Community POTW #76

[Serebii]

For the next 6 or so weeks, we have scrapped the RNG and are going with ones to tie in with the new games and the new movie.

First up is the first of the Muskedeer quad, Cobalion



Cobalion is an awesome Pokémon and is capable of some decent stuff

http://www.serebii.net/pokedex-bw/638.shtml

Go nuts

[SneaselFTW]

Tank
Item: Leftovers
EVS: 252 HP/128 Atk/ 128 Def
Nature: Impish
Iron Head
Subsitute
Close Combat
Stone Edge

Edit: First Post!

[TimmahX]

Oh yes, one of my mains. I'll gladly spend some time writing something up for you, Cobalion!

Sword of Choice
Nature: Adamant/Jolly/Naughty
EVs: 252 Atk, 252 Spd, 4 HP
Item: Choice Scarf/Band
Ability: Justified

- Close Combat / Sacred Sword
- Iron Head / X-Scissors / Stone Edge / Double Kick / Volt Switch
- Iron Head / X-Scissors / Stone Edge / Double Kick / Volt Switch
- Iron Head / X-Scissors / Stone Edge / Double Kick / Volt Switch

Close Combat is a strong and reliable STAB attack, though it does have well noted drawbacks. If you want to stay in there and keep attacking, or be a threat to Curse users, Sacred Sword is a great alternative. Iron Head doesn't catch too much coverage, but it does have STAB and a nice flinch rate. X-Scissors catches Psychic and Dark types, though the latter seldom intimidates Cobalion. Stone Edge has nice power, but iffy accuracy and a lot of coverage that Fighting type moves already have. Double Kick has STAB and pulverizes Substitute users besides Gengar. Volt Switch adds some more interesting coverage and scouts.

ParaShuffler
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 252 HP, 252 Spd, 4 Atk
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Justified

- Iron Head
- Substitute
- Thunder Wave
- Roar

Cobalion has a very impressive defensive typing, and enough Speed to beat most Pokemon to the draw and hit them with Thunder Wave before they strike. Even better, he carries Roar as well, so he can shuffle them off the battlefield and repeat on more Pokemon and pick up hazard damage. Iron Head is the go to move here, since Cobalion will often go first and possibly cause Flinch, and no type is immune to Steel. Substitute lets Cobalion avoid status effects and other nuisances, and can usually set it up right in your opponent's face safely.

How effective is this set? I downed a Giratina, Arceus and Spiritomb with it alone. It can REALLY mess with your opponent if they don't catch onto it quickly.


Quick to Dance
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 252 HP, 252 Spd, 4 Atk
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Justified

- Iron Head
- Sacred Sword / Substitute
- Thunder Wave
- Swords Dance

The idea of this set is pretty straightforward. Paralyze with Thunder Wave, then use Swords Dance as an opponent is switching out or screaming with rage. Cobalion is generally pretty bulky even without tons of investment, but don't expect it to be immune to OHKOs without a different EV spread. The EVs recommended above are to make sure that Cobalion can strike first as often as possible and stay in fighting condition as your opponent loses turns.

[Ttar's stone edge]

Ahh cobalion. My favourite of the squad from black + White. Such a beast defensively, and having every boosting move(swords dance, calm mind, Work up) makes this thing so unpredictable, and a terror to verse

Screw smogon, here's a set im gonna think of :3
PhsyiLION@ Leftovers/life orb/ expert belt/choice band/scarf
Nature: Adamant/Jolly
Evs:252 atk, 252 spd 4 hp
Ability: Justified (for all sets, only ability)
Moves: Close Combat
Iron Head
Stone Edge
Substitute/ x scissor/Swords dance

The only physical set available to cobalion, it doesn't have an amazing move pool. Dual stab in CC + Iron head, stone edge for flying types, and sub for switches or x scissor for slowbro and the like. SD if it's not a choice set

SpeciaLION@Leftovers/Life Orb/Choice specs/scarf
Nature: Timid/Modest
Evs: 252 Spa/252 Spd/ 4 HP
Moves:
Calm Mind
Flash cannon
Focus blast
Volt switch
Hidden Power Ice/Fire
Again, standard sets. Focus Miss and cannon for dual stab, volt switch for switch initiative, and HP ice/fire for better coverage. Calm mind can be subbed for something else if choice is being used.

MixLION@Leftovers/Choice scarf/Life orb
Nature: Naughty/Rash
Evs: 200 Atk, 52 spa, 252 spd
Moves
Close combat
Iron Head
Volt switch
Work up/ substitute/ X scissor
A decent set that i 'made' CC and iron head dual stab and are better then it's special counter parts, Volt switch for that advantage and work up to boost both stats, or sub for switches. Scissor for more coverage

SuppLION@Leftovers/lum berry
nature: Bold/Calm
252 def, 252 HP 4 Spd or 252 Spdef 252 hp 4 spd
Moves:
Roar
Toxic/Thunder wave
Taunt
Protect/Reflect
Standard support. It may be outclassed by more defensive pokemon, but it can catch a pokemon or two by suprise. Standard support moves, won't bore you too much :3

Other options? Definitely. A rock polish set can be used, but is outclassed, and is still outrun by scarf users, eg flygon. Retaliate can be an option, but barbra stoudland does that better.

Opinion? I love cobalion. It's in my in game team as a work up set and it's amazing. Give it a try, it won't let you down

Next week: Terrakion.

[grantholomew]

Swords Dance
Cobalion @ Leftovers
Trait: Justified
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spd
Jolly (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Close Combat
- Iron Head
- Stone Edge
- Swords Dance/Hone Claws

[tomjames1966]

Cobalion is a pokemon with O.K stats all around the board, O.K mixed typing but with a weakness to Earthquake and spikes but with an immunity to Toxic Spikes and a resistance to Stealth Rock. However Cobalion doesn't have a terribly good movepool, O.K it gets S.T.A.B Close Combat and Stone Edge but that's about it for the stunning movepool as Steel S.T.A.B isn't very good. However in UU Cobalion finds it's niche as either a wall or a Physical sweeper because with fighting type stab and Steel typing it can preform both jobs equally well.

Swords Dance
@Life Orb/White Herb
252Atk/252Spd/4Def
Ability: Justified
-Swords Dance
-Close Combat
-Stone Edge
-Iron Head
This is the offensive Cobalion because with fighting type S.T.A.B, 90 Atk Stat and 108 Spd paired with solid defenses and Steel typing, Cobalion can easily get off a Sword Dace and sweep. Basicly you use Swords Dance then attack with the attacking move that suits your opponent. White Herb can be used if you don't like the defense lowering of Close Combat but otherwise just use Life Orb.

[Cosmic Potato]

dont use aerial ace in competitive pokemon

[DizzyCobraMew]

Modest muskateer
252 sp.atk, 252 speed, 4 HP

Flash cannon
Focus blast
HP fire/ice/flying
Volt switch/calm mind

Adamant Asguard substitute
Impish
252 atk, 252 sp.Def, 4def /4 speed
Substitue
Close combat
Iron head
Rock slide

[StreetFlare]

Ah, Cobalion. If only I had managed to catch you... although apparently they respawn once a season. Yeah, Cobalion is interesting.

Cobalion is one of those strange Pokemon with equal Defense and Speed for top base stats, plus the one ability that is basically relying on switch-ins to get any power. Unlike it's more common counterpart Terrakion, however, Cobalion backs up it's decent defense with only three weaknesses, although all are reasonably common, one of them being Fighting itself. So, if you use it, expect to have a Fighting type come at you. Oh, and an extremely limited movepool for moves. No Earthquake (WHAT?), and sets are hard to flesh out.

Ability
Justified: Only option here. Boosts attack by one stage when hit with a Dark-move, but doesn't negate damage. Unfortunately, as with most other Justified users, isn't quite justified a place - only one is likely to cop any Dark-type moves, and that's from a novice who thinks Gallade is still weak against Dark. All the others, barring the Arcanine family, resist Dark-moves anyway, and the Musketeers, plus Lucario, are going to be scaring away Dark-types, especially the Choice-d kind you'd like for this to work.

All for One and One for All!
Ability: Justified
Item: Life Orb
Nature: Jolly (+Spd, -Sp.Att) OR Adamant (+Att, -Sp.Att)
EVs: 40HP, 252 Att, 216 Spd
Close Combat/Sacred Sword
Stone Edge
Iron Head
X-Scissor/Swords Dance

Yeah, this is the extent of Cobalion's decent physical movepool, plus one of the best Physical boosting moves in the game. Sweeper, this ain't. Try Terrakion for that. Uh, I don't know what this would kill, nor do I want to know how you'd use it. I don't run Cobalion, both because I failed to acquire it when I first hunted it (the shame!) and because I haven't been bothered to throw Eevees at someone to trade for one - White 2 shall fix my lack.

Prediction? What is this?
Ability: Justified
Item: Leftovers
Nature: +Def, -Sp.Att) OR +Sp. Def, -Sp.Att)
EVs: 40HP, 252 Sp. Def, 216 Def
Metal Burst
Close Combat
Stone Edge
Swagger

Now THIS set, I could see myself running. Close Combat and Stone Edge fool the opponent into thinking this is a semi-stalling Tank set, when in actual fact, the main two weapons are Metal Burst and Swagger. This set LOVES damage, because of Metal Burst. Swagger helps by setting up confusion and boosting physical attack, making the opponent stronger, but Metal Burst is where this set shines. Any damage off an attack is dealt back x1.5. Not bad, considering it doesn't need to to predict a physical or special move. Basically, if you bait in an Earthquake, unboosted, from most things, you should survive, and Metal Burst should score the KO. This is a one-shot stratagy, because as soon as you give away the presence of Metal Burst, they'll stop attacking...and maybe try letting a burn kill you, which is most likely doomed to failure. Or, y'know, you could switch it out. No recovery hampers the set, hence the inclusion of Swagger, for lack of a better move.

[The3DOstrich]

It's got great defense, so a defensive Calm Mind set could work.

Cobalion@Leftovers
~ Calm Mind
~ Focus Blast
~ Hidden Power [Ice]
~ Substitute / Thunder Wave / Toxic / Flash Cannon / Volt Switch
Nature: Bold (+Def, -SpA)
Ability: Justified
Evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD

Alot of emphasis on the physical defense side, as once it has acquired a few boosts it can take hits well on both sides of the spectrum, with Leftovers aiding in the cause. Calm Mind gets these boosts, while Focus Blast functions as the main STAB, and can easily cause some hefty damage after some boosts despite the fact that there is no SpA investment. Hidden Power Ice allows for Cobalion to tackle Dragons and Gliscor for very significant damage. The last slot is up for many choices. Substitute in conjunction with Cobalion's fantastic physical defense allows for it to come in on any physical attackers and set one up, assuring a boost. Thunder Wave is nice for team support, and can help Cobalion cripple faster threats. Toxic is always nice for some residual damage. Flash Cannon provides an additional STAB attack, but competes for a slot on a more defensive variant. Volt Switch is an interesting choice, as it lets Cobalion switch out on a threat while at the same time causing some damage.

[Kraleck]

Cobalion...wow, uh...I really don't like to post for legendary Pokemon, regardless of tier, but I do have plenty o' thoughts on the Muskedeer quartet. Great Defense, Slightly-Above Average Sp.Def, Good HP, equally-Good offensive stats, Great Speed that's better than last Gen's Uber Dragon's (Garchomp), Justified Ability with a quad-resistance to Dark, and some spectacular STAB Moves:
-Sacred Sword gives you the effects of Unaware for the attack
-Close Combat is outright powerful
-Iron Head is strong with a Flinch chance (made better by Cobal's Speed)
-Double Kick helps you chip through Substitutes
-Flash Cannon and Focus Blast help you get past Physical Walls with accuracy and power, respectively, and may lower Sp.Def if you're lucky

Other Moves to consider include Poison Jab (purely for the lucky Poison chance in addition to the damage), X-Scissor, Stone Edge, Aerial Ace, and various buffs, such as Swords Dance, Hone Claws, and Work Up. Volt Switch is nice, too, considering Cobal' is quad-resistant to Stealth Rock.

Cobal-Mixed
Stats: Neutral, Sassy (Sp.Def up, Speed down), Gentle (Sp.Def up, Defense down), or Hasty (Speed up, Defense down) Nature, Max Speed, split attacks OR Max attacks, rest Speed
Item: Life Orb, Pinch-buff Berry, or Leftovers
Moves: Iron Head, Focus Blast, Stone Edge, Hone Claws
Strategy: Hone Claws will buff Accuracy for Stone Edge and Focus Blast while buffing Attack for Iron Head and Stone Edge. Once you think you are buffed adequately, go on the offensive.

Cobal-Scarf
Stats: Same as the above set, preferring Gentle or Hasty
Item: Choice Scarf
Moves: Sacred Sword/Double Kick/Close Combat (depending on what you expect to face), Flash Cannon, Stone Edge, Volt Switch
Strategy: Usual Mixed-Scarf Sweeper strategy. Volt Switch is for scouting purposes.

[Star Champion AJ]

Ability:
Justified: Cobalt's (from now on I'll use this nickname) Attack stat is raised by one stage when the Pokémon is hit by a Dark-type move, useful mainly in Doubles/Triples (Say hi to Beat Up) and because of Cobalt's 4x resistance to Dark type moves

Pros:
High Def and Spd (129/108)
Decent offensive stats (90 each)
Massive amount of resistances (normal resists 6 types, has a 4x resistance to 3 types and a Poison immunity)
Entry hazard high resistance (insane resistance to Stealth Rock and immunity to Toxic Spikes)
Immune to Sandstorm

Cons:
Vulnerable to Fire, Fight and Ground (which happen to be 3 of the most common types in competitive play)
Not so high Sp Def (only at 72)
Sunny Day makes Cobalt even more vulnerable to Fire type moves (mainly Flamethrower and Fire Blast)
Unable to use Earthquake

The Cobalt Sword of Justice
Cobalt@Choice Band/Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
Nature: Adamant/Jolly
EVs: 252 Atk/252 Spd/4 Sp Def
Iron Head
Close Combat/Sacred Sword
Retaliate/Stone Edge/X-Scissor
Retaliate/Stone Edge/X-Scissor

Iron Head is your flinching inducing STAB move of choice (I like flinching opponents to death) usable thanks to Cobalt's high Speed (even higher with Choice Scarf), Close Combat is able to tear apart anything which doesn't resist or is immune to Fight type moves while Sacred Sword (musketeer's signature move) ignores opponent's Curses and Iron Defences for example, Stone Edge covers Fire types, Retaliate is for revenge-killing purposes while X-Scissor is just a filler move to hit Darks, Grasses and Psychics for super effective damage.

[philzone]

Try this set.
Colbalt wall
-toxic
-volt switch
-sacred sword
-roar/reflect/rest
Calm/careful
Item leftovers
Evs 252 hp or speed, 128 sp def, 128 def
Ok, time to explain. Toxic for status, volt switch- volt turn, sacred sword so you can take on steels, roar for phazing/reflect for stats and rest for hp.

Set 2
Steely focus
-Flash cannon
-Focus blast
-Volt switch
-hidden power dark/water/grass/ice
Item choice scarf/choice specs/life orb
Modest
Evs 252 sp att, 252 speed, 4 sp def
Simple. 2 stab moves for strong damage, volt switch-see above, hidden power:dark to halt ghosts from walling you, water for grounds, grass for swampert and other grounds, ice for gliscor and garchomp.

[Aurath8]

Cobalion. I've never faced this in my shor stint in UU, but he has great defence, amazing speed and nice balanced offences. It's movepool is a bit barren and it's Spdef looks dissappointing but remains an accountable threat with a Swords Dance under it's belt.

Counters
Slowbro. It resists both of its STABs, has reliable recovery in Slack Off and Regenerator. It only really has to fear a +2 X-scissor and the odd Volt Switch or Hidden Power[Ghost]. It can also burn him with Scald. Gligar only has to worry about Hidden Power[Ice] and takes minimal damage from anything else. It's uninvested Earthquake can 2KO it after Spikes! Zapdos can stall out Stone Edge with SubRoost and prey on it's weaker Spdef with Heat Wave.
Scarf Victini and Scarf Chandelure comfortably switch in on Cobalion's STABs but need to watch out for Stone Edge and HP[Ghost]. Lots of other Scarfers like Heracross, Darminitan and Rotom-H can take it out with ease but don't forget it's massive Defence of 129. Scarf Krookodile's Earthquake does 76.16% - 90.09% for example.
I have no idea how good or bad Cobalion is as I've never battled against it. All I can truly say is good luck!

[MatchMaster]

Ah, yes. A great Defensive Pokemon. Its almost like Gamefreak heard that fans said Lucario had a geat defensive typing, but lacked the defensive stats to be a defensive Pokemon, so they made Coballion, who has the same typing, but much higher defenses. Its bulk can also make it a great Swords Dance sweeper, which I generally prefer.

Ability
Justified: Coballion is easily the best user of it. It has high defenses and has a quadruple resistance to Dark type moves. It allows it to easily get to +3 attack.

Here goes a set:
Swords Dance
Item: Life Orb
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Nature: Jolly/Adamant
- Iron Head / X-Scissor
- Sacred Sword / Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Swords Dance

This is the set I use most often. Iron Head provides STAB, and Coballion is fast enough to abuse the flinch chance. X-Scissor provides better coverage though, and can be used against Coballion's most common counters, Slowbro, Slowking, and Starmie. Close Combat is Coballion's most powerful move. However, if you want to maintain Coballion's good defenses, Sacred Sword is a great alternative, as it not only doesn't have defense drops, but hits though defense boosts. Stone Edge is mainly a move to hit Victini and other fire-types that threaten Coballion. Swords Dance is a need on this set, as Coballion has an average 90 base Attack stat.

(*Might post more sets later*)

Other Options
Metal Burst can get an almost certain KO with defensive investment, but Coballion is generally too fast to pull it off.
Rock Polish is an interesting option on an offensive set, but Coballion must then forgo a coverage move or Swords Dance. Without Swords Dance, Coballion becomes a lackluster attacker.
Reflect, Safeguard, Roar, Toxic, and Substitute sum up the rest of Coballion's support movepool, but Coballion lacks reliable recovery.

Counters
Slowbro is generally the best counter to the Swords Dance set, as it resists Coballion's STABs and has a high defense stat. Slowking on the other hand, does what Slowbro does, but can wall Calm Mind sets. Both must watch out for a +4 and +2 X-Scissor, respectively though. Victini can OHKO defensive Coballion with V-Create, but can't threaten more offensive sets, as Coballion is faster and often carries Stone Edge. Other faster fire types like Speed Boost Blaziken can come in on X-Scissor or Iron Head and KO with STAB moves.

[briguin]

Mixed
Item@ Scope Lens
Ability: Justified
Nature: Relaxed (I can't control my Cobalion's nature)
EVs: 252 Atk. 252 Sp. Atk. 4 Spd.
Moves: Aerial Ace
Volt Switch
Flash Cannon
Sacred Sword

Aerial Ace handles Grass and other Fight types that may try to take advantage of that Part Steel type thing. Volt Switch handles water types, and allows Cobalion to make a quick escape if necessary. Flash Cannon is for STAB, as is Sacred Sword.

[TrollFreak]

Well, since I'm now in charge of the doubles section(so PM me if you have any questions)

http://pastebin.com/363xJLYx

!

[Atratus]

I love Cobalion. In fact, it is the only legendary that I use on my teams. It's great typing allows it to be both offensively threatening and a defensive force to be reckoned with, giving it 3 4x resistances (including Stealth Rock), 6 2x resistances, and a poison immunity in the cost of only 3 weaknesses. It shares the typing with Lucario, which is more usable than our lovely iron goat, but the two plays differently. While Lucario is stronger, Cobalion has greater speed and bulk, allowing set up to become easier. The big let down is the movepool, which is far inferior when compared to the the fighting Egyptian jackal. Justified may be situational, but no other pokemon takes advantage of this ability better than Cobalion. Switch in on a well-predicted dark-type move and you gain a boost in attack in a minimal price of a 4x resisted damage, plus the natural great defense. Despite his flaws, Cobalion has enough ground to proudly stand on, and does his thing majestically.

The Iron Goat
Item@ Life Orb / Leftovers
Ability: Justified
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 252 Atk. 252 Spd. 4 HP.
Moves:
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat / Sacred Sword
- Stone Edge
- X-Scissor / Taunt

The set is a straightforward set up set. Switch in with your bulk (ideally on a physical dark move) and get Swords Dancing. Close Combat is your key move and STAB, and while makes you lose your bulk it is much more powerful than Sacred Sword. Stone Edge is your main coverage move and X-Scissor is your secondary one, used mostly to deal with bulky psychics. Alternatively, you can switch X-Scissor for Taunt in order to stop walls and stallers in their tracks. You can use either Life Orb for more power or Leftovers for helping it last longer.

[GirlKirbyZombie]

It's Dialga's deformed cousin, except 10x wiser than he is (in my poke-plush series, Dialga is Naive and not too bright).

Stop in the name of the law!
Nature: Calm
EVs: 189 Sp. Def, 67 Def, and 252 Att
Item: Leftovers, a sitrus berry, or an iron ball (for trick room)
Moves:
Quick Guard
Helping Hand/Reflect
Sacred Sword
Iron Head

A basic semi support move set. In case of any possible fake outers, you use the quick guard so your buddies can pull off their moves. Helping hand is for helping your teammate if Cobalion's attacks don't work out like going against a Jellicent.

[Meowmeow]

I love the musketeer trio and Cobalion is no exception. Cobalion has average offensive abilities and a stellar defense stat, complemented by a fighting/steel type combo.
However, that is where Cobalion's positives end. A not too good special defense stat leaves it wide open to any Flamethrower or Earth Power that Chandelure or Nidoking brings to the table. This isn't too big of an issue as Cobalion has access to Calm Mind to alleviate that problem. Cobalion's movepool is very unimpressive, leaving it with useless moves and just barely enough to build a moveset.
However, it has one really amazing design.
Now, time for movesets.

Status Cobalion
Nature: Careful
EVs: 252 sp defense, 100 defense and hp, 52 attack
@: Leftovers

Toxic
Thunder Wave
Volt Switch
Iron Head/Sacred Sword

The idea is status and Volt Switch. The STAB move of choice is actually Iron Head because it otherwise will be walled by stuff like Gengar and Golurk. However, Sacred Sword can be used anyway for the added power. Don't use Close Combat on this set. Stay Bulky my friends.

Cobalion Draws his Sword... and does a dance
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 252 attack and speed, 4 hp
@: Life Orb/Leftovers

Swords Dance
Close Combat/Sacred Sword
Iron Head
Stone Edge

A standard boosting attacker.

Calm Mind Cobalion
Nature: Modest
EVs: 252 sp attack and speed, 4 hp
@: Life Orb/Leftovers

Calm Mind
Focus Blast
Flash Cannon
Hidden Power Rock/Dark

Another boosting attacker.

Other options:
Rest can do some hp recovery.
Metal Burst is a powered down version of Counter and Mirror Coat at once, but it DOES NOT have negative priority and Cobalion is too fast to use it. You can equip a Lagging Tail or Iron Ball to fix that.
Quick Attack is something Cobalion is not powerful enough to use. Don't bother.
Poison Jab and Aerial Ace are either crap in coverage, or too weak to be useful.

That's Cobalion. I am really looking forward to Terrakion.