slash?)
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD

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

This set takes a different approach to Yveltal than offensive sets, making use of its high HP stat and typing to become a physical wall. Foul Play turns the Attack boosts of setup sweepers such as Swords Dance Arceus formes, Primal Groudon, and Mega Lucario against them. Roost is required on this set to keep Yveltal healthy in order to check the aforementioned threats. Taunt can prevent Yveltal from getting inflicted with status by slower Pokemon such as Zygarde-C, Primal Groudon, Blissey, and Chansey. It also prevents sweepers from boosting in front of Yveltal. Toxic puts many of the switchins to Yveltal's switch-ins on a timer, preventing them from being a threat for very long. Sucker Punch can catch out would-be revenge killers such as Mega Gengar, Deoxys-A, and offensive Primal Groudon that expect to outspeed and KO Yveltal. Knock Off can be used on this set to remove items from other passive Pokemon that may try to stall out Yveltal.

Set Details
========

Full investment in HP and Defense allows Yveltal to take on physical attackers such as Mega Salamence, Swords Dance Arceus formes, Marshadow, and even Mega Lucario if Stealth Rock is down. Leftovers helps to mitigate chip damage as well as damage from Stealth Rock, keeping Yveltal as healthy as possible. Charti Berry can be used to handle Rock-type coverage from Primal Groudon and Arceus-Ground. This set's rarity means that Rock-type coverage is rarer on setup sweepers overall, however, and Charti Berry comes at the cost of passive recovery. Dread Plate is another alternative item choice that boosts Foul Play and Sucker Punch's damage, allowing Foul Play to secure an OHKO on a boosted Extreme Killer Arceus as well as a boosted Mega Lucario.

Usage Tips
========

Yveltal makes for a decent check against suspected Swords Dance Arceus formes and can switch into most of them. Keep in mind that Primal Groudon and Arceus-Ground are shaky matchups for non-Charti Berry Yveltal, as a boosted Stone Edge will KO Yveltal. Keep Stealth Rock off the field to ensure Yveltal stands a chance against its intended targets. If it is constantly forced to Roost off damage, it can be easily overwhelmed and give away free turns. While this set can take on some Primal Groudon and Ho-Oh variants, burns from Lava Plume and Sacred Fire are very detrimental, as they halve the damage of Foul Play and negate potential Leftovers recovery. Yveltal can surprise faster threats with Sucker Punch if it is running it.

Team Options
========

This Yveltal set is much more passive in nature than offensive variants and therefore fits best on more defensive teams that it can help form a backbone. It can also find a place alongside an Arceus forme that struggles against Primal Groudon, such as Arceus-Fairy or Arceus-Poison. Checks to Fairy-types are a necessity, as this set is much more vulnerable to them. Primal Groudon, Magearna, Ferrothorn, Bronzong, and Celesteela make for effective partners. Bronzong and Celesteela in particular can make for backup checks to Swords Dance Arceus formes and Primal Groudon lacking Fire-type moves. Anti-entry hazard support is also key to keep Yveltal from falling into KO range of the sweepers it intends to check. Defog from support Arceus formes and Giratina formes can help Yveltal a lot. Fairy-types can work alongside this set to combat Arceus-Dark, but defensive Yveltal is a bit harder pressed to get damage on Steel-types for them. Yveltal does well against physical variants of Rock Polish Primal Groudon for Fairy-type teammates, however.

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

A more defensive spread of 48 HP / 68 Atk / 252 Def / 140 Spe can be used on Yveltal's Choice Scarf set with a Jolly nature. This gives a Yveltal a much better chance of standing up to Extreme Killer Arceus. However, this set also requires a moveset change to Foul Play, U-turn, Toxic, and Knock Off to make the most use of it, and it suffers from being inconsistent and rather niche overall. Choice Band can convert Yveltal's physical damage output into lethal amounts against Ho-Oh, Blissey, Chansey, and the rare Klefki. However, support Arceus formes and Z-Geomancy Xerneas wall such a set very easily. Darkinium Z and Flyinium Z are options for strong one-time STAB moves, but these sets lack consistent damage. Hone Claws and Sky Attack combined with a Power Herb can net a surprise OHKO on Geomancy Xerneas, but Z-Geomancy Xerneas can still shrug it off. This set is also far too specific in targets and usage to warrant serious use on teams.

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

**Fairy-types**: Arceus-Fairy is the safest Yveltal counter available, only bothered by Toxic or a potential U-turn from Yveltal to Mega Gengar. Xerneas, Magearna, and Clefable also make for very effective checks to Yveltal, as they can come in on any of its STAB moves at least once and force Yveltal out. Klefki and Tapu Koko are rarer, but they can also deal with Yveltal by forcing it out because they resist both of its STAB moves. Tapu Lele struggles to switch into Yveltal, but can take a hit and threaten with STAB Moonblast.

**Rock-types**: Arceus-Rock makes for a great check to Yveltal, resisting Oblivion Wing and being able to outspeed non-Choice Scarf sets. It threatens to do very high damage to Yveltal with Judgment and can use Recover to heal off any damage dealt to it. Tyranitar resists both of Yveltal's STAB moves and threatens to deal high damage back with Rock-type STAB moves. Defensive Tyranitar commonly holds Chople Berry and can even take a Focus Blast. Mega Tyranitar usually has less defensive investment but can hold out against any attack that isn't Focus Blast.

**Arceus-Dark**: Arceus-Dark resists Yveltal's most commonly used move, Dark Pulse, and avoids the 2HKO from Oblivion Wing, making it a decent check to most sets. However, Taunt and repeated uses of Oblivion Wing canlet Yveltal beat Arceus-Dark one-on-one, unless it is carrying Ice Beam or Thunder.

**Ho-Oh**: Ho-Oh takes Yveltal's special moves rather well unless Stealth Rock is up. Physical attacks like Knock Off and Foul Play deal high damage to Ho-Oh, however, so it must be wary of them.

**Blissey and Chansey**: Blissey and Chansey take all of Yveltal's special moves with ease and can stall it out with Toxic and recovery. Knock Off and Taunt severely cripple these two, however.

**Faster Attackers**: Pokemon faster than Yveltal such as Mega Gengar, Mega Salamence, and Marshadow can revenge kill or trade with a weakened Yveltal, but they have to play carefully around a potential Sucker Punch.

**Electric-types**: Arceus-Electric and Zekrom, while rare, resist Oblivion Wing and threaten Yveltal out with their Electric-type STAB moves.

**Ice-types**: Arceus-Ice and Kyurem-W take advantage of Yveltal's typing and threaten to OHKO it with Judgment or Ice Beam after Stealth Rock damage. However, Kyurem-W finds it very difficult to switch in directly. Arceus-Ice can also be surprised by the rare Focus Blast.
 
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cheers for the check - this is done and uploaded

as for the calc comment - those calcs were actually for focus blast which somehow slipped past me, but its fixed now.
 

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