[OVERVIEW]
Pheromosa is a glass cannon in the 1v1 metagame. One of its main assets is its Speed tier, which lets it naturally outspeed most unboosted Pokemon like Zeraora and Mega Lopunny and even some Choice Scarf Pokemon like Modest Porygon-Z and Modest Tapu Lele. Furthermore, its high Attack and Special Attack coupled with its good movepool let it beat many top-tier Pokemon like Tapu Lele, Zygarde-C, and Jumpluff. Pheromosa's ability to run either physical or special sets, unlike most other Fighting-types, makes it an unpredictable foe in battle; this fact can be used to gain an advantage in Team Preview against Pokemon like Zygarde and Nihilego, since special Pheromosa counters Zygarde, and physical sets take on Nihilego. However, Pheromosa's pitiful bulk makes it vulnerable to hits from any Pokemon it cannot immediately KO, so it finds itself unable to have a positive matchup against bulky Pokemon like Gyarados, Mega Charizard X, Mega Charizard Y, and Magearna. This severely affects its usage and leaves it outclassed by other Fighting- and Bug-type Pokemon like Kommo-o, Mega Lopunny, and Volcarona.
[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: High Jump Kick
move 2: Lunge
move 3: Poison Jab
move 4: Outrage / Double Kick / Giga Impact
item: Choice Band
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Jolly / Adamant
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
High Jump Kick is the most powerful STAB move Pheromosa has and helps it KO Pokemon weak to Fighting-type moves like non-Timid Choice Scarf Porygon-Z and Heatran. Its high Base Power also lets Pheromosa beat some Pokemon like Genesect and Zeraora, which take neutral damage from it. Lunge is used to KO Psychic- and Dark-type Pokemon like Greninja, Meloetta, and Mew. Poison Jab lets Pheromosa beat some Fairy-type Pokemon like Mega Gardevoir and Whimsicott. Outrage can be used to potentially KO Dragon-type Pokemon like Naganadel and Kommo-o. Double Kick is an option to lure in and secure the KO on Sturdy Pokemon, most commonly Magnezone and Magneton. This also lets it beat FEAR Pokemon like Aron and Magnemite. Giga Impact can also be used as a last-ditch effort to KO some physically frail Pokemon like offensive Mega Charizard Y and Mega Medicham that do not take so much damage from every other move. Throat Chop is a final option to KO some Ghost-type Pokemon like Mega Gengar and Blacephalon.
Set Details
========
252 Speed EVs along with a Jolly nature let Pheromosa outspeed Mega Alakazam, Zeraora, and Mega Lopunny. The remaining EVs are dumped into Attack, which, along with a Choice Band, increases Pheromosa's damage output. An Adamant nature can also be used to OHKO bulkier Pokemon such as defensive Tapu Lele, Mega Slowbro, Kommo-o, and Magnezone, but this means Pheromosa loses to the aforementioned faster Pokemon.
Usage Tips
========
Pheromosa is a glass cannon, so it should be matched up against Steel-, Normal-, Psychic-, and Dark-types that it can immediately KO with its STAB moves like Heatran, Porygon-Z, Meloetta, Mew, and Incineroar. It can also be brought in against Pokemon like Tapu Lele, Naganadel, Garchomp, and Mega Charizard Y that are defeated by its coverage moves in Poison Jab, Outrage, and Giga Impact. Since Pheromosa is a frail attacker and Choice-locked, try to go for the move that would immediately KO the opposing Pokemon. Avoid sending it out against bulky Pokemon like Gyarados, Charizard, Magearna, Primarina, and Tapu Fini, as they can tank any hit that Pheromosa throws at them and return the damage in full.
Team Options
========
Since Pheromosa is weak to physically bulky Pokemon like Mega Charizard X, Mega Charizard Y, Magearna, Mega Venusaur, and Mega Metagross, some combination of bulky, special attacking nukes like Mega Charizard Y and Tapu Lele is good to pair with Pheromosa. Tapu Lele can check or counter Mega Charizard X, Mega Charizard Y, and Mega Venusaur, while Mega Charizard Y can check or counter Mega Metagross and Magearna. Since these Pokemon are not super fast, they appreciate Pheromosa handling frail Substitute users like Jumpluff and Whimsicott and many special tanks like Meloetta and Mega Gardevoir. Since Pheromosa can take out some slow Fairy-type Pokemon like Tapu Lele and Mega Gardevoir, some Pokemon that bait these Pokemon out like Mega Gyarados and special Dragonite pair well with it. Special Dragonite is particularly great as a teammate in this regard, as it can take on threats like Kommo-o, Zygarde-C, and Landorus-T. Since most Sturdy Pokemon like Donphan, Magnezone and Crustle counter Pheromosa, some of their counters like Mega Gyarados and Magnet Rise Groundium Z Excadrill and fast status users like Jumpluff and Smeargle can also make for good teammates. In return, Pheromosa can take out Fake Out users that threaten these Pokemon, such as Zeraora and Mega Lopunny if running a Jolly nature and bulky Tapu Lele and Mega Slowbro if Adamant. Grass-type Pokemon like Mega Venusaur, Serperior, and Tapu Bulu make good teammates, since most Water-type Pokemon like Mega Gyarados, Primarina, Tapu Fini, and Mega Swampert are bulky enough to tank whatever hit Pheromosa throws at them and can return the damage in full. In return, Pheromosa takes out Tapu Lele, Greninja, Meloetta and Heatran, which trouble these Grass-types.
[SET]
name: Bulky Special Z-Move
move 1: Lunge
move 2: Focus Blast
move 3: Bug Buzz
move 4: Ice Beam
item: Fightinium Z
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Timid Nature
evs: 80 Def / 236 SpA / 192 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Lunge's Attack drop helps Pheromosa beat some not very effective attackers like Groundium Z Donphan and Golem. Focus Blast transforms into a 190-Base Power All-Out Pummeling that lets Pheromosa beat Pokemon like Heatran and Mega Lopunny as well as some neutral targets like Zeraora. Bug Buzz lets it take out Psychic-type Pokemon like Mega Slowbro most of the time. Being a sound-based move, it also goes through Substitute, which helps Pheromosa against faster Substitute users like non-Moonblast Whimsicott. Ice Beam lets Pheromosa beat Pokemon like Jumpluff, Zygarde, and non-Choice Scarf Landorus-T.
Set Details
========
80 Defense EVs let Pheromosa survive Tectonic Rage followed by Ice Shard from Donphan or Sucker Punch from Golem after their Attack stat has been reduced with Lunge. 192 Speed EVs along with a Timid Nature let Pheromosa outspeed maximum Speed Zeraora. The remaining EVs are dumped into Special Attack to maximize its chances of 2HKOing Mega Slowbro after the latter uses Amnesia on the first turn. A Timid nature is used over Naive nature to minimize the damage taken from Donphan's Counter. A heavily Defense-invested set with an EV spread of 200 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA / 52 Spe and a Bold or Lax nature with Focus Blast, Electroweb, Lunge, and Ice Beam or Blizzard can be used to reliably beat Mega Gyarados, but this loses to faster hard hitters like Zeraora and Mega Lopunny.
Usage Tips
========
Against physical attackers like Donphan and Golem, start off by using Lunge followed by All-Out Pummeling. Lunge's Attack drop allows Pheromosa to tank attacks from these Pokemon and beat them. Against most other Pokemon that don't resist Fighting-type moves such as neutral-natured Choice Scarf Porygon-Z, Zeraora, Heatran, and Genesect, the idea is to always get off All-Out Pummeling as soon as possible, since this usually KOes such Pokemon. Use Ice Beam against Pokemon 4x weak to Ice, such as Zygarde, Garchomp, Jumpluff, and Landorus-T, and against unfavorable foes like Tapu Lele, where its freeze chance could come in handy. Avoid sending Pheromosa out against bulky Pokemon like Gyarados, Charizard, and Magearna, as these Pokemon can tank any attack from it and return the damage in full. If you are using the heavily defensive set and are matched up against Mega Gyarados, the play is to use Electroweb turn one and then, based on damage rolls for Electroweb, use All-Out Pummeling turn 2 if Electroweb does more than 60% damage or use Electroweb again if it does less, as Pheromosa can take a Waterfall from boosted bulky Mega Gyarados
Team Options
========
Some powerful physical attackers like specially defensive Mega Mawile and Groundium Z Garchomp do well as Pheromosa's teammates, since Pheromosa can take on common counters to these Pokemon like Donphan, Golem, and Landorus-T. Mega Mawile can take out Mega Gyarados, Tapu Lele, and Magnezone, while Groundium Z Garchomp takes on Charizard and Magearna. Since Pheromosa is so frail, some bulky Pokemon like Mega Tyranitar and specially defensive Substitute Primarina serve as excellent teammates. While Mega Tyranitar stands out because it can take on Charizard, Genesect, and Magnezone and bait out Donphan and Golem, Primarina can also be used to take out Mega Gyarados and Charizard and take on Mega Metagross, with Pheromosa beating Garchomp and Jumpluff in return.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
The special Fightinium Z set can use a spread of 160 Def / 156 SpA / 192 Spe along with a Naive nature and a moveset of Lunge / Bug Buzz / Focus Blast / High Jump Kick, where the Defense EVs are used to tank a Heavy Slam from Mega Aggron after the Attack drop from Lunge. This variant also has a small advantage of having dual offensive capability, which can help against certain Pokemon, but the loss in damage is apparent when up against Mega Slowbro and most Kommo-o, and the Naive nature makes it lose to Scald Mega Slowbro. A Choice Specs set with Bug Buzz, Focus Blast, Ice Beam or Blizzard, and Hidden Power Rock or Hyper Beam can be used, using Bug Buzz to beat Serperior and Whimsicott; Focus Blast to beat Pokemon like Heatran and non-Timid Choice Scarf Porygon-Z; Ice Beam to beat Garchomp and Landorus-T; Blizzard to beat Kommo-o, Mega Altaria, and Dragonite; Hidden Power Rock to beat Mega Charizard Y; and Hyper Beam to beat foes that don't resist it like Mega Medicham. The big issue with this is the low accuracy of Focus Blast and Blizzard, which, when coupled with its horrendous bulk, makes Pheromosa unable to win reliably. Z-Moves can also be used as coverage moves, with options including Subzero Slammer from Blizzard to take on Kommo-o and most Dragonite and Acid Downpour from Poison Jab with an EV spread of 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe and an Adamant nature to give Pheromosa a good chance against bulkier Fairy-types like non-Choice Scarf Togekiss and Primarina. Jolly Pheromosa can be run in order to beat all variants of Togekiss, but this will leave Pheromosa with worse odds against Primarina. Such sets, however, do not beat anything apart from the limited range of Pokemon they can KO and are therefore used more as lure sets.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Bulky Pokemon**: Any Pokemon that can tank either of its movesets' attacks can defeat Pheromosa, as Pheromosa is as frail as it gets. Such Pokemon include Gyarados, Charizard, Aegislash, and Mega Venusaur, which can KO it back with one of their own moves or just drain Pheromosa's HP away with Leech Seed and Toxic.
**Faster Pokemon and Priority Move Users**: Choice Specs Deoxys-S outspeeds and KOes Pheromosa. Not many other Pokemon naturally outspeed Pheromosa, but Choice Scarf Pokemon like Timid Porygon-Z and Jolly Haxorus and boosted Speed Boost Pokemon like Mega Blaziken can take it out. Quick Attack Aerilate Mega Pinsir and Bullet Punch Technician Mega Scizor also KO it.
**Ghost-types**: Pokemon like Mega Gengar and Mega Sableye resist both of Pheromosa's STAB attacks and aren't typically affected by its coverage moves. Some Ghost-types should look out for Throat Chop, though.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [Wrath of Alakazam, 292550]
- Quality checked by: [[Alakazam, 276708], [Shyom, 469905], [lost heros, 316445]]
- Grammar checked by: [[The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216], [Rabia, 336073]]
Pheromosa is a glass cannon in the 1v1 metagame. One of its main assets is its Speed tier, which lets it naturally outspeed most unboosted Pokemon like Zeraora and Mega Lopunny and even some Choice Scarf Pokemon like Modest Porygon-Z and Modest Tapu Lele. Furthermore, its high Attack and Special Attack coupled with its good movepool let it beat many top-tier Pokemon like Tapu Lele, Zygarde-C, and Jumpluff. Pheromosa's ability to run either physical or special sets, unlike most other Fighting-types, makes it an unpredictable foe in battle; this fact can be used to gain an advantage in Team Preview against Pokemon like Zygarde and Nihilego, since special Pheromosa counters Zygarde, and physical sets take on Nihilego. However, Pheromosa's pitiful bulk makes it vulnerable to hits from any Pokemon it cannot immediately KO, so it finds itself unable to have a positive matchup against bulky Pokemon like Gyarados, Mega Charizard X, Mega Charizard Y, and Magearna. This severely affects its usage and leaves it outclassed by other Fighting- and Bug-type Pokemon like Kommo-o, Mega Lopunny, and Volcarona.
[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: High Jump Kick
move 2: Lunge
move 3: Poison Jab
move 4: Outrage / Double Kick / Giga Impact
item: Choice Band
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Jolly / Adamant
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
High Jump Kick is the most powerful STAB move Pheromosa has and helps it KO Pokemon weak to Fighting-type moves like non-Timid Choice Scarf Porygon-Z and Heatran. Its high Base Power also lets Pheromosa beat some Pokemon like Genesect and Zeraora, which take neutral damage from it. Lunge is used to KO Psychic- and Dark-type Pokemon like Greninja, Meloetta, and Mew. Poison Jab lets Pheromosa beat some Fairy-type Pokemon like Mega Gardevoir and Whimsicott. Outrage can be used to potentially KO Dragon-type Pokemon like Naganadel and Kommo-o. Double Kick is an option to lure in and secure the KO on Sturdy Pokemon, most commonly Magnezone and Magneton. This also lets it beat FEAR Pokemon like Aron and Magnemite. Giga Impact can also be used as a last-ditch effort to KO some physically frail Pokemon like offensive Mega Charizard Y and Mega Medicham that do not take so much damage from every other move. Throat Chop is a final option to KO some Ghost-type Pokemon like Mega Gengar and Blacephalon.
Set Details
========
252 Speed EVs along with a Jolly nature let Pheromosa outspeed Mega Alakazam, Zeraora, and Mega Lopunny. The remaining EVs are dumped into Attack, which, along with a Choice Band, increases Pheromosa's damage output. An Adamant nature can also be used to OHKO bulkier Pokemon such as defensive Tapu Lele, Mega Slowbro, Kommo-o, and Magnezone, but this means Pheromosa loses to the aforementioned faster Pokemon.
Usage Tips
========
Pheromosa is a glass cannon, so it should be matched up against Steel-, Normal-, Psychic-, and Dark-types that it can immediately KO with its STAB moves like Heatran, Porygon-Z, Meloetta, Mew, and Incineroar. It can also be brought in against Pokemon like Tapu Lele, Naganadel, Garchomp, and Mega Charizard Y that are defeated by its coverage moves in Poison Jab, Outrage, and Giga Impact. Since Pheromosa is a frail attacker and Choice-locked, try to go for the move that would immediately KO the opposing Pokemon. Avoid sending it out against bulky Pokemon like Gyarados, Charizard, Magearna, Primarina, and Tapu Fini, as they can tank any hit that Pheromosa throws at them and return the damage in full.
Team Options
========
Since Pheromosa is weak to physically bulky Pokemon like Mega Charizard X, Mega Charizard Y, Magearna, Mega Venusaur, and Mega Metagross, some combination of bulky, special attacking nukes like Mega Charizard Y and Tapu Lele is good to pair with Pheromosa. Tapu Lele can check or counter Mega Charizard X, Mega Charizard Y, and Mega Venusaur, while Mega Charizard Y can check or counter Mega Metagross and Magearna. Since these Pokemon are not super fast, they appreciate Pheromosa handling frail Substitute users like Jumpluff and Whimsicott and many special tanks like Meloetta and Mega Gardevoir. Since Pheromosa can take out some slow Fairy-type Pokemon like Tapu Lele and Mega Gardevoir, some Pokemon that bait these Pokemon out like Mega Gyarados and special Dragonite pair well with it. Special Dragonite is particularly great as a teammate in this regard, as it can take on threats like Kommo-o, Zygarde-C, and Landorus-T. Since most Sturdy Pokemon like Donphan, Magnezone and Crustle counter Pheromosa, some of their counters like Mega Gyarados and Magnet Rise Groundium Z Excadrill and fast status users like Jumpluff and Smeargle can also make for good teammates. In return, Pheromosa can take out Fake Out users that threaten these Pokemon, such as Zeraora and Mega Lopunny if running a Jolly nature and bulky Tapu Lele and Mega Slowbro if Adamant. Grass-type Pokemon like Mega Venusaur, Serperior, and Tapu Bulu make good teammates, since most Water-type Pokemon like Mega Gyarados, Primarina, Tapu Fini, and Mega Swampert are bulky enough to tank whatever hit Pheromosa throws at them and can return the damage in full. In return, Pheromosa takes out Tapu Lele, Greninja, Meloetta and Heatran, which trouble these Grass-types.
[SET]
name: Bulky Special Z-Move
move 1: Lunge
move 2: Focus Blast
move 3: Bug Buzz
move 4: Ice Beam
item: Fightinium Z
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Timid Nature
evs: 80 Def / 236 SpA / 192 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Lunge's Attack drop helps Pheromosa beat some not very effective attackers like Groundium Z Donphan and Golem. Focus Blast transforms into a 190-Base Power All-Out Pummeling that lets Pheromosa beat Pokemon like Heatran and Mega Lopunny as well as some neutral targets like Zeraora. Bug Buzz lets it take out Psychic-type Pokemon like Mega Slowbro most of the time. Being a sound-based move, it also goes through Substitute, which helps Pheromosa against faster Substitute users like non-Moonblast Whimsicott. Ice Beam lets Pheromosa beat Pokemon like Jumpluff, Zygarde, and non-Choice Scarf Landorus-T.
Set Details
========
80 Defense EVs let Pheromosa survive Tectonic Rage followed by Ice Shard from Donphan or Sucker Punch from Golem after their Attack stat has been reduced with Lunge. 192 Speed EVs along with a Timid Nature let Pheromosa outspeed maximum Speed Zeraora. The remaining EVs are dumped into Special Attack to maximize its chances of 2HKOing Mega Slowbro after the latter uses Amnesia on the first turn. A Timid nature is used over Naive nature to minimize the damage taken from Donphan's Counter. A heavily Defense-invested set with an EV spread of 200 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA / 52 Spe and a Bold or Lax nature with Focus Blast, Electroweb, Lunge, and Ice Beam or Blizzard can be used to reliably beat Mega Gyarados, but this loses to faster hard hitters like Zeraora and Mega Lopunny.
Usage Tips
========
Against physical attackers like Donphan and Golem, start off by using Lunge followed by All-Out Pummeling. Lunge's Attack drop allows Pheromosa to tank attacks from these Pokemon and beat them. Against most other Pokemon that don't resist Fighting-type moves such as neutral-natured Choice Scarf Porygon-Z, Zeraora, Heatran, and Genesect, the idea is to always get off All-Out Pummeling as soon as possible, since this usually KOes such Pokemon. Use Ice Beam against Pokemon 4x weak to Ice, such as Zygarde, Garchomp, Jumpluff, and Landorus-T, and against unfavorable foes like Tapu Lele, where its freeze chance could come in handy. Avoid sending Pheromosa out against bulky Pokemon like Gyarados, Charizard, and Magearna, as these Pokemon can tank any attack from it and return the damage in full. If you are using the heavily defensive set and are matched up against Mega Gyarados, the play is to use Electroweb turn one and then, based on damage rolls for Electroweb, use All-Out Pummeling turn 2 if Electroweb does more than 60% damage or use Electroweb again if it does less, as Pheromosa can take a Waterfall from boosted bulky Mega Gyarados
Team Options
========
Some powerful physical attackers like specially defensive Mega Mawile and Groundium Z Garchomp do well as Pheromosa's teammates, since Pheromosa can take on common counters to these Pokemon like Donphan, Golem, and Landorus-T. Mega Mawile can take out Mega Gyarados, Tapu Lele, and Magnezone, while Groundium Z Garchomp takes on Charizard and Magearna. Since Pheromosa is so frail, some bulky Pokemon like Mega Tyranitar and specially defensive Substitute Primarina serve as excellent teammates. While Mega Tyranitar stands out because it can take on Charizard, Genesect, and Magnezone and bait out Donphan and Golem, Primarina can also be used to take out Mega Gyarados and Charizard and take on Mega Metagross, with Pheromosa beating Garchomp and Jumpluff in return.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
The special Fightinium Z set can use a spread of 160 Def / 156 SpA / 192 Spe along with a Naive nature and a moveset of Lunge / Bug Buzz / Focus Blast / High Jump Kick, where the Defense EVs are used to tank a Heavy Slam from Mega Aggron after the Attack drop from Lunge. This variant also has a small advantage of having dual offensive capability, which can help against certain Pokemon, but the loss in damage is apparent when up against Mega Slowbro and most Kommo-o, and the Naive nature makes it lose to Scald Mega Slowbro. A Choice Specs set with Bug Buzz, Focus Blast, Ice Beam or Blizzard, and Hidden Power Rock or Hyper Beam can be used, using Bug Buzz to beat Serperior and Whimsicott; Focus Blast to beat Pokemon like Heatran and non-Timid Choice Scarf Porygon-Z; Ice Beam to beat Garchomp and Landorus-T; Blizzard to beat Kommo-o, Mega Altaria, and Dragonite; Hidden Power Rock to beat Mega Charizard Y; and Hyper Beam to beat foes that don't resist it like Mega Medicham. The big issue with this is the low accuracy of Focus Blast and Blizzard, which, when coupled with its horrendous bulk, makes Pheromosa unable to win reliably. Z-Moves can also be used as coverage moves, with options including Subzero Slammer from Blizzard to take on Kommo-o and most Dragonite and Acid Downpour from Poison Jab with an EV spread of 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe and an Adamant nature to give Pheromosa a good chance against bulkier Fairy-types like non-Choice Scarf Togekiss and Primarina. Jolly Pheromosa can be run in order to beat all variants of Togekiss, but this will leave Pheromosa with worse odds against Primarina. Such sets, however, do not beat anything apart from the limited range of Pokemon they can KO and are therefore used more as lure sets.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Bulky Pokemon**: Any Pokemon that can tank either of its movesets' attacks can defeat Pheromosa, as Pheromosa is as frail as it gets. Such Pokemon include Gyarados, Charizard, Aegislash, and Mega Venusaur, which can KO it back with one of their own moves or just drain Pheromosa's HP away with Leech Seed and Toxic.
**Faster Pokemon and Priority Move Users**: Choice Specs Deoxys-S outspeeds and KOes Pheromosa. Not many other Pokemon naturally outspeed Pheromosa, but Choice Scarf Pokemon like Timid Porygon-Z and Jolly Haxorus and boosted Speed Boost Pokemon like Mega Blaziken can take it out. Quick Attack Aerilate Mega Pinsir and Bullet Punch Technician Mega Scizor also KO it.
**Ghost-types**: Pokemon like Mega Gengar and Mega Sableye resist both of Pheromosa's STAB attacks and aren't typically affected by its coverage moves. Some Ghost-types should look out for Throat Chop, though.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [Wrath of Alakazam, 292550]
- Quality checked by: [[Alakazam, 276708], [Shyom, 469905], [lost heros, 316445]]
- Grammar checked by: [[The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216], [Rabia, 336073]]
Last edited: