[COMPLETED] Ampharos

Zystral

めんどくさい、な~
is a Contributor Alumnusis a Top Smogon Media Contributor Alumnus
working on top of the above check.

[Pros]

<ul>
<li>Mega Ampharos has a great typing, both offensively and defensively.</li>
<li>It has solid mixed bulk.</li>
<li>It is very powerful.</li>
<li>Ampharos is a fantastic pivot due to low Speed and Volt Switch.</li>
</ul>

[Cons]

<ul>
<li>Ampharos is very slow, to the point that even most defensive Pokemon can outspeed it.</li>
<li>It lacks reliable recovery.</li>
<li>Mega Ampharos has weaknesses to Ground-, Ice-, Dragon-, and Fairy-type moves, all relatively common attacking types.</li>
</ul>

[Set Recommendations]

<p>name: RestTalk<br />
move 1: Rest<br />
move 2: Sleep Talk<br />
move 3: Volt Switch<br />
move 4: Dragon Pulse<br />
ability: Static<br />
item: Ampharosite<br />
evs: 252 HP / 44 SpA / 192 SpD / 20 Spe<br />
nature: Modest</p>

<p>This set makes for a great switch-in to Water-, Grass-, and Fire-types, namely such asTrevenant, Gourgeist, Rotom-W, and Talonflame. Rest and Sleep Talk give Ampharos a form of healing and make it a decent status absorber. Volt Switch gets STAB, provides free switches for Ampharos's teammates (especially when coupled with Ampharos's low Speed), and destroys hits the most of the common Fairy-types that would otherwise wall Ampharos: Azumarill and Togekiss, hard. Dragon Pulse is Ampharos's hardest hitting move and 2HKOes many bulky Pokemon, including max HP Hippowdon after Stealth Rock, while; it also provides perfect neutral coverage with Volt Switch, except against Ferrothorn and Excadrill.</p>

<p>The EV spread gives to Ampharos enough power to 2HKO 252 HP Hippowdon after Stealth Rock and enough Speed to outspeed it. The rest of the EVs max out Ampharos's special bulk, as most of the Pokemon it checks are specially based. Greninja, Lucario (both formes), and Charizard (both formes) can all beat the Grass-types that Ampharos attracts, hit hard, and are difficult to wall once they get in, and all outspeed and OHKO Excadrill outside of sand. This is especially important as Excadrill is one of the best counters to Ampharos. Lucario can also OHKO Tyranitar, a solid counter to Ampharos. Defog Mandibuzz is another good teammate, walling variants of Excadrill without Swords Dance and checking even those with Swords Dance, and; it can also get rid of the entry hazards that Ferrothorn sets up and use Taunt to shut it off. Trevenant and Gourgeist are also good checks to Excadrill and can burn Ferrothorn with Will-O-Wisp, but can't get rid of its entry hazards.</p>

<p>name: All-Out Attacker<br />
move 1: Volt Switch<br />
move 2: Dragon Pulse<br />
move 3: Focus Blast<br />
move 4: Discharge / Thunderbolt<br />
ability: Static<br />
item: Ampharosite<br />
evs: 236 HP / 252 SpA / 20 Spe<br />
nature: Modest</p>

<p>With a great typing, solid bulk, and wide coverage, Ampharos makes for a good tank. Ampharos can come in against the plethora of Grass- [[added hyphen]] and Water-types found in OU and start dishing out pain. Volt Switch is the best move to use in the early-game, to wear down Ampharos's checks and gain momentum. If Ground-types are present on the opponent's team, Dragon Pulse should be used as it can OHKOes or 2HKOes all of them, with the exception of specially defensive Hippowdon. Focus Blast covers the few Pokemon that wall Ampharos's STABs; namely Ferrothorn, Tyranitar, and Excadrill, 2HKOing the first and OHKOing the latter with the help of Stealth Rock. Discharge gives Ampharos an Electric-type STAB move that doesn't force it out and has a handy 30% paralyze chance to inflict paralysis; Thunderbolt on the other hand, hits harder and should be used if Ampharos's team doesn't benefit from paralysis support.</p>

<p>The Speed EVs enable Ampharos to outspeed Hippowdon, in order to and 2HKO it with Dragon Pulse. Then, The rest of the EVs are thrown into bulk and power. Fire-types are good partners as they can deal with the Grass-types that check Ampharos, whereas Ampharos takes care of Water-types for them. Strong checks to Ground- and Dragon-types are appreciated, making Skarmory and Gliscor are fine partners. Finally, strong physical attackers that can deal with special walls such as Sylveon and Blissey are good to have. Aegislash is one of the best switch-ins to both of them, and it can also take advantage of most Grass-types by setting up on them.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>Specially defensive Hippowdon is the best and only true counter to Ampharos, as it blocks Volt Switch, walls it, and 2HKOes it with Earthquake. Special walls such as Florges, Sylveon, Blissey, and Chansey can easily wall Ampharos but are easy to take advantage of with Volt Switch. Excadrill, Ferrothorn, and Tyranitar wall sets without Focus Blast; Excadrill has the added benefit of being immune to Volt Switch and being able to OHKO with Earthquake, making for a great check. Mega Venusaur walls Ampharos, taking even a couple of Dragon Pulse hits, but can't do back much to it and can be easily worn down with Volt Switch and potentially Stealth Rock. Lastly, any faster Pokemon with strong, super effective STAB moves can easily revenge kill Ampharos.</p>
gp approved
 

alexwolf

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Thx guys, added both checks! Btw Zystral, i just referred to Mega Ampharos as Mega Ampharos in the first sentence of both the pros and cons, and then referred to it as it, is this fine?
 

Zystral

めんどくさい、な~
is a Contributor Alumnusis a Top Smogon Media Contributor Alumnus
Thx guys, added both checks! Btw Zystral, i just referred to Mega Ampharos as Mega Ampharos in the first sentence of both the pros and cons, and then referred to it as it, is this fine?
Yeah, should be okay. I didn't notice that all the sets were for Mega Ampharos only and thought some of them might be for normal Ampharos. So yeah, that's fine.
 

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