[SET]
name: Rock Polish
move 1: Rock Polish
move 2: Head Smash
move 3: Iron Head
move 4: Earthquake
item: Eviolite
ability: Rock Head
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Lairon's high power and physical bulk make it an effective sweeper when Rock Polish boosts its otherwise pitiful Speed. At +2 Speed, only Persian can naturally outspeed Lairon. Head Smash is critical, with it 2HKOing nearly every neutral target in ZU, and it notably OHKOes common foes like Persian and Emolga. However, given its terrible accuracy, Head Smash should only be used when its power is needed. Iron Head serves as a more reliable STAB attack that has the added benefit of hitting Solrock for super effective damage. Its chance to make foes flinch also lets it situationally break through walls it otherwise struggles to, like physically defensive Clefairy, Meganium, and physically defensive Solrock. Earthquake primarily targets opposing Steel-types, OHKOing Choice Band Lairon and 2HKOing Pawniard and other Lairon variants. It only does slightly less damage to Poison-types than Head Smash while also being perfectly accurate, preventing foes like Arbok from getting lucky and potentially ending Lairon's sweep early. Rock Head is used in order to prevent Lairon from taking massive amounts of recoil from Head Smash.
Lairon best fits on offense teams looking for a physically bulky sweeper that is difficult to wall. Hyper offense in particular needs something that can switch into offensive pivot Persian, a role Lairon does quite well. Lairon can only sweep when the opposing team is sufficiently weakened; beyond the chip damage sustained from neutral attacks, a sizable number of Pokemon, including those Lairon is often tasked with checking like Persian and Emolga, often carry Fighting- and Ground-type coverage. In a pinch Lairon can usually tank one quad-super effective Hidden Power, Earthquake, or Superpower, but having to do this more than once will result in Lairon being KOed. Stealth Rock support from partners like Solrock is an effective way to get Lairon's targets into KO range. Another source of chip damage comes from pivots like Mienfoo, Pikachu, and Persian wearing down the opposing team with their priority and pivoting moves; Persian is notably effective due to its powerful Fake Out. Dual screens support from Mr. Mime can be used to augment Lairon's bulk; behind screens, it's nearly impossible to OHKO, making setting up Rock Polish and attacking multiple times much easier. Even at +2 Lairon is still slower than most Choice Scarf users. If a common user like Kingler or Mr. Mime is spotted in Team Preview, unless Lairon can find an opportunity to use Rock Polish multiple times, it should avoid setting up until they are KOed or it's revealed they're not using Choice Scarf. Alternatively, Lairon can bait a Choice Scarf user to lock itself into an attack while KOing Lairon, giving a teammate like Leafeon or Whiscash a prime setup opportunity.
A few Pokemon can consistently wall Lairon, namely physically bulky Eviolite users that aren't weak to Lairon's moves, like physically defensive Clefairy, Hippopotas, offensive pivot Mienfoo, and Ivysaur. Additionally, while they can't easily switch in, physically defensive Solrock, Meganium, and Frillish aren't OHKOed by anything Lairon can do against them, while in return they can either threaten to burn it or finish off a weakened Lairon with a super effective attack. Another potent check to Lairon is Cleric Leafeon, which does minimal damage to Lairon but has reliable recovery and isn't 2HKOed by any of Lairon's moves. Given that many of Lairon's walls are NFEs, Knock Off support from partners like Vullaby, Mienfoo, and Persian is effective. Since most of these Pokemon invest heavily in physical bulk, special wallbreakers like Simisear and Mr. Mime can break through them, a pairing that's particularly effective on hyper offense teams. Sometimes if there are no major walls for Lairon on the opposing team, it can instead act as a mid-game wallbreaker and have another partner clean in the endgame; this is especially viable on hyper offense teams.
[SET CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/gangsta-spongebob.535530/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/mirbro.451786/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/monai.482455/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/p-squared.168392/
name: Rock Polish
move 1: Rock Polish
move 2: Head Smash
move 3: Iron Head
move 4: Earthquake
item: Eviolite
ability: Rock Head
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Lairon's high power and physical bulk make it an effective sweeper when Rock Polish boosts its otherwise pitiful Speed. At +2 Speed, only Persian can naturally outspeed Lairon. Head Smash is critical, with it 2HKOing nearly every neutral target in ZU, and it notably OHKOes common foes like Persian and Emolga. However, given its terrible accuracy, Head Smash should only be used when its power is needed. Iron Head serves as a more reliable STAB attack that has the added benefit of hitting Solrock for super effective damage. Its chance to make foes flinch also lets it situationally break through walls it otherwise struggles to, like physically defensive Clefairy, Meganium, and physically defensive Solrock. Earthquake primarily targets opposing Steel-types, OHKOing Choice Band Lairon and 2HKOing Pawniard and other Lairon variants. It only does slightly less damage to Poison-types than Head Smash while also being perfectly accurate, preventing foes like Arbok from getting lucky and potentially ending Lairon's sweep early. Rock Head is used in order to prevent Lairon from taking massive amounts of recoil from Head Smash.
Lairon best fits on offense teams looking for a physically bulky sweeper that is difficult to wall. Hyper offense in particular needs something that can switch into offensive pivot Persian, a role Lairon does quite well. Lairon can only sweep when the opposing team is sufficiently weakened; beyond the chip damage sustained from neutral attacks, a sizable number of Pokemon, including those Lairon is often tasked with checking like Persian and Emolga, often carry Fighting- and Ground-type coverage. In a pinch Lairon can usually tank one quad-super effective Hidden Power, Earthquake, or Superpower, but having to do this more than once will result in Lairon being KOed. Stealth Rock support from partners like Solrock is an effective way to get Lairon's targets into KO range. Another source of chip damage comes from pivots like Mienfoo, Pikachu, and Persian wearing down the opposing team with their priority and pivoting moves; Persian is notably effective due to its powerful Fake Out. Dual screens support from Mr. Mime can be used to augment Lairon's bulk; behind screens, it's nearly impossible to OHKO, making setting up Rock Polish and attacking multiple times much easier. Even at +2 Lairon is still slower than most Choice Scarf users. If a common user like Kingler or Mr. Mime is spotted in Team Preview, unless Lairon can find an opportunity to use Rock Polish multiple times, it should avoid setting up until they are KOed or it's revealed they're not using Choice Scarf. Alternatively, Lairon can bait a Choice Scarf user to lock itself into an attack while KOing Lairon, giving a teammate like Leafeon or Whiscash a prime setup opportunity.
A few Pokemon can consistently wall Lairon, namely physically bulky Eviolite users that aren't weak to Lairon's moves, like physically defensive Clefairy, Hippopotas, offensive pivot Mienfoo, and Ivysaur. Additionally, while they can't easily switch in, physically defensive Solrock, Meganium, and Frillish aren't OHKOed by anything Lairon can do against them, while in return they can either threaten to burn it or finish off a weakened Lairon with a super effective attack. Another potent check to Lairon is Cleric Leafeon, which does minimal damage to Lairon but has reliable recovery and isn't 2HKOed by any of Lairon's moves. Given that many of Lairon's walls are NFEs, Knock Off support from partners like Vullaby, Mienfoo, and Persian is effective. Since most of these Pokemon invest heavily in physical bulk, special wallbreakers like Simisear and Mr. Mime can break through them, a pairing that's particularly effective on hyper offense teams. Sometimes if there are no major walls for Lairon on the opposing team, it can instead act as a mid-game wallbreaker and have another partner clean in the endgame; this is especially viable on hyper offense teams.
[SET CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/gangsta-spongebob.535530/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/mirbro.451786/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/monai.482455/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/p-squared.168392/
Last edited:
