RU Doublade

[OVERVIEW]

Doublade cements itself as one of the tier's most influential Pokemon, with its unique Ghost / Steel typing providing a nearly unprecedented total of nine resistances and three immunities, which are backed up by its gargantuan Defense stat and access Eviolite's boost. Doublade is able to apply offensive pressure with its high Attack while simultaneously providing teams with a defensive backbone capable of checking many physical attackers in the tier, such as Aerodactyl, Mega Glalie, Tyrantrum, Bewear, and Snorlax. On top of this, access to Swords Dance and Shadow Sneak and the ability to set up on many physical attackers allow Doublade to double as an effective late-game sweeper. Doublade is also able to come in on special attackers that lack a STAB option to hit it, such as Cresselia and Gardevoir; however, its low Special Defense and HP make it susceptible to being defeated by many special attackers in the tier, including prominent Fire-type Pokemon, such as Salazzle and Moltres. In addition, Doublade struggles to offensively threaten some of the tier's best walls, like Milotic and Umbreon, as the former can beat it with Haze and Scald burns while the latter can beat it with Foul Play. Finally, Doublade is prone to being worn down thanks to its lack of reliable recovery, and can have its defensive abilities crippled by the commonly used Knock Off.

[SET]
name: Bulky Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Shadow Sneak
move 3: Sacred Sword
move 4: Shadow Claw
item: Eviolite
ability: No Guard
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 HP / 180 Atk / 76 SpD

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

Swords Dance allows Doublade to boost its Attack in order to break through bulky setup sweepers, such as Calm Mind Cresselia and Bulk Up Bewear, and allows it to serve as a late-game sweeper once its checks are sufficiently whittled down or have been knocked out. Shadow Sneak provides Doublade with a priority attack and a reliable, though relatively weak, Ghost-type STAB move. Priority is helpful in allowing Doublade to revenge kill weakened setup sweepers and KO faster offensive threats in a late-game sweep. Sacred Sword provides Doublade with the coverage it needs to beat Bewear, Snorlax, and Cloyster and 2HKO Mega Steelix when at +2 Attack. Sacred Sword is also needed to revenge kill Linoone after a small bit of prior damage. Shadow Claw allows Doublade to deal more damage to Araquanid, Escavalier, Moltres, Feraligatr, Durant, Mega Camerupt, and opposing Doublade. Iron Head is an alternative option that provides Doublade with a secondary STAB move to hit foes such as Shaymin, Roserade, Swellow, Meloetta, Kommo-o, and Flygon for more damage. Iron Head or Shadow Claw should be selected based on which of the above Pokemon the team is weaker to, as Doublade's three other moves should always be run.

Set Details
========

An Adamant nature with 180 Attack EVs allows Doublade to 2HKO Mega Steelix after a Swords Dance boost and Stealth Rock damage while providing it with adequate power to pressure opposing offensive teams. 76 Special Defense EVs guarantee Doublade's survival of two Choice Specs Gardevoir Moonblasts after two switches into Stealth Rock. The remaining EVs are poured into HP to make Doublade as effective at tanking hits as possible. Doublade's EV spread can be adapted to fit the purposes of your team, and running a modest amount of Speed, such as 44 EVs for Rhyperior, can be wise if your team appreciates Doublade better dealing with that and Pokemon naturally slower than Rhyperior lacking significant Speed investment. If run with a Sticky Web user, Doublade should generally run 24 EVs in Speed along with maximum Attack in order to outspeed uninvested Umbreon under Sticky Web and KO it with +2 Sacred Sword after Stealth Rock, though this leaves Doublade much less able to switch into even resisted special hits, such as Gardevoir's Moonblast. Eviolite maximizes Doublade's bulk, and Doublade is forced to run No Guard for lack of another option.

Usage Tips
========

Make sure to carefully budget Doublade's health in order to allow it to check the Pokemon it needs to for the remainder of the match; otherwise, it can be quickly whittled down and overcome due to its lack of a reliable recovery move. Do not attempt to set up Doublade in order to sweep unless its checks have been sufficiently weakened, as sacrificial wallbreaking is generally a task better assigned to other Pokemon. Lastly, be wary of switching Doublade into Knock Off unless absolutely necessary, as that will cripple its defensive capabilities for the remainder of the game.

Team Options
========

Milotic can switch into many of the Fire- and Ground-types that threaten Doublade, such as Salazzle, Moltres, Zygarde-10%, and Mega Camerupt. Spikes users such as Mega Glalie, Roserade, and Qwilfish appreciate Doublade spinblocking Tsareena. Grass-types like Shaymin and Roserade can easily come in on Milotic, which stops Doublade, and threaten the opposing team with their STAB moves and coverage. Choice Scarf Shaymin can also provide Healing Wish support to a severely whittled Doublade, while Roserade appreciates the opportunity to set up Spikes, which can even help Doublade sweep in the long run. Kommo-o provides a switch-in to Knock Off and to Umbreon's Foul Play that can provide immediate offensive momentum or set up Stealth Rock. Finally, Wish passers such as Umbreon and Florges pair nicely with Doublade, as they appreciate its good physical bulk, can switch into strong special attacks that threaten it, and can rectify its lack of reliable recovery.

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

Toxic allows Doublade to pressure Pokemon that would normally wall it such as Milotic, Quagsire, and Pyukumuku, but requires Doublade to repeatedly come in to break through these walls, and Pokemon such as Bewear, Durant, and Swords Dance Feraligatr are generally better options for breaking through walls. Pursuit can be used to eliminate or severely weaken Psychic-types, Ghost-types, and frail attackers that want to switch out of Doublade such as Espeon, Gardevoir, Bruxish, and Roserade not locked into Hidden Power Fire. This is generally inferior to other options, however, unless your team strongly requires the removal of one of those threats.

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

**Fire- and Ground-types**: Salazzle, Rotom-H, Moltres, and Nidoqueen OHKO Doublade with their super effective STAB moves and switch into Doublade at least once from full health. Zygarde-10% and Flygon threaten Doublade like this to a lesser extent, as their STAB moves aren't able to OHKO it and Doublade is capable of dealing significant damage back.

**Haze, Foul Play, and Unaware Walls**: Milotic and Umbreon are able to completely shut down any offensive momentum from Doublade with Haze and Foul Play, respectively. Quagsire and Pyukumuku can shrug off any of Doublade's attacks with ease, not fearing an Attack boost, though they do need to be somewhat wary of the occasional Toxic variant.

**Knock Off**: Pokemon with Knock Off for coverage, such as Tsareena and Machamp, can cripple Doublade on the switch in and wear it down, allowing them to beat it later.

**Gligar**: Physically defensive Gligar takes extremely little from Doublade's boosted attacks and can beat it with Earthquake.

**Strong Special Attackers**: Strong special attackers in general, such as Shaymin, Roserade, and Swellow, can deal massive damage to Doublade.
 
Last edited:

aVocado

@ Everstone
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Doublade is able to apply offensive pressure coming of its base 110 Attack, while simultaneously providing teams with a defensive backbone capable of checking many physical attackers in the tier, such as Aerodactyl, Cloyster, Mega Glalie, Tyrantrum, Bewear, Tsareena, and Snorlax.
not cloystr that runs hydro pump, and not a tsareena check either

grass types in team options, shaymin has healing wish which can be nice and soft checks milotic, whereas lo shaymin is a good milo check. roserade also but sets up spikes

team options sound lacking a bit but doublade fits everywhere, just make sure u mention some mons that can cover doublade's weaknesses. i can't think of specific mons off the top of my head besides shaymin/rose though

about the spread, i don't really care so i'll let other QC members decide

good shit otherwise

1/3
 
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eren

je suis d'ailleurs
mention pursuit/gyro in oo

move wish team option to bottom since they usually use another steel i.e mega lix

2/3
 
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MrAldo

Hey
is a Social Media Contributoris a Community Contributoris a Tiering Contributoris a Contributor to Smogonis a Dedicated Tournament Hostis a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnus
- On the Overview you mention prominent fire-types like Salazzle, Moltres, and Rotom-Heat. Remove Rotom-Heat from this since it is not prominent at all. Mentioning just Salazzle and Moltres is fine for this and gets to the point.

- I see you mentioned that running a bit of speed can allow Doublade to beat Umbreon with the aid of Sticky Web. However it is important to mention how much speed. 24 speed is enough to outspeed -1 speed umbreon, and max attack can KO Umbreon after Stealth Rock damage so you can mention that please.

- Also with that, mention the risks of running that spread since if you run max attack you become more susceptible to Gardevoir.

- It isnt recommended to mention speed creep on the analysis so just remove that bit of set details, you naturally outspeed Mega Steelix and it doesnt run speed investment for much nowadays. Or you could mention Rhyperior as a potential benchmark with 44 speed investment. Up to you, but dont mention creep.

QC 3/3 when you implement this. Good work
 
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amcheck, no need to implement

[OVERVIEW]

Doublade cements itself as one of the tiers tier's most influential Pokemon, with its unique Ghost-Steel Ghost / Steel typing providing a nearly unprecedented 9 nine resistances and 3 three immunities, which are backed up by its gargantuan 150 base base 150 Defense stat boosted by Eviolite. Doublade is able to apply offensive pressure coming of with its base 110 Attack,(RC) while simultaneously providing teams with a defensive backbone capable of checking many physical attackers in the tier, such as Aerodactyl, Mega Glalie, Tyrantrum, Bewear, and Snorlax. On top of this, access to Swords Dance,(RC) and Shadow Sneak,(RC) and the the ability to set up on many physical attackers also allow Doublade to double as an effective wincon in the end game end-game. Doublade It is also able to come in on Special Attackers who special attackers that lack a STAB option to hit it, such as Cresselia or and Gardevoir,(RC) howver its;(AS) however, its low base 49 Special Defense in conjunction with Doublade's its low base 51 HP make it succesptible susceptible to being defeated by many special attackers in the tier, including all prominent Fire-Type Fire-type Pokemon,(AC) (if you mean all prominent Fire-types that are similar to Salazzle and Moltres, don't add this comma) such as Salazzle and Moltres. In addition, Doublade struggles to offensively threaten some of the tiers tier's best walls,(RC) like Milotic and Umbreon, as the former can beat it with Haze and Scald burns while the latter can 1v1 beat it with Foul Play. Finally, Doublade is prone to being worn down without access to reliable recovery, and it is prone to have having its defensive abilities crippled by the commonly used Knock Off.

[SET]
name: Bulky Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Shadow Sneak
move 3: Sacred Sword
move 4: Iron Head
item: Eviolite
ability: No Guard
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 HP / 180 Atk / 76 SpDef

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

Swords Dance allows Doublade to boost its attack Attack in order to break through bulky set-up setup sweepers, such as Calm Mind Cresselia or and Bulk up Up Bewear, and allows Doublade it to serve as a wincon in the late game late-game once its checks are sufficiently whittled or have been knocked out. Shadow Sneak provides Doublade with a priority attack and reliable, if not though relatively weak, Ghost-type STAB move. Priority is helpful in allowing Doublade to revenge kill setup sweepers after they have been weakened by another member of your team, as well as KO'ing KOing faster offensive threats in an endgame end-game sweep. Sacred Sword provides Doublade with the coverage it needs to beat Bewear, Snorlax, and Cloyster and 2HKO Mega Steelix at +2 Attack. Sacred Sword is also needed to revenge kill Linoone after a small bit of prior damage. Iron Head provides Doublade with a secondary STAB move to hit things foes such as Shaymin, Roserade, Swellow, Meloetta, Kommo-o, and Flygon for more damage than Shadow Sneak or Sacred Sword, such as Shaymin, Roserade, Swellow, Meloetta, Kommo-o, and Flygon.

Set Details
========

An Adamant nature with 180 Attack EVs allows Doublade to 2HKO Mega Steelix after a Swords Dance boost and Stealth Rock hit,(RC) while providing it with adequate power to pressure opposing offensive teams. 76 Special Defense EV's EVs guarantee Doublade's survival of two Choice Specs Gardevoir Moonblasts and after two Stealth Rocks switch-ins Rock hits. The rest is remaining EVs are poured into HP to make Doublade as effective at tanking hits as possible. Doublade's EV spread can be adapted to fit the purposes of your team, and running a modest amount of speed, such as 44 EVs for Rhyperior Speed can be wise if your team appreciates Doublade better dealing with that, and slower Pokemon than Rhyperior running lesser amounts of speed Pokemon that are usually slightly faster than it, such as Rhyperior, which can be outsped with 44 EVs (made this change because I'm guessing running more Speed EVs on Doublade doesn't help against all Pokemon slower than Rhyperior, as some are already slower than Doublade. If the change isn't what you meant, instead write "better dealing with Rhyperior, which can be outsped with 44 EVs, and Pokemon slower than it."). If run with a Sticky Web user, Doublade should generally run 24 EVs in speed Speed along with Max maximum Attack, in order to outspeed uninvested Umbreon under webs after Sticky Web and KO it with +2 Sacred Sword after Stealth Rock, though this leaves Doublade much less able to switch into even resisted special hits, such as Gardevoir's Moonblast. Eviolite maximizes Doublade's bulk, and Doublade it is forced to run No Guard for lack of another option.

Usage Tips
========

Make sure to carefully budget Doublade's health in order to allow it to check the Pokemon it needs to for the remainder of the match, otherwise Doublade it can be quickly whittled down and overcome due to its lack of a reliable recovery move. Do not attempt to set-up with set up Doublade in order to sweep,(RC) unless Doublade's checks have been sufficiently weakened, as sacrificial wall breaking wallbreaking is generally better assigned to other Pokemon. Lastly, be wary of switching don't switch Doublade into Knock Off,(RC) unless absolutely necessary, as it will cripple its defensive capabilities for the remainder of the game.

Team Options
========

Milotic can switch into many of the Fire-(AH) and GroundTypes Ground-types that threaten Doublade, such as Salazzle, Moltres, Zygarde-10%, and Mega Camerupt. Spikes users such as Mega Glalie, Roserade, or and Qwilfish appreciate Doublade spin blocking spinblocking against Tsareena. Grass-types, such as Shaymin or and Roserade, can easily come in on the Miltoics Milotic that stop Doublade and threaten the opposing team with their Grass STAB and coverage. Scarf Shaymin variants can also provide Healing Wish support to a severely whittled Doublade,(RC) while Roserade appreciates the opportunity to set up Spikes Spike, which can even help Doublade sweep in the long run. Kommo-o provides a switch-in to the Knock Offs that threaten Knock Off, which threatens Doublade,(AC) and to Umbreon's Foul Play,(RC) that can provide immediate offensive momentum or set up Stealth Rocks Rock. Finally, Wish passers, such as Umbreon or and Florges, pair nicely with Doublade,(AC) as they appreciate its good physical bulk, can switch into strong Special special attacks that threaten Doublade, and can rectify its lack of reliable recovery by wish Wish passing.

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

Shadow Claw is an option that allows Doublade to deal more damage to Araquanid, Escavelier Escavalier, Moltres, Feraligatr, Durant, Mega Camerupt, and opposing Doublade, but Iron Head is generally better coverage unless your team is specifically weak to one of the aforementioned Pokemon. Toxic allows Doublade to pressure Pokemon that would normally hard wall it, such as Milotic, Quagsire, and Pyukumuku, but requires Doublade to repeatedly come in to break through these walls, and Pokemon such as Bewear, Durant, or and Swords Dance Feraligatr are generally better options for breaking through walls. Pursuit can be used to eliminate or severely weaken Psychic-types, Ghost-types, or frail attackers that want to immediately switch out initially on of Doublade (guessing you mean "immediately" because "initially" implies that the frail attacker is later going to do something else against Doublade. don't change if you mean "initially"), such as Espeon, Gardevoir, Bruxish, or and Roserade not locked into Hidden Power Fire. This is generally inferior to other options, however, unless your team strongly requires the removal of one of the aforementioned threats.

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

**Fire-(AH) and Ground-types Types**: Salazzle, Rotom-Heat, Moltres, and Nidoqueen can all OHKO Doublade with their Super Effective super effective STAB moves and switch while switching into Doublade at least once from full health ("while" was ambiguous, could mean attacking and switching in at the same time). Zygarde-10% and Flygon threaten Doublade like this to a lesser extent, as their STABS STAB moves aren't able to OHKO it,(AC) and Doublade is capable of dealing significant damage back.

**Haze, Foul Play, and Unaware Walls**: Milotic and Umbreon are able to completely shut down any offensive momentum from Doublade with Haze and Foul Play respectively. Quagsire and Pyukumuku can shrug off any of Doublade's attacks with ease, not fearing an attack Attack boost, though they do need to be somewhat wary of the occasional toxic Toxic variant.

**Knock Off**: Pokemon with Knock Off for coverage, such as Tsareena and Machamp, can cripple Doublade on the switchin switch in and wear it down, allowing them to beat it coming in later.

**Gligar**: Physically defensive Gligar takes extremely little from Doublade's attacks even when boosted,(RC) and can 1v1 beat it with Earthquake.

**Strong Special Attackers**: Strong Special special attackers in general, such as Shaymin, Roserade, and Swellow, can deal massive damage to Doublade with their Fire-(AH) and Ground-type coverage Type Coverage.
 
Last edited:

MrAldo

Hey
is a Social Media Contributoris a Community Contributoris a Tiering Contributoris a Contributor to Smogonis a Dedicated Tournament Hostis a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnus
King Wynaut I need you to make a quick update before progressing, I was too focused on iron head being Doublade hardest hitting move and didnt notice how much it was clashed with sacred sword.

- Put Shadow Claw over Iron Head on the main set since it is important so Araquanid doesnt end up beating you 1v1 and to beat Feraligatr with +2 shadow claw + sneak while still hitting those targets for good damage, and for the Doublade mirror. Mention Iron Head on OO and mention is to hit nidoqueen harder since 2 iron heads + 1 shadow sneak is a KO.

Sorry for the inconvenience. Will try to be more precise on future analyses!
 

phantom

Banned deucer.
i explained this a bit more on discord but make sure to deslash iron head completely; this needs to happen before it goes to gp. it can remain mentioned in moves, but aside from raw dmg output which doesn’t really secure enough relevant kos, there’s not much reason to use it over shadow claw which actually provides important coverage on 5+ mons
 

autumn

only i will remain
is a Site Content Manageris a Member of Senior Staffis a Community Contributoris a Tiering Contributoris a Top Contributoris a Social Media Contributor Alumnusis a Top Smogon Media Contributor Alumnusis an Administrator Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
C&C Leader
great amcheck btw, message me on discord if you need any clarification

GP 1/2
add remove comments

[OVERVIEW]

Doublade cements itself as one of the tier's most influential Pokemon, with its unique Ghost / Steel typing providing a nearly unprecedented nine resistances and three immunities, which are backed up by its gargantuan base 150 Defense stat boosted by and access to (the 150 isn't boosted) Eviolite. Doublade is able to apply offensive pressure with its base 110 Attack while simultaneously providing teams with a defensive backbone capable of checking many physical attackers in the tier, such as Aerodactyl, Mega Glalie, Tyrantrum, Bewear, and Snorlax. On top of this, access to Swords Dance and Shadow Sneak and the ability to set up on many physical attackers also allow Doublade to double as an effective wincon in the end-game late-game sweeper. Doubalde Doublade is also able to come in on special attackers that lack a STAB option to hit it, such as Cresselia and Gardevoir; however, its low base 49 Special Defense in conjunction with its low poor base 51 HP make it susceptible to being defeated by many special attackers in the tier, including all prominent Fire-type Pokemon, such as Salazzle and Moltres. In addition, Doublade struggles to offensively threaten some of the tier's best walls, like Milotic and Umbreon, as the former can beat it with Haze and Scald burns while the latter can beat it with Foul Play. Finally, Doublade is prone to being worn down without access to reliable recovery, and it is prone to having can have its defensive abilities crippled by the commonly used Knock Off.

[SET]
name: Bulky Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Shadow Sneak
move 3: Sacred Sword
move 4: Shadow Claw
item: Eviolite
ability: No Guard
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 HP / 180 Atk / 76 SpDef

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

Swords Dance allows Doublade to boost its Attack in order to break through bulky setup sweepers, such as Calm Mind Cresselia and Bulk Up Bewear, and allows it to serve as a wincon in the late-game sweeper once its checks are sufficiently whittled down or have been knocked out. Shadow Sneak provides Doublade with a priority attack and reliable, though relatively weak, Ghost-type STAB move. Priority is helpful in allowing Doublade to revenge kill setup sweepers after they have been weakened by another member of your its team, as well as KOing faster offensive threats in an end late-game sweep. Sacred Sword provides Doublade with the coverage it needs to beat Bewear, Snorlax, and Cloyster and 2HKO Mega Steelix at +2 Attack. Sacred Sword is also needed to revenge kill Linoone after a small bit of prior damage. Shadow Claw allows Doublade to deal more damage to Araquanid, Escavalier, Moltres, Feraligatr, Durant, Mega Camerupt, and opposing Doublade. Iron Head is an alternative option that provides Doublade with a secondary STAB move to hit foes such as Shaymin, Roserade, Swellow, Meloetta, Kommo-o, and Flygon for more damage. Iron Head or Shadow Claw should be selected based on which set of the above Pokemon the team is weaker to, as Doublade's three other moves should always be run.

Set Details
========

An Adamant nature with 180 Attack EVs allows Doublade to 2HKO Mega Steelix after a Swords Dance boost and Stealth Rock hit damage while providing it with adequate power to pressure opposing offensive teams. 76 Special Defense EVs guarantee Doublade's survival of two Choice Specs Gardevoir Moonblasts after two switches into Stealth Rock hits. The remaining EVs are poured into HP to make Doublade as effective at tanking hits as possible. Doublade's EV spread can be adapted to fit the purposes of your team, and running a modest amount of Speed, such as 44 EVs for Rhyperior, can be wise if your team appreciates Doublade better dealing with that, (RC) and Pokemon naturally slower than Rhyperior lacking significant Speed investment. If run with a Sticky Web user, Doublade should generally run 24 EVs in Speed along with maximum Attack, (RC) in order to outspeed uninvested Umbreon under Sticky Web and KO it with +2 Sacred Sword after Stealth Rock, though this leaves Doublade much less able to switch into even resisted special hits, such as Gardevoir's Moonblast. Eviolite maximizes Doublade's bulk, and it is forced to run No Guard for lack of another option.

Usage Tips
========

Make sure to carefully budget Doublade's health in order to allow it to check the Pokemon it needs to for the remainder of the match, otherwise it can be quickly whittled down and overcome due to its lack of a reliable recovery move. Do not attempt to set up Doublade in order to sweep unless Doublade's its checks have been sufficiently weakened, as sacrificial wallbreaking is generally better assigned to other Pokemon. Lastly, be (space) wary of switching Doublade into Knock Off unless absolutely necessary, as it will cripple its defensive capabilities for the remainder of the game.

Team Options
========

Milotic can switch into many of the Fire- and Ground-types that threaten Doublade, such as Salazzle, Moltres, Zygarde-10%, and Mega Camerupt. Spikes users such as Mega Glalie, Roserade, and Qwilfish appreciate Doublade spinblocking against Tsareena. Grass-types, such as Shaymin and Roserade, can easily come in on the Milotic, (AC) which that stops Doublade, (AC) and threaten the opposing team with their Grass-type STAB moves and coverage. Choice Scarf Shaymin variants can also provide Healing Wish support to a severely whittled Doublade, (AC) while Roserade appreciates the opportunity to set up Spikes, which can even help Doublade sweep in the long run. Kommo-o provides a switch-in to Knock Off, which threatens Doublade, and to Umbreon's Foul Play that can provide immediate offensive momentum or set up Stealth Rock. Finally, Wish passers, such as Umbreon and Florges, pair nicely with Doublade, as they appreciate its good physical bulk, can switch into strong special attacks that threaten Doublade, and can rectify its lack of reliable recovery by Wish passing.

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

Toxic allows Doublade to pressure Pokemon that would normally hard wall it, such as Milotic, Quagsire, and Pyukumuku, but requires Doublade to repeatedly come in to break through these walls, and Pokemon such as Bewear, Durant, and Swords Dance Feraligatr are generally better options for breaking through walls. Pursuit can be used to eliminate or severely weaken Psychic-types, Ghost-types, or and frail attackers that want to switch out initially (space) on Doublade, such as Espeon, Gardevoir, Bruxish, and Roserade not locked into Hidden Power Fire. This is generally inferior to other options, however, unless your team strongly requires the removal of one of the aforementioned threats.

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

**Fire- and Ground-types**: Salazzle, Rotom-H, Moltres, and Nidoqueen can all OHKO Doublade with their super effective STAB moves and switch into Doublade at least once from full health. Zygarde-10% and Flygon threaten Doublade like this to a lesser extent, as their STAB moves aren't able to OHKO it, and Doublade is capable of dealing significant damage back.

**Haze, Foul Play, and Unaware Walls**: Milotic and Umbreon are able to completely shut down any offensive momentum from Doublade with Haze and Foul Play respectively. Quagsire and Pyukumuku can shrug off any of Doublade's attacks with ease, not fearing an Attack boost, though they do need to be somewhat wary of the occasional Toxic variant.

**Knock Off**: Pokemon with Knock Off for coverage, such as Tsareena and Machamp, can cripple Doublade on the switch in and wear it down, allowing them to beat it coming in later.

**Gligar**: Physically defensive Gligar takes extremely little from Doublade's attacks even when boosted and can beat it with Earthquake.

**Strong Special Attackers**: Strong special attackers in general, such as Shaymin, Roserade, and Swellow, can deal massive damage to Doublade with their Fire- and Ground-type coverage
 

GP 2/2
remove add

[OVERVIEW]

Doublade cements itself as one of the tier's most influential Pokemon, with its unique Ghost / Steel typing providing a nearly unprecedented total of nine resistances and three immunities, which are backed up by its gargantuan base 150 Defense stat and access to an Eviolite's boost. Doublade is able to apply offensive pressure with its base 110 high Attack while simultaneously providing teams with a defensive backbone capable of checking many physical attackers in the tier, such as Aerodactyl, Mega Glalie, Tyrantrum, Bewear, and Snorlax. On top of this, access to Swords Dance and Shadow Sneak and the ability to set up on many physical attackers also allow Doublade to double as an effective late-game sweeper. Doublade is also able to come in on special attackers that lack a STAB option to hit it, such as Cresselia and Gardevoir; however, its low base 49 Special Defense in conjunction with its poor base 51 HP Special Defense and HP make it susceptible to being defeated by many special attackers in the tier, including all prominent Fire-type Pokemon, (comma) such as Salazzle and Moltres. In addition, Doublade struggles to offensively threaten some of the tier's best walls, like Milotic and Umbreon, as the former can beat it with Haze and Scald burns while the latter can beat it with Foul Play. Finally, Doublade is prone to being worn down without access to thanks to its lack of reliable recovery, (comma) and can have its defensive abilities crippled by the commonly used Knock Off.

[SET]
name: Bulky Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Shadow Sneak
move 3: Sacred Sword
move 4: Shadow Claw
item: Eviolite
ability: No Guard
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 HP / 180 Atk / 76 SpD

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

Swords Dance allows Doublade to boost its Attack in order to break through bulky setup sweepers, such as Calm Mind Cresselia and Bulk Up Bewear, and allows it to serve as a late-game sweeper once its checks are sufficiently whittled down or have been knocked out. Shadow Sneak provides Doublade with a priority attack and a reliable, though relatively weak, Ghost-type STAB move. Priority is helpful in allowing Doublade to revenge kill weakened setup sweepers after they have been weakened by another member of its team, as well as KOing and KO faster offensive threats in a(space)late-game sweep. Sacred Sword provides Doublade with the coverage it needs to beat Bewear, Snorlax, and Cloyster and 2HKO Mega Steelix when at +2 Attack. Sacred Sword is also needed to revenge kill Linoone after a small bit of prior damage. Shadow Claw allows Doublade to deal more damage to Araquanid, Escavalier, Moltres, Feraligatr, Durant, Mega Camerupt, and opposing Doublade. Iron Head is an alternative option that provides Doublade with a secondary STAB move to hit foes such as Shaymin, Roserade, Swellow, Meloetta, Kommo-o, and Flygon for more damage. Iron Head or Shadow Claw should be selected based on which set of the above Pokemon the team is weaker to, as Doublade's three other moves should always be run.

Set Details
========

An Adamant nature with 180 Attack EVs allows Doublade to 2HKO Mega Steelix after a Swords Dance boost and Stealth Rock damage while providing it with adequate power to pressure opposing offensive teams. 76 Special Defense EVs guarantee Doublade's survival of two Choice Specs Gardevoir Moonblasts after two switches into Stealth Rock. The remaining EVs are poured into HP to make Doublade as effective at tanking hits as possible. Doublade's EV spread can be adapted to fit the purposes of your team, and running a modest amount of Speed, such as 44 EVs for Rhyperior, can be wise if your team appreciates Doublade better dealing with that and Pokemon naturally slower than Rhyperior lacking significant Speed investment. If run with a Sticky Web user, Doublade should generally run 24 EVs in Speed along with maximum Attack in order to outspeed uninvested Umbreon under Sticky Web and KO it with +2 Sacred Sword after Stealth Rock, though this leaves Doublade much less able to switch into even resisted special hits, (comma) such as Gardevoir's Moonblast. Eviolite maximizes Doublade's bulk, and it Doublade is forced to run No Guard for lack of another option.

Usage Tips
========

Make sure to carefully budget Doublade's health in order to allow it to check the Pokemon it needs to for the remainder of the match,; (semi) otherwise, (comma) it can be quickly whittled down and overcome due to its lack of a reliable recovery move. Do not attempt to set up Doublade in order to sweep unless its checks have been sufficiently weakened, as sacrificial wallbreaking is generally a task better assigned to other Pokemon. Lastly, be wary of switching Doublade into Knock Off unless absolutely necessary, as it that will cripple its defensive capabilities for the remainder of the game.

Team Options
========

Milotic can switch into many of the Fire- and Ground-types that threaten Doublade, such as Salazzle, Moltres, Zygarde-10%, and Mega Camerupt. Spikes users such as Mega Glalie, Roserade, and Qwilfish appreciate Doublade spinblocking against Tsareena. Grass-types, (comma) such as like Shaymin and Roserade, (comma) can easily come in on Milotic, which(space)stops Doublade, and threaten the opposing team with their Grass-type STAB moves and coverage. Choice Scarf Shaymin variants can also provide Healing Wish support to a severely whittled Doublade, while Roserade appreciates the opportunity to set up Spikes, which can even help Doublade sweep in the long run. Kommo-o provides a switch-in to Knock Off, (comma) which threatens Doublade, and to Umbreon's Foul Play that can provide immediate offensive momentum or set up Stealth Rock. Finally, Wish passers, (comma) such as Umbreon and Florges, (comma) pair nicely with Doublade, as they appreciate its good physical bulk, can switch into strong special attacks that threaten Doublade it, and can rectify its lack of reliable recovery by Wish passing.

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

Toxic allows Doublade to pressure Pokemon that would normally hard wall it, (comma) such as Milotic, Quagsire, and Pyukumuku, but requires Doublade to repeatedly come in to break through these walls, and Pokemon such as Bewear, Durant, and Swords Dance Feraligatr are generally better options for breaking through walls. Pursuit can be used to eliminate or severely weaken Psychic-types, Ghost-types,(space)and frail attackers that want to switch out initially on of Doublade, (comma) such as Espeon, Gardevoir, Bruxish, and Roserade not locked into Hidden Power Fire. This is generally inferior to other options, however, unless your team strongly requires the removal of one of the aforementioned those threats.

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

**Fire- and Ground-types**: Salazzle, Rotom-H, Moltres, and Nidoqueen can all OHKO Doublade with their super effective STAB moves and switch into Doublade at least once from full health. Zygarde-10% and Flygon threaten Doublade like this to a lesser extent, as their STAB moves aren't able to OHKO it, (comma) and Doublade is capable of dealing significant damage back.

**Haze, Foul Play, and Unaware Walls**: Milotic and Umbreon are able to completely shut down any offensive momentum from Doublade with Haze and Foul Play, (comma) respectively. Quagsire and Pyukumuku can shrug off any of Doublade's attacks with ease, not fearing an Attack boost, though they do need to be somewhat wary of the occasional Toxic variant.

**Knock Off**: Pokemon with Knock Off for coverage, such as Tsareena and Machamp, can cripple Doublade on the switch in and wear it down, allowing them to beat it coming in later.

**Gligar**: Physically defensive Gligar takes extremely little from Doublade's boosted attacks even when boosted and can beat it with Earthquake.

**Strong Special Attackers**: Strong special attackers in general, such as Shaymin, Roserade, and Swellow, can deal massive damage to Doublade.
 
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