-Salazzle sits at an excellent speed tier, allowing it to outspeed a good deal of the metagame including Mega Lucario, Mega Metagross, and Garchomp.
-Has a good special attack stat, but it misses out on several OHKOs without a boost.
-Poison / Fire gives it a good offensive typing that lets it check the myriad of Fairy and Steel types such as Aegislash, Celesteela, and the Tapus.
-Salazzle suffers from a poor movepool, having to rely on Hidden Power for coverage.
-Paper thin defenses means that even resisted moves can 2HKO it, causing it to be prone to revenge killers and priority moves such as Aqua Jet.
-Once Pokebank is released Salazzle will face stiff competition with other offensive Fire-types such as Blaziken and Mega Charizard X and Y, but can carve a niche thanks to its amazing speed tier.
[SET]
name: Special Attacker
move 1: Fire Blast / Flamethrower
move 2: Sludge Wave
move 3: Hidden Power Ice / Hidden Power Ground
move 4: Nasty Plot
item: Focus Sash
ability: Oblivious
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
-Fire Blast is Salazzle's best STAB move, but Flamethrower can be used if you prefer accuracy over power, although it misses out on guaranteed OHKOs on Pokemon such as Buzzwole with max SpDef investment and Mega Metagross without a boost from Nasty Plot.
-Sludge Wave is used as secondary STAB over Sludge Bomb for the increased power and ability to hit Bulletproof users.
-Hidden Power Ice can be used to hit Garchomp and Salamence, while Hidden Power Ground stops Salazzle from being walled by Poison, Rock and Fire-types such as Toxapex, Alolan-Marowak and Nihilego.
-Nasty Plot can be used to set up on a predicted switch and lets Salazzle hit even harder.
Set Details
========
-Maximum Speed and Special Attack Evs are used for the best possible revenge killing power.
-The 4 evs in Special Defense are so Porygon2 gains an attack boost from Download.
-Focus Sash makes it easier for Salazzle to set up Nasty Plot and lets it work as a good scout.
Usage Tips
========
-Salazzle should be selected if you see Fairy or Steel-types during team preview, but should not be chosen if your opponent's team is full of bulky Pokemon, as Salazzle has trouble scoring KOs without a boost. Salazzle also fairs poorly against Pokemon that are faster than it, such as Alakazam , Mega Gengar, and Tapu Koko.
-With a Focus Sash, Salazzle can be used as a scout early game and set up Nasty Plot easier thanks to its amazing speed tier.
Thanks to Salazzle's speed, it makes a great revenge killer against Steel and Fairy-types, or targets that have been weakened.
-Salazzle is unlikely to sweep with Nasty Plot until late game, when you know if any Pokemon on your opponent's team can revenge kill Salazzle.
-You should never directly switch Salazzle in on a threat due to its poor defenses, but it can be sent in by a slow Volt Switch or U-turn.
Team Options
========
-Tapu Lele can set up Psychic Terrain, preventing Salazzle being revenge killed by priority users such as Azumarill, while Salazzle removes Steel-types that give Tapu Lele trouble.
-Tapu Fini prevents Salazzle from being crippled by paralysis, which makes Salazzle deadweight. Additionally, it can OHKO Mamoswine and Mudsdale with Hydro Vortex, and threaten Garchomp with Moonblast.
-Tapu Koko and Bulu can stop bulky water types that wall Salazzle, with Bulu also checking Ground-types that threaten it. Salazzle can also check any Steel-types that give the Tapus trouble.
-Gyarados makes a good partner, as it has an immunity to ground-type attacks, and can take out Mudsdale, Choice Scarf Garchomp, and Mamoswine. It's Mega Evolution also appreciates the removal of Fairy-types.
-Cloyster can also remove Ground-types for Salazzle, while it can remove Steel-types that wall Cloyster such as Aegislash and Mega Lucario.
-Salazzle appriciates Stealth Rock support, especially if you run Flamethrower or don't want to rely on high damage rolls, So Mamoswine makes a good team mates. In addition, Mamoswine can run Ice STAB to threaten Ground-types.
-Scizor and its mega can use a slow U-Turn to bring Salazzle in. Volt Switch Magnezone also makes a good pivot for Salazzle, but it can attract Garchomp, which give them both problems if they do not run Hidden Power Ice.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
-Air Balloon can be used in order to freely switch in on Ground-type attacks.
-Choice Specs lets Salazzle hit hard, but it makes it more prone to revenge killers like Tapu Koko.
-Life Orb helps patch up Salazzle's Special Attack, which is slightly underwhelming without a boost.
-Choice Scarf can be used if you want to be able to revenge kill faster threats like Tapu Koko, Choice Scarf Tapu Lele, and Pheromosa.
-Will-O-Wisp can be useful in some situations, such as against Gyarados.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Ground-types** Ground-types such as Garchomp and Mamoswine can OHKO Salazzle with Earthquake, but Garchomp needs to watch for Hidden Power Ice, while Mamoswine can be OHKOed by Fire Blast from Choice Spec variants.
**Mega-Gyarados** Gyarados can set up to +1 on Salazzle, where it can then outspeed and OHKO Salazzle.
**Water-types** Due to Salazzle's poor movepool, it has trouble breaking through water types such as Toxapex, but they need to look out for sets running Toxic. Additionally Salazzle has to look out for Azumarill, which has a chance to OHKO Salazzle even without a boost!
**Rain Teams** Rain teams are huge pains for Salazzle to deal with, since they are full of Water-types such as Kingdra, which can outspeed Salazzle under rain.
**Faster Pokemon** Salazzle has serious trouble with faster Pokemon such as Tapu Koko and Mega Gengar, as they can outspeed and KO Salazzle.
**Post Pokebank Threats** Once Pokebank is released, Salazzle will be threatened by new Ground-types such as Lando-T and Excadrill, as well as faster Pokemon like Mega Lopunny. Additionally, it is walled by Water-types such as Rotom-Wash and Suicune.
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