Salazzle (Singles) (QC 2/3)

Status
Not open for further replies.
[OVERVIEW]


-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.
 
Last edited:

bobochan

slow mo my bobo
is a Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
OVERVIEW
A few points could use more elaboration: 1. "outspeed a good deal of the metagame" 2. "lets it counter the myriad of Fairy and Steel type" 3. "most moves will OHKO or 2HKO it". Good special attack but is surprisingly average in terms of damage output. It misses out on a lot of OHKO's without a boosting item (more on this later).

SET (Special Attacker)
Change Sludge Bomb -> Sludge Wave, there's little to no reason to use Bomb over Wave, that 20% extra chance to poison is hardly worth it. You're getting an increase in damage at the cost of no accuracy. And more importantly, Sludge Wave hits through Bulletproof users.

Set Details (Special Attacker)

"Life Orb is used to maximize damage output" -> need to be more specific. Note that Fire Blast should be used mainly with Life Orb to secure the important OHKOs: Celesteela, Garchomp (94%), Aegislash (56%), Mamoswine (38%), otherwise Flamethrower is preferred. Focus Sash on the other hand, lets you set up Nasty Plot much easier. With Focus Sash and a great Speed tier, Salazzle makes a fantastic scout (due to the nature of what the foes might have: sash/scarf/berry).

Usage Tips (Special Attacker)
This section is too vague. There's nothing wrong with going with the obvious but a small example will help a lot. Ask yourself these questions when dealing with this section: What role do I play at team preview? What kind of match up is bad (and therefore consider benching)? "Salazzle is best used as a revenge killer or late game cleaner." -> Why? What threats do I need removed/scouted?

Team Options (Special Attacker)
Write Tapu Lele/Fini like you did with Tapu Koko/Bulu. What kind of priority? -> be specific. What else does Lele do for Salazzle besides setting up terrain? What does Salazzle do for Lele? (ELIMINATE STEEL-TYPES) Instead of mentioning Ground-types twice in the same sentence when talking about Gyarados, maybe it's a good opportunity to give an example or two.

SET/Moves (Choice Specs)
Again, Sludge Wave is the better option here over Sludge Bomb. "you miss out on certain OHKOs" -> Like what? (MAMOSWINE). I'm a bit iffy with Dragon Pulse here, does that even hit/OHKO anything significant that FB/Wave/HP Ice doesn't already? It's fine if you can justify it but otherwise HP Ice > HP Ground. "Hidden Power Ground is used to hit Poison, Rock, and Fire-types for more damage." -> be more specific, an example would do (NIHILEGO).

Set Details (Choice Specs)
"Corrosion lets you have a chance to poison Pokemon you couldn't normal" -> Better to say something like Corrosion doesn't help as much in this set as it does with the first set because it lacks Toxic, and despite how the ability works, every Steel-types is still IMMUNE to your attacks.

Usage Tips (Choice Specs)
Literally recycled from the first set, needs work (see reasons prior). What are the limitations of being choiced? How does it play around it? What move is generally the safest? (ETC ETC)

Team Options (Choice Specs)
Need more options here, something like a SR user, if you're running Flamethrower or don't want to rely on high rolls to KO (more true for the first set).

Other Options
Will-O-Wisp can be useful in certain situations, like vs Gyarados. SubToxic seems a bit too situational on a glass cannon like Salazzle (need other's opinions on this).

Comments
Alright first analysis I guess, can use more work. Try to be specific, rather than stating an obvious point then moving on. Lastly, always go over stuff carefully once you've done writing. I will take another look when its ready.
 

Theorymon

Have a wonderful day, wahoo!
is a Site Content Manageris a Forum Moderatoris a Community Contributoris a Smogon Discord Contributoris a Pokemon Researcheris a Top Contributoris a Top Smogon Media Contributoris a Social Media Contributor Alumnusis a Community Leader Alumnusis a CAP Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
Moderator
In addition to what bobochan has said, I would would actually get rid of the Toxic slash on the first set, and make the abilities on both Salazzle Oblivious. I know Salazzle's advertising marketed Corrosion, but pretty much anything you'd want to Toxic (mainly Porygon2) already gets hit by it. It miiight be ok postbank to lure Heatran in, but otherwise I think its other options material at best. This also means you'd have to remove the Corrosion mention from the overview as well.

I'm gonna have to agree with bobochan that Salazzle should not be running any sort of "stallish" sets. Salazzle's real selling point is that its an offensive Pokemon with a high speed stat that can deal with Steel-types AND Fairies (mainly, Celesteela and Tapus).

I can check more of this later after you make bobochan's modifications.
 

Theorymon

Have a wonderful day, wahoo!
is a Site Content Manageris a Forum Moderatoris a Community Contributoris a Smogon Discord Contributoris a Pokemon Researcheris a Top Contributoris a Top Smogon Media Contributoris a Social Media Contributor Alumnusis a Community Leader Alumnusis a CAP Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
Moderator
Apologies for the wait, but me and some of the QC people discussed Salazzle further 2 days ago, and here are the conclusions we came to.

-We think the only Salazzle set should probably be the Focus Sash set, and Life Orb / Choice Specs should go to other options. The reason for this is that Salazzle's big selling point is that its a Pokemon that can smash through both important Steel-types like Celesteela and Metagross, AND defeat Fairy-types all in one. Without a Focus Sash, you lose to important threats like Tapu Koko and Choice Scarf Tapu Lele, which is a big bummer! Focus Sash also makes Nasty Plot actually viable, which is something that would normally be too hard to use on such a frail Pokemon.

Anyways, without further ado, here are some stuff from myself!

-For the overview, I'd mention that after Pokebank comes out, Salazzle will have a LOT more competition in the offensive Fire-type space with stuff like Charizard, Blaziken, Rotom-H, and Heatran coming back. That being said, Salazzle might still be able to carve a niche for itself since it's among the fastest Fire-types around.

-I'd get rid of the Hidden Power Ground spread mention. Thanks to bottle caps, you can make those stats perfect while still having the same Hidden Power!

-For usage tips, I'd mention that you are unlikely to sweep with Nasty Plot till late game, where you know what Pokemon the opponent has chosen that might be able to revenge kill Salazzle.

-Since you mentioned slow volturners in the usage tips, you should mention some in teammates as well. Scizor / Mega Scizor are a pretty good choice for Salazzle, since they are pretty slow. Volt Switch Magnezone can work too, though note that it does tend to attract Garchomp, which is a problem. On the bright side, it can run sturdy to lure Garchomp and slam it twice with Hidden Power Ice.

Once you implement this stuff, I will give you your first QC approval!
 

bobochan

slow mo my bobo
is a Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
OVERVIEW
Change the word "counter" into something else like "takes on". Remove mention of Corrosion or just remove the negative side aspect of it. Even if Salazzle cannot make use of it, it's still a signature ability of the Salazzle line and majority of players run Corrosion.

Set Details
Remove mention of Life Orb since this is no longer in the set (actually better to move this part to Other Options). Rewrite the part on why Focus Sash is used exclusively on this set and why its the superior item. Also mention why Oblivious over Corrosion (eg: Oblivious users cannot be taunted which helps set up Nasty Plot).

Checks and Counters
Azumarill can be added under Water-types as well. Non-CB sets has a 38% to OHKO with Aqua Jet, CB ones more dangerous. Other Water-types and Rain teams in general are a pain for Salazzle to deal with (Kingdra).

1/3
 
Hi! I'm no QC member, but there are a few things which I would like to address.
-Poison / Fire gives it a good offensive typing that lets it counter the myriad of Fairy and Steel types such as Aegislash, Celesteela, and the Tapus.
^ I would be changing the word counter to check, as it can only be a counter in certain situations. You can call Salazzle something like a hard check, but counter isn't the right word here.
-Once Pokebank is released Salazzle will face stiff competition with other offensive Fire-types, but it can carve a niche thanks to its amazing speed tier.
^ Maybe mention some of its competition? Entei / Mega-Charizard X or Y / Heatran / Blaziken / Rotom-Heat.
-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 and Nihilego.
^ Probably add Alolan-Marowak as one of the Pokemon hit by Hidden Power Ground. You can only 2HKO after a boost, and without one it can switch-in and OHKO with Shadow Bone. (252 SpA Salazzle Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Marowak-Alola: 51-60 (30.5 - 35.9%) -- 36.9% chance to 3HKO), (252+ Atk Thick Club Marowak-Alola Shadow Bone vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Salazzle: 174-205 (121.6 - 143.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO)
-Nasty Plot can be used to set up on a predicted switch and helps patch up Salazzle's special attack.
^ Base 111 isn't something that I would say needs to be patched up. It'd be better to emphasise on how hard it can hit after the boost.
-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.
^ Would be worth including some common Choice Scarf Pokemon here such as Tapu Lele / Garchomp.
-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.
^ Pretty much a repeat of information from Set Details.
-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.
^ Maybe mention that Grassy Terrain also halves Ground-type damage which Salazzle loves.
-Choice Specs lets Salazzle hit hard, but it makes it more prone to revenge killers like Tapu Koko.
^ I'd rephrase this to comment on how Choice Specs removes the obvious benefits of Focus Sash, which then makes Salazzle more prone to revenge killers.
-Life Orb helps patch up Salazzle's Special Attack, which is slightly underwhelming without a boost.
^ Again, I personally don't believe that "patch up" are the right choice of words. Would rather some emphasis on how hard Salazzle can hit.
**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.
^ Be careful with your choice of words. Without a boost it has a chance 2HKO both Rotom-Wash and Suicune, while with a boost it has a chance to OHKO. Whilst minor, the chance poison from Sludge Wave on the first hit can also ensure a 2HKO. Also, remove the mention of Mega-Lopunny as its mega stone is unreleased and we don't know when or even if it will become obtainable.
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 1, Guests: 0)

Top