National Dex Kartana [GP 1/1]

[Guard]

[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Leaf Blade
move 3: Sacred Sword
move 4: Giga Impact / Knock Off
item: Normalium Z / Fightinium Z
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Kartana is a menacing presence due to its magnificent Attack, high Speed, a great ability in Beast Boost, and Swords Dance. On top of that, Kartana also has a very good offensive and defensive typing. Defensively, its many resistances and good physical bulk aid Kartana in setting up against the likes of Gliscor, Landorus-T, and Ferrothorn. Offensively, Kartana's typing and coverage are also very good, as it is capable of pressuring common bulky Water- and Steel-types, such as Tapu Fini, Slowbro, Heatran, and Ferrothorn, with Leaf Blade and Sacred Sword, respectively. Giga Impact alongside Normalium Z allows Kartana to overwhelm some of its best checks in Zapdos and physically defensive Tangrowth after a Swords Dance boost. On the other hand, Fightinium Z can be used to easily remove Mega Scizor, Skarmory, and Corviknight, with Knock Off in the fourth slot to cripple Pokemon like Volcarona, Zapdos, and Moltres.

Kartana fits best on balance and bulky offensive teams that are capable of providing it with proper support it needs to break open teams. Mega Tyranitar is extremely useful for Kartana, as it is capable of removing many roadblocks to Kartana's sweep with Pursuit, such as Mega Latias and Mega Latios, and heavily pressures Zapdos in case Kartana needs to preserve its Z-Move for another target. It can also set Stealth Rock, which is particularly important for Knock Off variants, as it allows Kartana to punish Zapdos more effectively after removing Heavy-Duty Boots. In a similar vein, Magnezone is a potent teammate due to its ability to trap Mega Scizor, Corviknight, and Skarmory, which are some of the very few hard-checks to Normalium Z Kartana. Pokemon that can pressure Kartana's other common checks in Tangrowth and Landorus-T such as Garchomp, Greninja, Mega Lopunny, and Mega Mawile are great partners. In turn, Kartana can heavily pressure some of their checks in Tapu Fini, Slowbro, and Heatran. Kartana requires a good defensive backbone, as it is quite specially frail and prone to being revenge killed by the likes of Mega Lopunny, Ash-Greninja, and Mega Latias. As a result, the likes of Tapu Fini, Toxapex, and Mega Tyranitar make for good teammates. Given Kartana’s poor special bulk, Pokemon that can pivot Kartana into battle such as Mega Lopunny, Rotom-W, and Landorus-T are useful teammates. Lastly, late-game cleaners appreciate Kartana's wallbreaking prowess such as Choice Scarf Tapu Lele, Ash-Greninja, and Mega Lopunny and make for good teammates as well.

[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Leaf Blade
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Sacred Sword
move 4: Return / Smart Strike
item: Choice Band
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Choice Band Kartana harshly pressures most of its usual checks without having to dedicate a turn to set up. After the boost from Choice Band, Leaf Blade 2HKOes almost every single neutral target in the metagame, making it a very risk-free and spammable move once Kartana's checks have been weakened. A strong Knock Off is another draw of this set, allowing Kartana to greatly damage checks in Mega Latias and Mega Latios and punish sturdier checks such as Zapdos, Corviknight, and Tangrowth by removing their item. Sacred Sword takes care of Steel-types such as Ferrothorn and Heatran, as well as some other Grass-resistant Pokemon in Hydreigon and Kyurem. Return gives Kartana a strong neutral hit on Pokemon like Zapdos, Tangrowth, and Moltres that would otherwise tank its attacks. Alternatively, Smart Strike can be used to hit the likes of Mega Mawile and Tangrowth harder than anything else, while almost always OHKOing physically defensive Clefable.

Kartana fits well on balance and bulky offensive teams as a fearsome wallbreaker that can make great amounts of progress throughout the game if it predicts correctly. Stealth Rock setters are very important, since they allow Kartana to heavily pressure Zapdos and Moltres after removing Heavy-Duty Boots. Thus, the likes of Mega Tyranitar, Heatran, Clefable, and Landorus-T pair well with Kartana. Weavile and Mega Tyranitar can trap and weaken or dispose of Mega Latias, Heatran, and Zapdos, making Kartana's job easier and less prediction-reliant. Magnezone is a notable partner due to its ability to trap some of the best checks to Kartana in Mega Scizor, Corviknight, and Skarmory. Other wallbreakers that can pressure Kartana's checks in Zapdos, Tangrowth, and Mega Scizor can also prove to be good teammates. Examples include Heatran and Ash-Greninja. Pivoting support from the likes of Tapu Koko, Mega Lopunny, and Landorus-T can greatly increase the amount of opportunities for Kartana to break walls by granting it safe ways to enter a match. Lastly, late-game cleaners that can wrap up the game after Kartana has done its job such as Mega Lopunny, Choice Scarf Tapu Lele, and Swords Dance Weavile are good options as well.

[SET]
name: Synthesis Utility
move 1: Leaf Blade
move 2: Synthesis
move 3: Knock Off / Sacred Sword
move 4: Defog
item: Grassium Z
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Jolly
evs: 136 HP / 120 Atk / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
With Synthesis, Kartana can reliably check the metagame's dangerous Ground-types in Garchomp, Landorus-T, Mega Swampert, and Gliscor, as well as Mega Tyranitar lacking Fire Punch. Leaf Blade alongside Grassium Z allows Kartana to properly threaten the Ground-types it checks, taking them out after little-to-no chip with Bloom Doom. Knock Off gives Kartana additional utility in punishing common switch-ins such as Zapdos and Corviknight, as well as removing items from the likes of Ferrothorn and Heatran. Alternatively, Sacred Sword may be used to directly threaten Ferrothorn and Heatran, but dropping the utility of Knock Off is undesirable. Defog enables Kartana to fully check Garchomp, Landorus-T, Mega Tyranitar, and Ferrothorn by nullifying their attempts at setting up entry hazards. 120 Attack EVs allow Kartana to OHKO Garchomp with Bloom Doom. The remaining EVs are allocated to HP so that Kartana can check Ground-types more consistently.

Kartana fits best on balance and bulky offensive teams in need of a sturdy check to Ground-types. As such, Pokemon that appreciate Ground-types out of the picture such as Heatran, Mega Mawile, and Toxapex can prove to be good teammates. Pursuit support from Mega Tyranitar and Weavile is useful, as it pressures Mega Latias and weakens Zapdos, which are some of Kartana's best checks, especially for non-Knock Off variants. However, when pairing Kartana with Mega Tyranitar, be careful with your timing and positioning, as Synthesis recovers less HP in sand. Kartana is easily forced out by special attackers or faster threats such as Ash-Greninja, Mega Latias, and Mega Lopunny. As such, it requires a sturdy defensive backbone to take these threats on, which may consist of Pokemon such as specially defensive Heatran, Slowbro, and Toxapex. All of these bar Slowbro are susceptible to entry hazards due to the amount of times they are required to pivot into various threats throughout a match and therefore appreciate Kartana’s Defog support. Lastly, Kartana has the tendency to force Knock Off on Pokemon such as Ferrothorn, Heatran, Toxapex, and Tangrowth, so partners like Calm Mind Clefable and Tapu Lele are good options to consider as well.

[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Leaf Blade
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Sacred Sword
move 4: Smart Strike / Defog
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Choice Scarf Kartana functions as a revenge killer early on in games by outpacing common offensive Pokemon such as Mega Lopunny, Ash-Greninja, Tapu Koko, +1 Mega Gyarados, and Weavile and either defeating them or forcing them out. Once the opponent's team has been weakened sufficiently, Kartana can then clean up late-game with the assistance of its enhanced Speed and Beast Boost. Knock Off is a great move that punishes checks such as Zapdos, Corviknight, and Moltres. It is also Kartana's best option against Mega Latias and Mega Latios. Sacred Sword is a crucial coverage move, enabling Kartana to hit opposing Steel-types such as Ferrothorn and Heatran, as well as almost always OHKOing Mega Lopunny. Smart Strike rounds out the set as a reliable secondary STAB move that provides the strongest hit against threats such as Clefable and Kyurem. Defog may be used instead to remove entry hazards for more offensive teams.

Kartana fits best in offensive teams in need of a revenge killer and late-game sweeper in one. As Kartana is a good late-game cleaner once the opposing team has been weakened, it is a good idea to pair it with early-game wallbreakers that can threaten or take advantage of Kartana's checks in Zapdos, Mega Latias, Tangrowth, and Corviknight. Good examples include Garchomp, Kyurem, Weavile, Mega Medicham, and Tapu Lele. Pursuit support from the likes of Mega Tyranitar and Weavile is appreciated in order to trap the likes of Mega Latias, Mega Latios, and Heatran, as this allows Kartana to spam Leaf Blade late-game. Mega Tyranitar also provides Stealth Rock support, which is important to pressure Zapdos and Moltres once Kartana has removed their Heavy-Duty Boots. Similarly, Magnezone is a notable partner due to its ability to trap Steel-types such as Mega Scizor, Corviknight, Ferrothorn, and Skarmory. Kartana is incapable of revenge killing a healthy Mega Mawile, Mega Scizor, and Volcarona, so running Pokemon that can deal with them such as Heatran and Toxapex is very advisable.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Darkinium Z along with a Swords Dance boost enables Kartana to remove Mega Latios and a Mega Latias in its base form on the switch. However, forgoing both Normalium Z and Fightinium Z means Kartana will be unable to adequately pressure its two most common checks in Zapdos and Mega Scizor. Toxic can be used on Choice Scarf sets to cripple checks like Zapdos and Tangrowth, but it’s undesirable to lock into due to the number of Pokemon in the tier that are immune to poison. Swords Dance Kartana can explore other item options, such as Life Orb for more power or Salac Berry with Endure to beat Pokemon like Mega Lopunny, Tapu Koko, and Choice Scarf Magnezone. However, these options often need to forgo too much of Kartana’s longevity or coverage. A Swords Dance set with 19 Attack EVs and a Timid nature to boost Kartana’s Speed with Beast Boost may seem desirable, as it allows Kartana to outspeed checks such as Weavile, Mega Latias and Latios as well as Tapu Koko, Mega Lopunny and Greninja. However, it can struggle to properly wallbreak, and can often feel outclassed by Swords Dance and Choice Scarf sets.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Flying-types**: Corviknight, Zapdos, Moltres, Skarmory, and Mega Charizard Y are some of the best checks to Kartana due to their resistance to Leaf Blade. On top of that, Zapdos can heavily cripple Kartana with Static. However, Corviknight and Skarmory must be cautious of boosted Sacred Swords and Zapdos, Moltres, and Mega Charizard Y are pressured heavily by Normalium Z variants and Choice Band-boosted Return. On top of that, none of Zapdos, Moltres, Skarmory, or Corviknight appreciate their item being removed by Knock Off. Landorus-T can soft-check Kartana for a while as well, but its lack of reliable recovery makes it prone to being worn down in the long run.

**Mega Latias and Mega Latios**: Both Mega Latias and Mega Latios can stomach all of Kartana's attacks relatively easily, bar a Choice Band-boosted Knock Off or the rare Black Hole Eclipse. As they outspeed non-Choice Scarf variants, they can both proceed to use Kartana as setup bait or force it out with strong moves, respectively. However, they must be wary of taking too much damage, as Knock Off from Choice Scarf sets can rip through them.

**Steel-types**: Steel-types that aren't weak to Sacred Sword such as Mega Scizor and Mega Mawile are capable of checking Kartana to a degree. However, they can all be overwhelmed by +2 All-Out Pummeling. Other Steel-types can prevent Choice variants of Kartana from spamming Leaf Blade, but they need to be wary of its coverage.

**Grass-types**: The likes of Tangrowth and Amoonguss can easily scout any of Kartana's attacks and force it out while keeping healthy with Regenerator. Neither of them appreciate a boosted Breakneck Blitz, however. Serperior cannot switch into Kartana, but it can revenge kill all variants without a Choice Scarf.

**Magnezone**: Choice Scarf Magnezone is able to trap every non-Choice Scarf Kartana set courtesy of Magnet Pull and Hidden Power Fire. A healthy non-Choice Scarf Magnezone is also capable of surviving non-Choice Band Sacred Sword and finishing Kartana off.

**Faster threats**: Although they cannot switch into Kartana safely, many offensive Pokemon that can outspeed non-Choice Scarf Kartana will more than likely force it out. Examples include Ash-Greninja, Mega Lopunny, Hawlucha, and Choice Scarf Victini.

**Contact Items/Abilities**: Kartana is easily worn down by contact effects such as Tangrowth, Corviknight and Landorus-T's Rocky Helmet, Ferrothorn's Iron Barbs, Tank Garchomp's Rough Skin as well as Volcarona and Moltres' Flame Body and Zapdos' Static. The highest threat would be status effects and therefore Kartana should be very careful if it's a non-z variant.

[CREDITS]
- Quality checked by: [[Sputnik, 475916], [username2, userid2], [Milo, 540138]]
- Grammar checked by: [[UT, 523866]]

 

[Sputnik]

Add Comment Remove

[OVERVIEW]

• Kartana is one of the most threatening Pokemon in the Natdex OU metagame due to its magnificent Attack and high Speed. This makes Kartana incredibly hard to counter defensively.
• Kartana has a very good offensive and defensive typing in Grass/Steel. Defensively, it resists many different types and only has two weaknesses. Along with its good physical bulk, this aids Kartana in setting up. Offensively, Kartana's typing alongside its coverage is also very good, as it is able to immensely pressure common bulky Water- and Steel types, such as Slowbro and Ferrothorn, with Leaf Blade and Sacred Sword respectively.
• Beast Boost allows Kartana to boost its Attack every time it gets a KO and makes consistent defensive counterplay progressively harder to encounter.
• Unfortunately, low base HP and pathetic Special Defense make Kartana one of the most specially frail Pokemon in the tier, leading to it being pressured even by resisted hits, such as Ash-Greninja’s Water Shuriken.

Mention that its Speed tier, while good, leaves non-Scarf sets outpaced by very common Pokemon like Mega Metagross, Tornadus-T, and Dragapult
[SET]
name: Paper Cut (Swords Dance)
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Leaf Blade
move 3: Sacred Sword
move 4: Knock Off / Giga Impact
item: Darkinium Z / Normalium Z
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
========

• Leaf Blade is the most reliable STAB attack, allowing Kartana to break through Pokemon like Toxapex, Clefable, and Garchomp without wasting its Z-Move. Filler
• Sacred Sword provides valued coverage against Steel-types such as Heatran and Ferrothorn, which would otherwise wall this set.
• Knock Off can remove items from Kartana’s checks, such as Tornadus-T, Volcarona and Zapdos, in addition to invalidating Aegislash as a check. Along with a Swords Dance boost and Darkinium Z, it also enables Kartana to directly overwhelm otherwise solid checks such as Rotom-H, Corviknight and the aforementioned Volcarona.
• Similarly, Giga Impact may be used alongside Normalium Z in order to OHKO Tornadus-T after Stealth Rock on the switch, while still overwhelming the likes of Zapdos, Tangrowth, and Volcarona. However, it does leave Kartana unable to handle Aegislash. You don't get a guaranteed OHKO onto bulky pivot sets without SR damage first.

Usage Tips
========

• Be careful about wasting Kartana's Z-Move, as Kartana cannot break through its checks without it, and is therefore easily walled by the likes of Tornadus-T and Tangrowth.
• Due to Kartana's massive offensive presence, it is very often able to force a multitude of switches against the likes of Tapu Fini, Ferrothorn and Mega Tyranitar. Harness these opportunities to setup with Swords Dance.
• Even though Kartana thrives against defensive teams, these teams do tend to have Pokemon faster than Kartana, such as Mega Lopunny, Galarian Darmanitan and Mega Alakazam, all of which can easily revenge kill it. Thus, attempt to eliminate these faster Pokemon before setting up, in order to secure a sweep or pave the way for another teammate. This is kinda an odd bullet point, as a lot of these Pokemon aren't really used on defensive teams. Was it meant to be offensive teams, or was it supposed to be like, defensive cores?
• It is important to note that even without a Swords Dance boost, Kartana can OHKO Tornadus-T after Stealth Rock with Breakneck Blitz if it tries to pivot into Kartana to scout for a Choice set. Therefore, carefully gauging the opponent’s move in this situation can lead to a huge positive momentum swing for Kartana.

Team Options
========

• Offensive Pokemon that can pressure Kartana's checks like Tangrowth and Corviknight, such as Mega Metagross, Ash-Greninja, and Mega Alakazam, can prove to be good partners. These Pokemon also have an easier time cleaning up late-game after Kartana has weakened their checks.
• Kartana is very frail and outsped by faster threats such as Ash-Greninja, Mega Alakazam, and Tornadus-T. Therefore, having Pokemon in the back to check these threats is of great importance; some good examples include Toxapex, Corviknight and Rotom-H.
• Mega Tyranitar is extremely useful for Kartana because it eliminates some of its biggest revenge killers on common bulky teams: Tornadus-T, Mega Latios, Mega Latias and Mega Alakazam while also setting Stealth Rock in order to let Kartana break teams down with greater efficiency. In a similar vein, Magnezone is a potent teammate, due to its ability to trap Mega Scizor, Corviknight, and Skarmory. Skarmory isn't relevant enough.
• Due to Kartana’s poor bulk, Volt Switch and U-turn users such as Rotom-H, Tornadus-T, and Galarian Darmanitan can bring Kartana into play safely.

[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Leaf Blade
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Sacred Sword
move 4: Smart Strike
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
========

• Leaf Blade is the Grass-type STAB move of choice, and hits very hard due to Kartana’s high Attack, which allows it to finish off a large portion of the metagame along with Beast Boost. Filler
• Knock Off is a great utility move to cripple Pokemon that Kartana cannot do much against otherwise, such as Corviknight, Rotom-H, Tornadus-T and Zapdos. It also provides Kartana with a way to revenge kill Dragapult and hit Mega Metagross for good damage.
• Sacred Sword is the best coverage move, enabling Kartana to hit opposing Steel-types such as Ferrothorn and Heatran, as well as Hydreigon.
• Smart Strike rounds out the set, as it is a reliable secondary STAB move that provides the strongest hit against threats such as Clefable, Magearna and Tornadus-T.

Usage Tips
========

• Kartana’s main purpose is to clean up teams late-game with Beast Boost, which allows it to quickly accrue Attack boosts after every kill.
• Kartana also functions as a revenge killer earlier on in games, outpacing common offensive Pokemon such as Galarian Darmanitan, Greninja, Mega Alakazam and Dragapult, and either defeating them or forcing them out.
• As Kartana’s sets play very differently from each other, attempting to bluff Swords Dance can be a smart play, as the opponent will then often try to pivot in a faster threat, predicting you to go for Swords Dance. Kartana can then take advantage of this by directly hitting them with a strong attack instead, severely weakening what is in front of it, or even outright eliminating it.

Team Options
========

• Kartana’s main goal is to clean up late-game. Thus, pairing it with early-game wallbreakers, such as Mega Metagross, Rotom-H, and Hydreigon is a good idea.
• Pursuit support from Tyranitar is appreciated in order to trap the likes of Tornadus-T, Mega Latios, Mega Latias, Aegislash and Heatran, as this allows Kartana to spam Leaf Blade late-game. Similarly, Magnezone is a notable partner due to its ability to trap Corviknight, Mega Scizor and Skarmory and Ferrothorn. Ferrothorn makes sense as a mention here as its a pretty big roadblock to Kartana wanting to spam Leaf Blade
• Kartana is unable to revenge kill a boosted Mega Blastoise. Therefore, running Pokemon that can deal with it, such as Tapu Fini, is very advisable. Tapu Fini can also serve as a hazard remover, allowing Kartana to come into battle without having to worry about its health being lowered.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

• On Sword Dance sets, Smart Strike alongside Steelium Z is an option that hits Fairy-types like Clefable and Magearna, as well as physically defensive Tangrowth, harder than anything else. However, forgoing Knock Off or Giga Impact leaves Kartana unable to handle many of its checks.
• On Choice Scarf sets, Defog may be used in the final slot if your team cannot fit it elsewhere. However, Kartana is usually better off running Smart Strike, due to the extra coverage it provides.
• Giga Impact is another option on Choice Scarf sets in order to revenge kill boosted Volcarona. However, it leaves Kartana wide open to revenge killers afterwards.

There's a distinct lack of Choice Band here and it's making me sad. Mention some positives like OHKOing Slowbro after Stealth Rock and OHKOing Shield Form Aegislash with Knock Off. Also, Mention Fightinium as a potential Z-Move, as it improves your matchup against Corviknight and Mega Scizor
Checks and Counters
===================

**Flying-types**: Flying-types such as Tornadus-T, Corviknight, and Zapdos, can all pivot into Kartana, as they resist Leaf Blade and Sacred Sword. From there, they can combat Kartana with their attacks, and in Zapdos’ case even cripple it with a Static paralysis. However, none of them appreciate Knock Off or a boosted Z-move.

**Grass-types**: Bulky Grass-types such as physically defensive Tangrowth, Mega Venusaur. and Amoonguss, can pivot into Kartana due to their bulk and resistance to Leaf Blade. They can then force Kartana out with their coverage moves. They must be careful with boosted Z-moves, however.

**Bug-types**: Bug-types such as Mega Scizor and Volcarona fear little from Kartana, and can switch into it relatively safely. They can then turn Kartana into setup bait, defeat it with their STAB moves, or in Volcarona’s case even burn it with Flame Body. However, none of them can handle boosted Z-moves, and Volcarona must also be wary of Knock Off if not running a Z-move. Scizor does pretty well against the Z-moves unless its Fightinium. I would point out that Scizor really needs Superpower if it wants to deal damage in return though.

**Faster Special Attackers**: Kartana’s special bulk is atrocious. Therefore, faster special attackers such as Greninja, Tornadus-T and Dragapult immediately force non-Choice Scarf Kartana out.


[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Guardsweeper, 360582]]
- Quality checked by: [[username1, userid1], [username2, userid2], [username3, userid3]]
- Grammar checked by: [[username1, userid1], [username2, userid2]

Good stuff, 1/3

 

[Sputnik]

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[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Leaf Blade
move 3: Sacred Sword
move 4: Giga Impact / Knock Off
item: Normalium Z / Darkinium Z
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Kartana is a menacing presence in the National Dex metagame due to its magnificent Attack, high Speed, a great ability in Beast Boost, and access to Swords Dance and a free itemslot, which grants it a great diversity in sets and makes it very hard to check defensively. Just talk about the traits of the SD set here, the diversity and free itemslot are apparent considering there are 4 sets. On top of that, Kartana also has a very good offensive and defensive typing. Defensively, its many resistances along with its good physical bulk aids Kartana in setting up against the likes of Gliscor and Ferrothorn. Offensively, Kartana's typing alongside its coverage is also very good, as it is capable of immensely pressuring common bulky Water- and Steel types, such as Slowbro and Ferrothorn, with Leaf Blade and Sacred Sword respectively. Giga Impact alongside Normalium Z allows Kartana to overwhelm some of its best checks in Zapdos, physically defensive Tangrowth, and Volcarona after a Swords Dance boost. On the other hand, Knock Off can remove the items of these checks, and, along with a Swords Dance boost and Darkinium Z, it also enables Kartana to overwhelm otherwise solid checks such as Aegislash, Rotom-H, and the aforementioned Volcarona. Notably, a Black Hole Eclipse on the switch also allows Kartana to remove Mega Latios and a Mega Latias in its base form. Fightinium Z is another option that eases the matchup against the likes of Corviknight, Mega Scizor, Mega Mawile, and Magearna. However, forgoing Normalium Z or Darkinium Z heavily compromises Kartana's ability to get past common checks in Zapdos and Volcarona.

Kartana fits best on balance and bulky offensive teams that are capable of providing it with the proper offensive and defensive support. Mega Tyranitar is extremely useful for Kartana, as it is capable of removing many roadblocks to Kartana's sweep with Pursuit, such as Mega Latias and Mega Latios, and heavily pressures Zapdos in case Kartana needs to preserve its Z-Move for another target. It can also set Stealth Rock, which is particularly important for Knock Off variants, as it allows Kartana to punish Zapdos more effectively after removing Heavy-Duty Boots, putting it in range of a boosted Black Hole Eclipse after one round of Stealth Rock damage. Worth noting that it gives you a chance of OHKOing Mega Latias after rocks too. In a similar vein, Magnezone is a potent teammate due to its ability to trap Mega Scizor, Corviknight, and Skarmory, which are some of the very few counters to Normalium Z Kartana. Pokemon that can pressure Kartana's other common checks in Tangrowth and Landorus-T, such as Cinderace, Excadrill, and Mega Mawile, There are better options here than Excadrill in my opinion, especially since the Z move set Exca uses is one of its main ways of pressuring Tang, which it obv can't use on the same team as this Kartana. can prove to be great partners. In turn, Kartana can heavily threaten some of their checks in Slowbro and Hippowdon. Kartana requires a good defensive backbone, as it is quite frail and prone to being revenge killed by the likes of Cinderace, Mega Lopunny, Mega Latios, and Mega Latias. As a result, the likes of Slowbro, Toxapex, and the aforementioned Mega Tyranitar make for good teammates. Due to Kartana’s poor bulk, pivoting Pokémon such as Slowbro, Cinderace, and Landorus-T can assist Kartana in coming into battle safely with Teleport and U-turn. Lastly, late-game cleaners than appreciate Kartana's wallbreaking prowess, such as Excadrill, Volcarona, and Mega Lopunny, make for good teammates as well.

[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Leaf Blade
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Sacred Sword
move 4: Smart Strike
item: Choice Band
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
A Choice Band gives Kartana the ability to harshly pressure most of its usual checks without having to dedicate a turn to set up. After the boost from Choice Band, Leaf Blade is capable of 2HKO'ing almost every single neutral target in the metagame, making it a very risk-free and spammable move once checks have been weakened. A strong Knock Off is another draw of this set, allowing Kartana to greatly damage checks in Volcarona and Mega Latias, and punish sturdier checks such as Zapdos, Corviknight, and physically defensive Tangrowth by removing their item. It also allows Kartana to take out Mega Latios after Stealth Rock, as well as Aegislash, both of which commonly seek to pivot into Kartana. Move the mention of Mega Latios and Aegislash into the sentence with Volc and Mega Latias, it's a little weird seeing them separated by things its just looking to remove the item of. Sacred Sword takes care of Steel-types such as Ferrothorn and Heatran, as well as some other Grass-resistant Pokémon in Hydreigon and Kyurem. Smart Strike rounds out the set by hitting the likes of Magearna, Mega Venusaur, Mega Mawile, and Tangrowth harder than anything else, while also almost always OHKO'ing physically defensive Clefable. Return may be used instead as a strong neutral move against checks such as Zapdos and Volcarona, but these will struggle to check Kartana anyway after Heavy-Duty Boots has been removed and Stealth Rock is present.

Kartana fits well on balance and bulky offensive teams as a fearsome wallbreaker that can make great amounts of progress throughout the game if it predicts correctly. Stealth Rock setters are very important, since they can allow Kartana to heavily pressure Pokémon that rely on Heavy-Duty Boots, such as Zapdos, Volcarona, and Rotom-H, after removing their item. Thus, the likes of Mega Tyranitar, Heatran, Clefable, and Garchomp pair well. Mega Tyranitar can also trap and weaken or dispose of Mega Latios, Mega Latias, Heatran, and Zapdos, making Kartana's job easier and less prediction-reliant. Meanwhile, Garchomp can also easily pressure Zapdos, overwhelm overlapping checks such as Tangrowth and Corviknight, and lure Mega Latios and Mega Latias with Devastating Drake. Mention that Chomp can also take care of things like Heatran and Corv, making it easier for Kart to spam Leaf Blade Magnezone is a notable partner due to its ability to trap some of the best checks to Kartana, such as Mega Scizor, Corviknight, and Skarmory. Furthermore, wallbreakers that can pressure Kartana's checks in Zapdos, physically defensive Tangrowth, and Mega Scizor, can also prove to be good teammates. Examples include the likes of Hydreigon, Mega Medicham, and the aforementioned Garchomp and Heatran. Really nitpicky but Heatran isn't aforementioned because it hasn't been mentioned yet in this context. Pivoting support from the likes of Slowbro, Landorus-T, Blissey, and Corviknight can greatly increase the amount of opportunities for Kartana to wallbreak, by granting it safe ways to enter a match. Lastly, late-game cleaners that can wrap up the game after Kartana has done its job, such as Volcarona, Mega Lopunny, Agility Magearna, and Excadrill, are good options as well.

[SET]
name: Synthesis Utility
move 1: Leaf Blade
move 2: Synthesis
move 3: Knock Off / Sacred Sword
move 4: Defog / Swords Dance
item: Grassium Z
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Jolly
evs: 136 HP / 120 Atk / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
With Synthesis, Kartana can provide valuable utility in reliably checking the metagame's dangerous Ground-types in Garchomp, Landorus-T, and Gliscor, as well as an array of additional threats such as Bisharp, Mega Tyranitar lacking Fire Punch, and Mega Swampert lacking Superpower. Leaf Blade alongside Grassium Z allows Kartana to properly threaten the Ground-types it checks, taking them out after little to no chip with Bloom Doom. If running Swords Dance, Bloom Doom is capable of overwhelming many checks to Kartana after a few boosts, such as Zapdos, Mega Latias, Toxapex, and Aegislash. Knock Off gives Kartana additional utility in punishing common switchins such as Zapdos and Volcarona, as well as removing items from the likes of Ferrothorn and Heatran. Defog enables Kartana to fully counter Garchomp, Rockium Z Landorus-T, Mega Tyranitar, and Ferrothorn by nullifying their attempts at setting up entry hazards. Swords Dance may be used instead in order to use these Pokémon as setup fodder. Sacred Sword is preferred alongside Swords Dance for its superior coverage compared to Knock Off, but Knock Off is the best option if Kartana opts to use Defog over Swords Dance due to the utility it brings. 120 Attack EVs allow Kartana to OHKO Garchomp with Bloom Doom. The remaining EVs are allocated to HP so that Kartana can check Ground-types more consistently.

Kartana fits best on balance and bulky offensive teams in need of a sturdy check to Ground-types. As such, Pokémon that appreciate Ground-types out of the picture such as Heatran, Mega Mawile, Toxapex, and Cinderace can prove to be good teammates. Pursuit support from Mega Tyranitar and Weavile is useful, as it takes care of Mega Latios and Mega Latias, and weakens Zapdos and Rotom-H, which are some of Kartana's best checks especially for non-Knock Off variants. Notably, this can chip Zapdos into the range of a boosted Bloom Doom if Kartana is running Swords Dance. Kartana is easily forced out by special attackers or faster threats such as Magearna, Ash-Greninja, Mega Latios, Mega Lopunny, and Cinderace. Added Ash here because it hadn't really been mentioned yet and it makes sense as its our best offensive spiker. As such, it requires a sturdy defensive backbone to take these threats on, which may consist of Pokémon such as Ferrothorn, specially defensive Heatran, and Toxapex. All of these are susceptible to entry hazards due to the amount of times they are required to pivot into various threats throughout a match, and therefore enjoy Kartana's Defog support. Ferrothorn is particularly notable, as it can pressure Zapdos with Knock Off or Toxic, take advantage of Mega Latias and Mega Latios, and provide Spikes support to make the most out of Kartana's tendency to force switches. Lastly, Kartana has the tendency to force Knock Off on Pokémon such as Ferrothorn, Heatran, Toxapex, and Tangrowth. As a result, Pokémon that can take advantage of this, such as Magearna, Calm Mind Clefable, Tapu Lele, and Cinderace, are good options to consider as well.

[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Leaf Blade
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Sacred Sword
move 4: Smart Strike
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
A Choice Scarf allows Kartana to function as a revenge killer earlier on in games, outpacing common offensive Pokemon such as Mega Lopunny, Ash-Greninja, Tapu Lele, and Dragapult, and either defeating them or forcing them out. Once the opponent's team has been weakened sufficiently, Kartana can then clean up late-game with the assistance of its enhanced Speed and a great ability in Beast Boost. Knock Off is a great move that punishes checks such as Zapdos, Corviknight, Aegislash, and Volcarona. It also provides Kartana with a way to revenge kill Dragapult and is its best option against Mega Latias and Mega Latios. Sacred Sword is a crucial coverage move, enabling Kartana to hit opposing Steel-types such as Ferrothorn and Heatran, as well as Hydreigon. Smart Strike rounds out the set, as it is a reliable secondary STAB move that provides the strongest hit against threats such as Clefable, Kyurem, and Magearna. Defog may be used over Smart Strike if the team desperately desires the role compression. Similarly, Giga Impact is another option that lets Kartana revenge kill Volcarona in a pinch. However, both options are atrocious to lock into and leave Kartana wide open to revenge killers.

Kartana fits best in balance and bulky offensive teams in need of a revenge killer and late-game wincon in one. As Kartana is a great late-game cleaner once the opposing team has been weakened, it is a good idea to pair it with early-game wallbreakers that can threaten or take advantage of Kartana's checks in Zapdos, Mega Latias, Tangrowth, and Corviknight. Good examples include Hydreigon, Garchomp, Kyurem, and Cinderace. Pursuit support from the likes of Mega Tyranitar and Weavile is appreciated in order to trap the likes of Mega Latias, Mega Latios, Aegislash, and Heatran, as this allows Kartana to spam Leaf Blade late-game. Mega Tyranitar also provides Stealth Rock support, which is important to pressure the likes of Zapdos, Volcarona, and Rotom-H once Kartana has removed their Heavy-Duty Boots. Similarly, Magnezone is a notable partner due to its ability to trap Steel-types such as Mega Scizor, Corviknight, Ferrothorn, and Skarmory. Kartana is incapable of revenge killing a boosted Dragapult, as well as a healthy Magearna and Volcarona. Therefore, running Pokemon that can deal with them, such as Mega Tyranitar for the former, and Heatran for the latter two, is very advisable. Kartana's bulk is often not enough to convincingly switch into the Pokémon its revenge kills. As such, pivoting support from the likes of Slowbro, Blissey, and the aforementioned Magnezone can prove to be very useful.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Guardsweeper, 360582]]
- Quality checked by: [[SputnikGT, 475916], [username2, userid2]]
- Grammar checked by: [[username1, userid1]]

Great stuff as always, I was being quite nitpicky. QC 1/2

 

[The Dragon Master]

Hehe paper plane with a wierd moustache go brrrr

Approved by Solaros & Lunaris

Add comment remove

[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Leaf Blade
move 3: Sacred Sword
move 4: Giga Impact / Knock Off
item: Normalium Z / Fightinium Z
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Kartana is a menacing presence in the National Dex metagame due to its magnificent Attack, high Speed, a great ability in Beast Boost, and access to Swords Dance. On top of that, Kartana also has a very good offensive and defensive typing. Defensively, its many resistances along with its good physical bulk aids Kartana in setting up against the likes of Gliscor and Ferrothorn. Offensively, Kartana's typing alongside its coverage is also very good, as it is capable of pressuring common bulky Water- and Steel types, such as Slowbro and Ferrothorn, with Leaf Blade and Sacred Sword respectively. Giga Impact alongside Normalium Z allows Kartana to overwhelm some of its best checks in Zapdos and physically defensive Tangrowth after a Swords Dance boost. It leaves Kartana checked fairly easily by Corviknight, its not that corv can check kart well it's that corv can pivot into a revenge killer, reword this however. On the other hand, Knock Off can cripple these checks and free up Fightinium Z, which eases the matchup against the likes of Corviknight, Mega Scizor, and Mega Mawile. However, it makes Kartana less impactful against Zapdos.

Swords Dance Kartana fits best on balance and bulky offensive teams that are capable of providing it with proper offensive and defensive support. Mega Tyranitar is extremely useful for Kartana, as it is capable of removing many roadblocks to Kartana's sweep with Pursuit, such as Mega Latias and Mega Latios, and heavily pressures Zapdos in case Kartana needs to preserve its Z-Move for another target. It can also set Stealth Rock, which is particularly important for Knock Off variants, as it allows Kartana to punish Zapdos more effectively after removing Heavy-Duty Boots. In a similar vein, Magnezone is a potent teammate due to its ability to trap Mega Scizor, Corviknight, and Skarmory, which are some of the very few hard-checks to Normalium Z Kartana. Pokemon that can pressure Kartana's other common checks in Tangrowth and Landorus-T such as Garchomp If Kartana is holding the Z, what’s Garchomp holding? , Excadrill, and Mega Mawile can prove to be great partners. In turn, Kartana can heavily pressure some of their checks in Alomomola, Slowbro, and Hippowdon. Kartana requires a good defensive backbone, as it is quite frail and prone to being revenge killed by the likes of Mega Lopunny, Ash-Greninja, and Mega Latias. As a result, the likes of Slowbro, Toxapex, and the aforementioned Mega Tyranitar make for good teammates. Given Kartana’s poor bulk, Pokémon that can pivot Kartana into battle such as Slowbro, Slowking, and Landorus-T are useful teammates. Lastly, late-game cleaners than appreciate Kartana's wallbreaking prowess such as Excadrill, Ash-Greninja, and Mega Lopunny make for good teammates as well. mention grens spikes being real good fr knock sets

[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Leaf Blade
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Sacred Sword
move 4: Smart Strike
item: Choice Band
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
A Choice Band gives Kartana the ability to harshly it dosent really "harshly pressure" mons like corv or tang which it needs a fair amount of chip to threaten pressure most of its usual checks without having to dedicate a turn to set up. After the boost from Choice Band, Leaf Blade is capable of 2HKOing almost every single neutral target in the metagame, making it a very risk-free and spammable move once checks have been weakened. A strong Knock Off is another draw of this set, allowing Kartana to greatly damage checks in Mega Latias, Aegislash, and Mega Latios, and punish sturdier checks such as Zapdos, Corviknight, and Tangrowth by removing their item. Sacred Sword takes care of Steel-types such as Ferrothorn and Heatran, as well as some other Grass-resistant Pokémon in Hydreigon and Kyurem. Smart Strike rounds out the set by hitting the likes of Mega Venusaur, Mega Mawile, and Tangrowth harder than anything else, while almost always OHKOing physically defensive Clefable. Alternatively, Toxic may be used to put the majority of Kartana's counterplay on a timer, significantly easing Kartana's long-term matchup against the likes of Zapdos, Tangrowth, and Mega Latias.

Choice Band Kartana fits well on balance and bulky offensive teams as a fearsome wallbreaker that can make great amounts of progress throughout the game if it predicts correctly. Stealth Rock setters are very important, since they can allow Kartana to heavily pressure Zapdos and Moltres after removing Heavy-Duty Boots. Thus, the likes of Mega Tyranitar, Heatran, Clefable, and Garchomp pair well. Mega Tyranitar can also trap and weaken or dispose of Mega Latias, Heatran, and Zapdos, making Kartana's job easier and less prediction-reliant. Meanwhile, Garchomp can easily pressure Zapdos, overwhelm overlapping checks such as Tangrowth and Corviknight, and lure Mega Latias with Devastating Drake. Magnezone is a notable partner due to its ability to trap some of the best checks to Kartana in Mega Scizor, Corviknight, and Skarmory. Other wallbreakers that can pressure Kartana's checks in Zapdos, Tangrowth, and Mega Scizor can also prove to be good teammates. Examples include the likes of Heatran and Ash-Greninja. Pivoting support from the likes of Tapu Koko, Slowbro, Landorus-T, and Corviknight can greatly increase the amount of opportunities for Kartana to break walls by granting it safe ways to enter a match. Lastly, late-game cleaners that can wrap up the game after Kartana has done its job such as Mega Lopunny, Choice Scarf Landorus-T, and Excadrill are good options as well.

Feel like FS deserves a mention here as forcing chip on stuff like tang and corv and zap is nice fr this set

[SET]
name: Synthesis Utility
move 1: Leaf Blade
move 2: Synthesis
move 3: Knock Off / Sacred Sword
move 4: Defog / Swords Dance
item: Grassium Z
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Jolly
evs: 136 HP / 120 Atk / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
With Synthesis, Kartana can provide valuable utility in reliably checking the metagame's dangerous Ground-types in Garchomp, Landorus-T, and Gliscor, as well as an array of additional threats such as Bisharp, Mega Tyranitar lacking Fire Punch, and Mega Swampert lacking Superpower. Leaf Blade alongside Grassium Z allows Kartana to properly threaten the Ground-types it checks, taking them out after little to no chip with Bloom Doom. If running Swords Dance, Bloom Doom is capable of overwhelming many checks to Kartana after a few boosts, such as Zapdos and Toxapex. Knock Off gives Kartana additional utility in punishing common switch-ins such as Zapdos and Corviknight, as well as removing items from the likes of Ferrothorn and Heatran. Defog enables Kartana to fully check Garchomp, non-Flyinium-Z Landorus-T, Mega Tyranitar, and Ferrothorn by nullifying their attempts at setting up entry hazards. Swords Dance may be used instead in order to use these Pokémon as setup fodder. Sacred Sword is preferred alongside Swords Dance for its superior coverage compared to Knock Off, but Knock Off is the best option if Kartana opts to use Defog over Swords Dance due to the added utility. 120 Attack EVs allow Kartana to OHKO Garchomp with Bloom Doom. The remaining EVs are allocated to HP so that Kartana can check Ground-types more consistently.

Synthesis Kartana fits best on balance and bulky offensive teams in need of a sturdy check to Ground-types. As such, Pokémon that appreciate Ground-types out of the picture such as Heatran, Mega Mawile, and Toxapex can prove to be good teammates. Pursuit support from Mega Tyranitar and Weavile is useful, as it pressures Mega Latias and weakens Zapdos, which are some of Kartana's best checks, especially for non-Knock Off variants. Notably, this can chip Zapdos into the range of a boosted Bloom Doom if Kartana is running Swords Dance. However, when pairing Kartana with Mega Tyranitar, be careful with your timing and positioning, as Synthesis recovers less HP in sand. Kartana is easily forced out by special attackers or faster threats such as Ash-Greninja, Mega Latias, and Mega Lopunny. As such, it requires a sturdy defensive backbone to take these threats on, which may consist of Pokémon such as Ferrothorn, specially defensive Heatran tran dosent really check any of these mons so a better example would be something like Clefable, Slowbro, and Toxapex. All of these bar Slowbro are susceptible to entry hazards due to the amount of times they are required to pivot into various threats throughout a match, and therefore enjoy Kartana's Defog support. Ferrothorn is particularly notable, as it can pressure Zapdos with Knock Off and Toxic, and provide Spikes support to make the most out of Kartana's tendency to force switches. Lastly, Kartana has the tendency to force Knock Off on Pokémon such as Ferrothorn, Heatran, Toxapex, and Tangrowth. As a result, Pokémon that can take advantage of this such as Calm Mind Clefable and Tapu Lele are good options to consider as well.

Zard y deserves its own mention here as zard y teams are the teams that Synth kart best fits on

[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Leaf Blade
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Sacred Sword
move 4: Smart Strike / Toxic
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
A Choice Scarf sacrifices a great deal of Kartana's wallbreaking prowess, instead allowing it to function as a revenge killer earlier on in games by outpacing common offensive Pokemon such as Mega Lopunny, Ash-Greninja, Tapu Koko, +1 Mega Gyarados, and Weavile and either defeating them or forcing them out. Once the opponent's team has been weakened sufficiently, Kartana can then clean up late-game with the assistance of its enhanced Speed and Beast Boost. Knock Off is a great move that punishes checks such as Zapdos, Corviknight, and Aegislash. It is also Kartana's best option against Mega Latias and Mega Latios, 2HKOing both after Stealth Rock. Sacred Sword is a crucial coverage move, enabling Kartana to hit opposing Steel-types such as Ferrothorn and Heatran, as well as almost always OHKO Mega Lopunny. Smart Strike rounds out the set as a reliable secondary STAB move that provides the strongest hit against threats such as Clefable and Kyurem. Toxic may be used instead to put the likes of Zapdos, Mega Latias, and Tangrowth on a timer.

Choice Scarf Kartana fits best in balance and bulky offensive teams in need of a revenge killer and late-game wincon in one. As Kartana is a good late-game cleaner once the opposing team has been weakened, it is a good idea to pair it with early-game wallbreakers that can threaten or take advantage of Kartana's checks in Zapdos, Mega Latias, Tangrowth, and Corviknight. Good examples include Garchomp, Kyurem, Mega Mawile, and Heatran. Pursuit support from the likes of Mega Tyranitar and Weavile is appreciated in order to trap the likes of Mega Latias, Mega Latios, Aegislash, and Heatran, as this allows Kartana to spam Leaf Blade late-game. Mega Tyranitar also provides Stealth Rock support, which is important to pressure Zapdos and Moltres once Kartana has removed their Heavy-Duty Boots. Similarly, Magnezone is a notable partner due to its ability to trap Steel-types such as Mega Scizor, Corviknight, Ferrothorn, and Skarmory. Kartana is incapable of revenge killing a healthy Mega Mawile and Mega Scizor. Therefore, running Pokemon that can deal with them such as Heatran and Toxapex is very advisable. Kartana's bulk is often not enough to convincingly switch into the Pokémon its revenge kills. As such, pivoting support from the likes of Slowbro, Blissey, and the aforementioned Magnezone can prove to be very useful. Bad, make this oo

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Darkinium Z along with a Swords Dance boost enables Kartana to remove Mega Latios and a Mega Latias in its base form on the switch. However, forgoing both Normalium Z and Fightinium Z means Kartana will be unable to adequately pressure its two most common checks in Zapdos and Corviknight. Return may be used on Choice Band sets as a strong neutral move against checks such as Mega Charizard Y, Zapdos, and Moltres, but the latter two will struggle to check Kartana anyway once Heavy-Duty Boots has been removed and Stealth Rock is present, while the former is naturally extremely weak to Stealth Rock. None of these appreciate Toxic, either. Defog may be used over Smart Strike or Toxic on Choice Scarf sets if the team desperately desires the role compression, but is a mediocre option to lock into.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Flying-types**: Corviknight, Zapdos, Moltres, Skarmory, and Mega Charizard Y are some of the best checks to Kartana due to their resistance to Leaf Blade and Smart Strike. On top of that, Zapdos can heavily cripple Kartana with Static. However, Corviknight and Skarmory must be cautious of a boosted All-Out Pummeling and Zapdos, Moltres, and Mega Charizard Y are pressured heavily by Normalium Z variants, Toxic, and the rare Choice Band boosted Return. On top of that, none of Zapdos, Moltres, Skarmory, or Corviknight appreciate their item being removed by Knock Off. Landorus-T can soft-check Kartana for a while as well, but its lack of reliable recovery makes it prone to being worn down in the long run.

**Mega Latias and Mega Latios**: Both Mega Latias and Mega Latios can stomach all of Kartana's attacks relatively easily, bar a Choice Band-boosted Knock Off or the rare Black Hole Eclipse. As they outspeed non-Choice Scarf variants, they can both proceed to use Kartana as setup bait or force it out with strong moves, respectively. However, they must be wary of Toxic.

**Steel-types neutral to Fighting**: Steel-types that aren't weak to Sacred Sword such as Mega Scizor and Mega Mawile are all capable of checking Kartana to a degree. However, they can all be overwhelmed by +2 All-Out Pummeling.

**Grass-types**: The likes of Tangrowth, Amoonguss, and Mega Venusaur can easily scout any of Kartana's attacks and force it out. Tangrowth and Amoonguss can maintain momentum well courtesy of Regenerator, whereas Mega Venusaur can even absorb Knock Off. None of them appreciate a boosted Breakneck Blitz, however.

**Magnezone**: Choice Scarf Magnezone is able to trap every non-Choice Scarf Kartana set courtesy of Magnet Pull and Hidden Power Fire. A healthy non-Choice Scarf Magnezone is also capable of surviving non-Choice Band Sacred Sword and finishing Kartana off.

**Faster threats**: Although they cannot switch into Kartana safely, many offensive Pokemon that can outspeed non-Choice Scarf Kartana will more than likely force it out. Examples include Ash-Greninja, Mega Lopunny, Hawlucha, and Choice Scarf Victini.

give fire types their own section here, with zards volc and molt in it also add chople tran if real
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Guard, 360582]]
- Quality checked by: [[Sputnik, 475916], [username2, userid2], [username3, userid3]]
- Grammar checked by: [[username1, userid1], [username2, userid2]]

QC 2/2

 

[adem]

same colours as usual

[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Leaf Blade
move 3: Sacred Sword
move 4: Giga Impact / Knock Off
item: Normalium Z / Fightinium Z
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Kartana is a menacing presence in the National Dex metagame due to its magnificent Attack, high Speed, a great ability in Beast Boost, and access to Swords Dance. On top of that, Kartana also has a very good offensive and defensive typing. Defensively, its many resistances along with its good physical bulk aids Kartana in setting up against the likes of Gliscor and Ferrothorn. Offensively, Kartana's typing alongside its coverage is also very good, as it is capable of pressuring common bulky Water- and Steel types, such as Slowbro and Ferrothorn, with Leaf Blade and Sacred Sword respectively. Giga Impact alongside Normalium Z allows Kartana to overwhelm some of its best checks in Zapdos and physically defensive Tangrowth after a Swords Dance boost. It leaves Kartana checked fairly easily by Corviknight, however. corv is much less relevant now + boosted sacred do enough, def isnt "fairly easily checked" On the other hand, Knock Off can cripple these checks and free up Fightinium Z, which eases the matchup against the likes of Corviknight, Mega Scizor, and Mega Mawile. reword this sentence to focus more on instantly removing MZor, Skarm, and Corv, and freeing up koff as a supporting point imo However, it makes Kartana less impactful against Zapdos and Tangrowth.

Kartana fits best on balance and bulky offensive teams that are capable of providing it with proper offensive and defensive support. Mega Tyranitar is extremely useful for Kartana, as it is capable of removing many roadblocks to Kartana's sweep with Pursuit, such as Mega Latias and Mega Latios, and heavily pressures Zapdos in case Kartana needs to preserve its Z-Move for another target. It can also set Stealth Rock, which is particularly important for Knock Off variants, as it allows Kartana to punish Zapdos more effectively after removing Heavy-Duty Boots. In a similar vein, Magnezone is a potent teammate due to its ability to trap Mega Scizor, Corviknight, and Skarmory, which are some of the very few hard-checks to Normalium Z Kartana. Pokemon that can pressure Kartana's other common checks in Tangrowth and Landorus-T such as Garchomp, Excadrill Mega Lopunny, and Mega Mawile can prove to be great partners. In turn, Kartana can heavily pressure some of their checks in Alomomola, Slowbro, and Hippowdon. Kartana requires a good defensive backbone, as it is quite frail and prone to being revenge killed by the likes of Mega Lopunny, Ash-Greninja, and Mega Latias. As a result, the likes of Slowbro, Toxapex, and the aforementioned Mega Tyranitar make for good teammates. Given Kartana’s poor bulk, Pokémon that can pivot Kartana into battle such as Slowbro, Slowking, and Landorus-T are useful teammates. Lastly, late-game cleaners than appreciate Kartana's wallbreaking prowess such as Excadrill Choice Scarf Tapu Lele, Ash-Greninja, and Mega Lopunny make for good teammates as well.

[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Leaf Blade
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Sacred Sword
move 4: Frustration / Smart Strike
item: Choice Band
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
A Choice Band gives Kartana the ability to harshly pressure most of its usual checks without having to dedicate a turn to set up. After the boost from Choice Band, Leaf Blade is capable of 2HKOing almost every single neutral target in the metagame, making it a very risk-free and spammable move once checks have been weakened. A strong Knock Off is another draw of this set, allowing Kartana to greatly damage checks in Mega Latias, Aegislash, and Mega Latios, and punish sturdier checks such as Zapdos, Corviknight, and Tangrowth by removing their item. Sacred Sword takes care of Steel-types such as Ferrothorn and Heatran, as well as some other Grass-resistant Pokémon in Hydreigon and Kyurem. mention frust here and why its before smart (bops zappy tang stuff, neutral hit on stuff) Smart Strike rounds out the set by hitting the likes of Mega Venusaur, Mega Mawile, and Tangrowth harder than anything else, while almost always OHKOing physically defensive Clefable. Alternatively, Toxic may be used to put the majority of Kartana's counterplay on a timer, significantly easing Kartana's long-term matchup against the likes of Zapdos, Tangrowth, and Mega Latias. dont think any1 has used tox kart like ever, might be better for an oo

Kartana fits well on balance and bulky offensive teams as a fearsome wallbreaker that can make great amounts of progress throughout the game if it predicts correctly. Stealth Rock setters are very important, since they can allow Kartana to heavily pressure Zapdos and Moltres after removing Heavy-Duty Boots. Thus, the likes of Mega Tyranitar, Heatran, Clefable, and Garchomp pair well. Mega Tyranitar can also trap and weaken or dispose of Mega Latias, Heatran, and Zapdos, making Kartana's job easier and less prediction-reliant. Meanwhile, Garchomp can easily pressure Zapdos, overwhelm overlapping checks such as Tangrowth and Corviknight, and lure Mega Latias with Devastating Drake. Magnezone is a notable partner due to its ability to trap some of the best checks to Kartana in Mega Scizor, Corviknight, and Skarmory. Other wallbreakers that can pressure Kartana's checks in Zapdos, Tangrowth, and Mega Scizor can also prove to be good teammates. Examples include the likes of Heatran and Ash-Greninja. Pivoting support from the likes of Tapu Koko, Slowbro, Landorus-T, and Corviknight can greatly increase the amount of opportunities for Kartana to break walls by granting it safe ways to enter a match. Lastly, late-game cleaners that can wrap up the game after Kartana has done its job such as Mega Lopunny, Choice Scarf Landorus-T, and use smtg else here Excadrill are good options as well.

[SET]
name: Synthesis Utility
move 1: Leaf Blade
move 2: Synthesis
move 3: Knock Off / Sacred Sword
move 4: Defog / Swords Dance idt sd is worth mentioning, on the "utility" set, and p much all the time bulky synth has been used it has been fog, never seen sd + dt its worth
item: Grassium Z
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Jolly
evs: 136 HP / 120 Atk / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
With Synthesis, Kartana can provide valuable utility in reliably checking the metagame's dangerous Ground-types in Garchomp, Landorus-T, and Gliscor, as well as an array of additional threats such as Bisharp, Mega Tyranitar lacking Fire Punch, and Mega Swampert lacking Superpower. Leaf Blade alongside Grassium Z allows Kartana to properly threaten the Ground-types it checks, taking them out after little to no chip with Bloom Doom. If running Swords Dance, Bloom Doom is capable of overwhelming many checks to Kartana after a few boosts, such as Zapdos and Toxapex. Knock Off gives Kartana additional utility in punishing common switch-ins such as Zapdos and Corviknight, as well as removing items from the likes of Ferrothorn and Heatran. Defog enables Kartana to fully check Garchomp, non-Flyinium-Z Landorus-T, Mega Tyranitar, and Ferrothorn by nullifying their attempts at setting up entry hazards. Swords Dance may be used instead in order to use these Pokémon as setup fodder. Sacred Sword is preferred alongside Swords Dance for its superior coverage compared to Knock Off, but Knock Off is the best option if Kartana opts to use Defog over Swords Dance due to the added utility. 120 Attack EVs allow Kartana to OHKO Garchomp with Bloom Doom. The remaining EVs are allocated to HP so that Kartana can check Ground-types more consistently. remove sd mentions here, and swap

Kartana fits best on balance and bulky offensive teams in need of a sturdy check to Ground-types. As such, Pokémon that appreciate Ground-types out of the picture such as Heatran, Mega Mawile, and Toxapex can prove to be good teammates. Pursuit support from Mega Tyranitar and Weavile is useful, as it pressures Mega Latias and weakens Zapdos, which are some of Kartana's best checks, especially for non-Knock Off variants. Notably, this can chip Zapdos into the range of a boosted Bloom Doom if Kartana is running Swords Dance. However, when pairing Kartana with Mega Tyranitar, be careful with your timing and positioning, as Synthesis recovers less HP in sand. Kartana is easily forced out by special attackers or faster threats such as Ash-Greninja, Mega Latias, and Mega Lopunny. As such, it requires a sturdy defensive backbone to take these threats on, which may consist of Pokémon such as Ferrothorn, specially defensive Heatran, Slowbro, and Toxapex. All of these bar Slowbro are susceptible to entry hazards due to the amount of times they are required to pivot into various threats throughout a match, and therefore enjoy Kartana's Defog support. Ferrothorn is particularly notable, as it can pressure Zapdos with Knock Off and Toxic, and provide Spikes support to make the most out of Kartana's tendency to force switches. Lastly, Kartana has the tendency to force Knock Off on Pokémon such as Ferrothorn, Heatran, Toxapex, and Tangrowth. As a result, Pokémon that can take advantage of this such as Calm Mind Clefable and Tapu Lele are good options to consider as well.

[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Leaf Blade
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Sacred Sword
move 4: Smart Strike / Toxic Defog Tox in oo
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
A Choice Scarf sacrifices a great deal of Kartana's wallbreaking prowess, instead allowing it to function as a revenge killer earlier on in games by outpacing common offensive Pokemon such as Mega Lopunny, Ash-Greninja, Tapu Koko, +1 Mega Gyarados, and Weavile and either defeating them or forcing them out. Once the opponent's team has been weakened sufficiently, Kartana can then clean up late-game with the assistance of its enhanced Speed and Beast Boost. Knock Off is a great move that punishes checks such as Zapdos, Corviknight, and Aegislash. It is also Kartana's best option against Mega Latias and Mega Latios. Sacred Sword is a crucial coverage move, enabling Kartana to hit opposing Steel-types such as Ferrothorn and Heatran, as well as almost always OHKO Mega Lopunny. Smart Strike rounds out the set as a reliable secondary STAB move that provides the strongest hit against threats such as Clefable and Kyurem. Toxic may be used instead to put the likes of Zapdos, Mega Latias, and Tangrowth on a timer. tox oo, mention defog instead as a emergency fog

Kartana fits best in balance and bulky offensive teams in need of a revenge killer and late-game wincon in one works best on offense, decent on bo, never seen it used on balance as of recently so reword this. As Kartana is a good late-game cleaner once the opposing team has been weakened, it is a good idea to pair it with early-game wallbreakers that can threaten or take advantage of Kartana's checks in Zapdos, Mega Latias, Tangrowth, and Corviknight. Good examples include Garchomp, Kyurem, Mega Mawile, and Heatran mention lele, mmedi and mlop. Pursuit support from the likes of Mega Tyranitar and Weavile is appreciated in order to trap the likes of Mega Latias, Mega Latios, Aegislash, and Heatran, as this allows Kartana to spam Leaf Blade late-game. Mega Tyranitar also provides Stealth Rock support, which is important to pressure Zapdos and Moltres once Kartana has removed their Heavy-Duty Boots. Similarly, Magnezone is a notable partner due to its ability to trap Steel-types such as Mega Scizor, Corviknight, Ferrothorn, and Skarmory. Kartana is incapable of revenge killing a healthy Mega Mawile and Mega Scizor. Therefore, running Pokemon that can deal with them such as Heatran and Toxapex is very advisable. Kartana's bulk is often not enough to convincingly switch into the Pokémon its revenge kills. As such, pivoting support from the likes of Slowbro, Blissey, and the aforementioned Magnezone can prove to be very useful. reword this to focus more on offense / faster bos, so no blissbro mentions etc, more on lele zone weavile tran kyu lando etc, mention bulu here too bc grasspam :pleading:

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Darkinium Z along with a Swords Dance boost enables Kartana to remove Mega Latios and a Mega Latias in its base form on the switch. However, forgoing both Normalium Z and Fightinium Z means Kartana will be unable to adequately pressure its two most common checks in Zapdos and Corviknight. Return may be used on Choice Band sets as a strong neutral move against checks such as Mega Charizard Y, Zapdos, and Moltres, but the latter two will struggle to check Kartana anyway once Heavy-Duty Boots has been removed and Stealth Rock is present, while the former is naturally extremely weak to Stealth Rock. None of these appreciate Toxic, either. Defog may be used over Smart Strike or Toxic on Choice Scarf sets if the team desperately desires the role compression, but is a mediocre option to lock into. mention tox here instead, these both are main sets (tox is a even worse option to lock into than fog lol) can probably mention nicher item options here, and def mention timid

Checks and Counters
===================

**Flying-types**: Corviknight, Zapdos, Moltres, Skarmory, and Mega Charizard Y are some of the best checks to Kartana due to their resistance to Leaf Blade and Smart Strike. On top of that, Zapdos can heavily cripple Kartana with Static. However, Corviknight and Skarmory must be cautious of a boosted All-Out Pummeling and Zapdos, Moltres, and Mega Charizard Y are pressured heavily by Normalium Z variants, Toxic, and the rare Choice Band boosted Return. On top of that, none of Zapdos, Moltres, Skarmory, or Corviknight appreciate their item being removed by Knock Off. Landorus-T can soft-check Kartana for a while as well, but its lack of reliable recovery makes it prone to being worn down in the long run.

**Mega Latias and Mega Latios**: Both Mega Latias and Mega Latios can stomach all of Kartana's attacks relatively easily, bar a Choice Band-boosted Knock Off or the rare Black Hole Eclipse. As they outspeed non-Choice Scarf variants, they can both proceed to use Kartana as setup bait or force it out with strong moves, respectively. However, they must be wary of Toxic.

**Steel-types neutral to Fighting**: Steel-types that aren't weak to Sacred Sword such as Mega Scizor and Mega Mawile are all capable of checking Kartana to a degree. However, they can all be overwhelmed by +2 All-Out Pummeling. steel types in general prevent it from clicking blade brainlessly on choiced sets, so imo that deserves a mention

**Grass-types**: The likes of Tangrowth, Amoonguss, and Mega Venusaur can easily scout any of Kartana's attacks and force it out. Tangrowth and Amoonguss can maintain momentum well courtesy of Regenerator, whereas Mega Venusaur can even absorb Knock Off. None of them appreciate a boosted Breakneck Blitz, however.

**Magnezone**: Choice Scarf Magnezone is able to trap every non-Choice Scarf Kartana set courtesy of Magnet Pull and Hidden Power Fire. A healthy non-Choice Scarf Magnezone is also capable of surviving non-Choice Band Sacred Sword and finishing Kartana off.

**Faster threats**: Although they cannot switch into Kartana safely, many offensive Pokemon that can outspeed non-Choice Scarf Kartana will more than likely force it out. Examples include Ash-Greninja, Mega Lopunny, Hawlucha, and Choice Scarf Victini.

remove tox mentions from here btw, and nuke mvenu mentions (terribad mon)

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Guard, 360582]]
- Quality checked by: [[Sputnik, 475916], [username2, userid2], [username3, userid3]]
- Grammar checked by: [[username1, userid1], [username2, userid2]]

Solaros & Lunaris larp

1/2

 

[Solaros & Lunaris]

Implemented

 

[Milo]

Trial QC

Add, Comment, Remove

Implement this and I can 2/2

QC

[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Leaf Blade
move 3: Sacred Sword
move 4: Giga Impact / Knock Off
item: Normalium Z / Fightinium Z
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Kartana is a menacing presence in the National Dex metagame due to its magnificent Attack, high Speed, a great ability in Beast Boost, and access to Swords Dance. On top of that, Kartana also has a very good offensive and defensive typing. Defensively, its many resistances along with its good physical bulk aids Kartana in setting up against the likes of Gliscor, Landorus and Ferrothorn. Offensively, Kartana's typing alongside its coverage is also very good, as it is capable of pressuring common bulky Water- and Steel types, such as Tapu-Fini, Slowbro, Heatran and Ferrothorn, with Leaf Blade and Sacred Sword respectively. Giga Impact alongside Normalium Z allows Kartana to overwhelm some of its best checks in Zapdos and physically defensive Tangrowth after a Swords Dance boost. On the other hand, Fightinium Z can be used to easily remove Mega Scizor, Skarmory, and Corviknight, with Knock Off in the fourth slot to cripple Pokemon like Volcarona, Zapdos and Moltres. However, it makes Kartana less impactful against Zapdos and Tangrowth which can be an issue and forces Kartana to rely on it's partners.

Kartana fits best on balance and bulky offensive teams that are capable of providing it with proper offensive and defensive unnessecary imo, general support should be enough support. Mega Tyranitar is extremely useful for Kartana, as it is capable of removing many roadblocks to Kartana's sweep with Pursuit, such as Mega Latias and Mega Latios, and heavily pressures Zapdos in case Kartana needs to preserve its Z-Move for another target. It can also set Stealth Rock which is particularly important for both Pokemon as it allows them to punish Zapdos more effectively after removing Heavy-Duty Boots. In a similar vein, Magnezone is a potent teammate due to its ability to trap Mega Scizor, Corviknight, and Skarmory which are some of the very few hard-checks to Normalium Z Kartana. Pokemon that can pressure Kartana's other common checks in Tangrowth and Landorus-T such as are Garchomp, Greninja, Mega Lopunny, and Mega Mawile can prove to be great partners. In turn, Kartana can heavily pressure some of their checks in Alomomola, Slowbro, and Hippowdon. Tapu Fini, Mega-Scizor and Corviknight. Kartana requires a good defensive backbone, as it is quite frail and prone to being revenge killed by the likes of Mega Lopunny, Ash-Greninja, and Mega Latias. As a result, the likes of Slowbro, Tapu Fini and Toxapex and the aforementioned Mega Tyranitar make for good teammates. Given Kartana’s poor bulk, Pokémon that can pivot Kartana into battle such as Slowbro, Mega Lopunny and Landorus are useful teammates. Lastly, late-game cleaners than appreciate Kartana's wallbreaking prowess such as Choice Scarf Tapu Lele, Ash-Greninja, and Mega Lopunny make for good teammates as well.

[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Leaf Blade
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Sacred Sword
move 4: Return / Smart Strike
item: Choice Band
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
A Choice Band gives Kartana the ability to harshly pressure most of its usual checks without having to dedicate a turn to set up. After the boost from Choice Band, Leaf Blade is capable of 2HKOing almost every single neutral target in the metagame, making it a very risk-free and spammable move once checks have been weakened. A strong Knock Off is another draw of this set, allowing Kartana to greatly damage checks in Mega Latias and Mega Latios and punish sturdier checks such as Zapdos, Corviknight, and Tangrowth by removing their item. Sacred Sword takes care of Steel-types such as Ferrothorn and Heatran, as well as some other Grass-resistant Pokémon in Hydreigon and Kyurem. Return gives Kartana a strong neutral hit on Pokemon like Zapdos, Tangrowth, Amoonguss, and Moltres that would otherwise tank its attacks but should be careful of Zapdos' Static and Tangrowth's Rocky Helment. Smart Strike rounds can be used to hit the likes of Mega Mawile and Tangrowth harder than anything else, while almost always OHKOing physically defensive Clefable.

Kartana fits well on balance and bulky offensive teams as a fearsome wallbreaker that can make great amounts of progress throughout the game if it predicts correctly. Stealth Rock setters are very important, since they can allow Kartana to heavily pressure Zapdos and Moltres after removing Heavy-Duty Boots. Thus, the likes of Landorus, Mega Tyranitar, Heatran, Clefable, and Garchomp pair well. Mega Tyranitar, as well as Weavile, can also trap and weaken or dispose of Mega Latias, Heatran, and Zapdos, making Kartana's job easier and less prediction-reliant. Meanwhile, Garchomp can easily pressure Zapdos, overwhelm overlapping checks such as Tangrowth and Corviknight, and lure Mega Latias with Devastating Drake. Magnezone is a notable partner due to its ability to trap some of the best checks to Kartana in Mega Scizor, Corviknight, and Skarmory. Other wallbreakers that can pressure Kartana's checks in Zapdos, Tangrowth, and Mega Scizor can also prove to be good teammates. Examples include the likes of Heatran and Ash-Greninja. Pivoting support from the likes of Tapu Koko, Mega Lopunny, Slowbro and Landorus-T and Corviknight can greatly increase the amount of opportunities for Kartana to break walls by granting it safe ways to enter a match. Lastly, late-game cleaners that can wrap up the game after Kartana has done its job such as Mega Lopunny, Choice Scarf Landorus-T, and Swords Dance Weavile in general, SD or Band is a good late game cleaner Weavile are good options as well.

[SET]
name: Synthesis Utility
move 1: Leaf Blade
move 2: Synthesis
move 3: Knock Off / Sacred Sword
move 4: Defog
item: Grassium Z
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Jolly
evs: 136 HP / 120 Atk / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
With Synthesis, Kartana can provide valuable utility in reliably checking the metagame's dangerous Ground-types in Garchomp, Landorus-T, Mega Swampert and Gliscor, as well as an array of additional threats such as Mega Tyranitar lacking Fire Punch Bisharp, Mega Tyranitar lacking Fire Punch, and Mega Swampert lacking Superpower. Combine Mega Swampert with ground types/ Leaf Blade alongside Grassium Z allows Kartana to properly threaten the Ground-types it checks, taking them out after little to no chip with Bloom Doom. Knock Off gives Kartana additional utility in punishing common switch-ins such as Zapdos and Corviknight, as well as removing items from the likes of Ferrothorn and Heatran. Alternatively, Sacred Sword may be used to directly threaten Ferrothorn and Heatran, but dropping the utility of Knock Off is undesirable. Defog enables Kartana to fully check Garchomp, non-Flyinium-Z Landorus-T, Mega Tyranitar, and Ferrothorn by nullifying their attempts at setting up entry hazards. 120 Attack EVs allow Kartana to OHKO Garchomp with Bloom Doom. The remaining EVs are allocated to HP so that Kartana can check Ground-types more consistently.

Kartana fits best on balance and bulky offensive teams in need of a sturdy check to Ground-types. As such, Pokémon that appreciate Ground-types out of the picture such as Heatran, Mega Mawile, and Toxapex can prove to be good teammates. Pursuit support from Mega Tyranitar and Weavile is useful, as it pressures Mega Latias and weakens Zapdos, which are some of Kartana's best checks, especially for non-Knock Off variants. Notably, this can chip Zapdos into the range of a boosted Bloom Doom if Kartana is running Swords Dance. However, when pairing Kartana with Mega Tyranitar, be careful with your timing and positioning, as Synthesis recovers less HP in sand. Kartana is easily forced out by special attackers or faster threats such as Ash-Greninja, Mega Latias, and Mega Lopunny. As such, it requires a sturdy defensive backbone to take these threats on, which may consist of Pokémon such as Ferrothorn, specially defensive Heatran, Slowbro, and Toxapex. All of these bar Slowbro are susceptible to entry hazards due to the amount of times they are required to pivot into various threats throughout a match, and therefore enjoy Kartana's Defog support. Ferrothorn is particularly notable, as it can pressure Zapdos with Knock Off and Toxic, and provide Spikes support to make the most out of Kartana's tendency to force switches. Lastly, Kartana has the tendency to force Knock Off on Pokémon such as Ferrothorn, Heatran, Toxapex, and Tangrowth. As a result, Pokémon that can take advantage of this such as Calm Mind Clefable and Tapu Lele are good options to consider as well.

[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Leaf Blade
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Sacred Sword
move 4: Smart Strike / Defog
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
A Choice Scarf sacrifices a great deal of Kartana's wallbreaking prowess, instead allowing it to function as a revenge killer earlier on in games by outpacing common offensive Pokemon such as Mega Lopunny, Ash-Greninja, Tapu Koko, +1 Mega Gyarados, and Weavile and either defeating them or forcing them out. Once the opponent's team has been weakened sufficiently, Kartana can then clean up late-game with the assistance of its enhanced Speed and Beast Boost. Knock Off is a great move that punishes checks such as Zapdos, Corviknight, and Moltres. It is also Kartana's best option against Mega Latias and Mega Latios, as after minor chip they can be broken through. Sacred Sword is a crucial coverage move, enabling Kartana to hit opposing Steel-types such as Ferrothorn and Heatran, as well as almost always OHKO Mega Lopunny. Smart Strike rounds out the set as a reliable secondary STAB move that provides the strongest hit against threats such as Clefable and Kyurem. Defog may be used instead to remove entry hazards for more offensive teams.

Kartana fits best in offensive teams in need of a revenge killer and late-game wincon in one. As Kartana is a good late-game cleaner once the opposing team has been weakened, it is a good idea to pair it with early-game wallbreakers that can threaten or take advantage of Kartana's checks in Zapdos, Mega Latias, Tangrowth, and Corviknight. Good examples include Garchomp, Kyurem, Weavile, Mega Medicham and Tapu Lele. Pursuit support from the likes of Mega Tyranitar and Weavile is appreciated in order to trap the likes of Mega Latias, Mega Latios, and Heatran, as this allows Kartana to spam Leaf Blade late-game. Mega Tyranitar also provides Stealth Rock support, which is important to pressure Zapdos and Moltres once Kartana has removed their Heavy-Duty Boots. Similarly, Magnezone is a notable partner due to its ability to trap Steel-types such as Mega Scizor, Corviknight, Ferrothorn, and Skarmory. Kartana is incapable of revenge killing a healthy Mega Mawile, Mega Scizor, and Volcarona. Therefore, running Pokemon that can deal with them such as Heatran and Toxapex is very advisable.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Darkinium Z along with a Swords Dance boost enables Kartana to remove Mega Latios and a Mega Latias in its base form on the switch. However, forgoing both Normalium Z and Fightinium Z means Kartana will be unable to adequately pressure its two most common checks in Zapdos and Corviknight Mega Scizor. Toxic can be used on Choice Scarf sets to cripple checks like Zapdos and Tangrowth, but it’s undesirable to lock into due to the number of Pokemon in the tier that are immune to poison. Swords Dance Kartana can explore other item options, such as Life Orb for more power or Salac Berry with Endure to beat Pokemon like Mega Lopunny, Tapu Koko, and Choice Scarf Magnezone. However, these options often need to forgo too much of Kartana’s longevity or coverage. A Swords Dance set with 19 Attack EVs and a Timid nature to boost Kartana’s Speed with Beast Boost may seem desirable, as it allows Kartana to outspeed checks such as Weavile, Mega Latias and Latios as well as Tapu Koko, Mega Lopunny and Greninja. but it is often extremely weak and outclassed by regular Swords Dance and Choice Scarf variants.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Flying-types**: Corviknight, Zapdos, Moltres, Skarmory, and Mega Charizard Y are some of the best checks to Kartana due to their resistance to Leaf Blade and Smart Strike Kartana's STAB moves. However Corviknight and Skarmory cannot comfortably deal with Swords Dance + Sacred Sword in the long term, with Corviknight being forced to pivot. On top of that, Zapdos can heavily cripple Kartana with Static. However, Corviknight and Skarmory must be cautious of a boosted All-Out Pummeling and Zapdos, Moltres, and Mega Charizard Y are pressured heavily by Normalium Z variants and Choice Band boosted Return. On top of that, none of Zapdos, Moltres, Skarmory, or Corviknight appreciate their item being removed by Knock Off. Landorus-T can soft-check Kartana for a while as well, but its lack of reliable recovery makes it prone to being worn down in the long run.

**Mega Latias and Mega Latios**: Both Mega Latias and Mega Latios can can't stomach all of Kartana's attacks relatively easily, however they can switch in to unboosted attacks, including Knock Off, and have the ability to revenge kill it. bar a Choice Band-boosted Knock Off or the rare Black Hole Eclipse. As they outspeed non-Choice Scarf variants, they can both proceed to use Kartana as setup bait or force it out with strong moves, respectively. However, they must be wary of Toxic taking minor chip as Choice Scarf Knock Off can break through them.

**Steel-types**: Steel-types that aren't weak to Sacred Sword such as Mega Scizor and Mega Mawile are all capable of checking Kartana to a degree. However Scizor's varients such as Adamant Superpower are 2KOed by Choice Band Scared Sword after minor chip. Mega Mawile is also limited in capability as without Fire Fang or Brick Break, it cannot reliably touch Kartana. It's lack of recovery also makes it successeptable to chip. However, they can all be overwhelmed by +2 All-Out Pummeling Other Steel-types can prevent choiced variants of Kartana from spamming Leaf Blade, but they need to be wary of its coverage.

**Grass-types**: The likes of Tangrowth and Amoonguss can easily scout any of Kartana's attacks and force it out, while keeping healthy with Regenerator. Neither of them appreciate a boosted Breakneck Blitz, however. Serperior can soft-check Kartana, especially Synthesis variants so it must be wary.

**Magnezone**: Choice Scarf Magnezone is able to trap every non-Choice Scarf Kartana set courtesy of Magnet Pull and Hidden Power Fire. A healthy non-Choice Scarf Magnezone is also capable of surviving non-Choice Band Sacred Sword and finishing Kartana off.

**Faster threats**: Although they cannot switch into Kartana safely, many offensive Pokemon that can outspeed non-Choice Scarf Kartana will more than likely force it out. Examples include Ash-Greninja, Mega Lopunny, Hawlucha Choice Scarf Tapu Lele, and Choice Scarf Victini.

**Contact Items/Abilities**
Kartana is easily worn down by contact effects such as Tangrowth, Corviknight and Landorus-T's Rocky Helmet, Ferrothorn's Iron Barbs, Tank Garchomp's Rough Skin as well as Volcarona and Moltres' Flame Body and Zapdos' Static. The highest threat would be status effects and therefore Kartana should be very careful if it's a non-z variant.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Guard, 360582]]
- Quality checked by: [[Sputnik, 475916], [username2, userid2], [username3, userid3]]
- Grammar checked by: [[username1, userid1], [username2, userid2]]

 

[Solaros & Lunaris]

Implemented, GP Team this is ready

 

[UT]

add remove conjecture

GP Check

[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Leaf Blade
move 3: Sacred Sword
move 4: Giga Impact / Knock Off
item: Normalium Z / Fightinium Z
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Kartana is a menacing presence in the National Dex metagame due to its magnificent Attack, high Speed, a great ability in Beast Boost, and access to Swords Dance. On top of that, Kartana also has a very good offensive and defensive typing. Defensively, its many resistances along with its and good physical bulk aids Kartana in setting up against the likes of Gliscor, Landorus-T, and Ferrothorn. Offensively, Kartana's typing alongside its coverage is and coverage are also very good, as it is capable of pressuring common bulky Water- and Steel-types hyphen, such as Tapu Fini, Slowbro, Heatran, and Ferrothorn, with Leaf Blade and Sacred Sword, (comma) respectively. Giga Impact alongside Normalium Z allows Kartana to overwhelm some of its best checks in Zapdos and physically defensive Tangrowth after a Swords Dance boost. On the other hand, Fightinium Z can be used to easily remove Mega Scizor, Skarmory, and Corviknight, with Knock Off in the fourth slot to cripple Pokemon like Volcarona, Zapdos, and Moltres. However, it makes Kartana less impactful against Zapdos and Tangrowth.

Kartana fits best on balance and bulky offensive teams that are capable of providing it with proper support it needs to break open teams. Mega Tyranitar is extremely useful for Kartana, as it is capable of removing many roadblocks to Kartana's sweep with Pursuit, such as Mega Latias and Mega Latios, and heavily pressures Zapdos in case Kartana needs to preserve its Z-Move for another target. It can also set Stealth Rock, which is particularly important for Knock Off variants, as it allows Kartana to punish Zapdos more effectively after removing Heavy-Duty Boots. In a similar vein, Magnezone is a potent teammate due to its ability to trap Mega Scizor, Corviknight, and Skarmory, which are some of the very few hard-checks to Normalium Z Kartana. Pokemon that can pressure Kartana's other common checks in Tangrowth and Landorus-T such as Garchomp, Greninja, Mega Lopunny, and Mega Mawile can prove to be are great partners. In turn, Kartana can heavily pressure some of their checks in Tapu Fini, Slowbro, and Heatran. Kartana requires a good defensive backbone, as it is quite specially you talk about it having good physical bulk earlier frail and prone to being revenge killed by the likes of Mega Lopunny, Ash-Greninja, and Mega Latias. As a result, the likes of Tapu Fini, Toxapex, and the aforementioned Mega Tyranitar make for good teammates. Given Kartana’s poor special bulk, Pokémon Pokemon that can pivot Kartana into battle such as Mega Lopunny, Rotom-W, and Landorus-T are useful teammates. Lastly, late-game cleaners than appreciate Kartana's wallbreaking prowess such as Choice Scarf Tapu Lele, Ash-Greninja, and Mega Lopunny and make for good teammates as well.

[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Leaf Blade
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Sacred Sword
move 4: Return / Smart Strike
item: Choice Band
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
A Choice Band gives Kartana the ability to harshly pressures most of its usual checks without having to dedicate a turn to set up. After the boost from Choice Band, Leaf Blade is capable of 2HKOing 2HKOes almost every single neutral target in the metagame, making it a very risk-free and spammable move once Kartana's checks have been weakened. A strong Knock Off is another draw of this set, allowing Kartana to greatly damage checks in Mega Latias and Mega Latios, (comma) and punish sturdier checks such as Zapdos, Corviknight, and Tangrowth by removing their item. Sacred Sword takes care of Steel-types such as Ferrothorn and Heatran, as well as some other Grass-resistant Pokémon Pokemon in Hydreigon and Kyurem. Return gives Kartana a strong neutral hit on Pokemon like Zapdos, Tangrowth, and Moltres that would otherwise tank its attacks. Alternatively, Smart Strike can be used to hit the likes of Mega Mawile and Tangrowth harder than anything else, while almost always OHKOing physically defensive Clefable.

Kartana fits well on balance and bulky offensive teams as a fearsome wallbreaker that can make great amounts of progress throughout the game if it predicts correctly. Stealth Rock setters are very important, since they can allow Kartana to heavily pressure Zapdos and Moltres after removing Heavy-Duty Boots. Thus, the likes of Mega Tyranitar, Heatran, Clefable, and Landorus-T pair well with Kartana. Weavile and the aforementioned Mega Tyranitar can trap and weaken or dispose of Mega Latias, Heatran, and Zapdos, making Kartana's job easier and less prediction-reliant. Magnezone is a notable partner due to its ability to trap some of the best checks to Kartana in Mega Scizor, Corviknight, and Skarmory. Other wallbreakers that can pressure Kartana's checks in Zapdos, Tangrowth, and Mega Scizor can also prove to be good teammates. Examples include the likes of Heatran and Ash-Greninja. Pivoting support from the likes of Tapu Koko, Mega Lopunny, and Landorus-T can greatly increase the amount of opportunities for Kartana to break walls by granting it safe ways to enter a match. Lastly, late-game cleaners that can wrap up the game after Kartana has done its job such as Mega Lopunny, Choice Scarf Tapu Lele, and Swords Dance Weavile are good options as well.

[SET]
name: Synthesis Utility
move 1: Leaf Blade
move 2: Synthesis
move 3: Knock Off / Sacred Sword
move 4: Defog
item: Grassium Z
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Jolly
evs: 136 HP / 120 Atk / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
With Synthesis, Kartana can provide valuable utility in reliably checking the metagame's dangerous Ground-types in Garchomp, Landorus-T, Mega Swampert, and Gliscor, as well as Mega Tyranitar lacking Fire Punch. Leaf Blade alongside Grassium Z allows Kartana to properly threaten the Ground-types it checks, taking them out after little to no little-to-no chip with Bloom Doom. Knock Off gives Kartana additional utility in punishing common switch-ins such as Zapdos and Corviknight, as well as removing items from the likes of Ferrothorn and Heatran. Alternatively, Sacred Sword may be used to directly threaten Ferrothorn and Heatran, but dropping the utility of Knock Off is undesirable. Defog enables Kartana to fully check Garchomp, Landorus-T, Mega Tyranitar, and Ferrothorn by nullifying their attempts at setting up entry hazards. 120 Attack EVs allow Kartana to OHKO Garchomp with Bloom Doom. The remaining EVs are allocated to HP so that Kartana can check Ground-types more consistently.

Kartana fits best on balance and bulky offensive teams in need of a sturdy check to Ground-types. As such, Pokémon Pokemon that appreciate Ground-types out of the picture such as Heatran, Mega Mawile, and Toxapex can prove to be good teammates. Pursuit support from Mega Tyranitar and Weavile is useful, as it pressures Mega Latias and weakens Zapdos, which are some of Kartana's best checks, especially for non-Knock Off variants. However, when pairing Kartana with Mega Tyranitar, be careful with your timing and positioning, as Synthesis recovers less HP in sand. Kartana is easily forced out by special attackers or faster threats such as Ash-Greninja, Mega Latias, and Mega Lopunny. As such, it requires a sturdy defensive backbone to take these threats on, which may consist of Pokémon Pokemon such as specially defensive Heatran, Slowbro, and Toxapex. All of these bar Slowbro are susceptible to entry hazards due to the amount of times they are required to pivot into various threats throughout a match, (comma) and therefore appreciate Kartana’s Defog support. Lastly, Kartana has the tendency to force Knock Off on Pokémon Pokemon such as Ferrothorn, Heatran, Toxapex, and Tangrowth. As a result, Pokémon that can take advantage of this such as Tangrowth, so partners like Calm Mind Clefable and Tapu Lele are good options to consider as well.

[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Leaf Blade
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Sacred Sword
move 4: Smart Strike / Defog
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
A Choice Scarf sacrifices a great deal of Kartana's wallbreaking prowess, instead allowing it to function Kartana functions as a revenge killer earlier early on in games by outpacing common offensive Pokemon such as Mega Lopunny, Ash-Greninja, Tapu Koko, +1 Mega Gyarados, and Weavile and either defeating them or forcing them out. Once the opponent's team has been weakened sufficiently, Kartana can then clean up late-game with the assistance of its enhanced Speed and Beast Boost. Knock Off is a great move that punishes checks such as Zapdos, Corviknight, and Moltres. It is also Kartana's best option against Mega Latias and Mega Latios. Sacred Sword is a crucial coverage move, enabling Kartana to hit opposing Steel-types such as Ferrothorn and Heatran, as well as almost always OHKOing Mega Lopunny. Smart Strike rounds out the set as a reliable secondary STAB move that provides the strongest hit against threats such as Clefable and Kyurem. Defog may be used instead to remove entry hazards for more offensive teams.

Kartana fits best in offensive teams in need of a revenge killer and late-game wincon sweeper in one. As Kartana is a good late-game cleaner once the opposing team has been weakened, it is a good idea to pair it with early-game wallbreakers that can threaten or take advantage of Kartana's checks in Zapdos, Mega Latias, Tangrowth, and Corviknight. Good examples include Garchomp, Kyurem, Weavile, Mega Medicham, and Tapu Lele. Pursuit support from the likes of Mega Tyranitar and Weavile is appreciated in order to trap the likes of Mega Latias, Mega Latios, and Heatran, as this allows Kartana to spam Leaf Blade late-game. Mega Tyranitar also provides Stealth Rock support, which is important to pressure Zapdos and Moltres once Kartana has removed their Heavy-Duty Boots. Similarly, Magnezone is a notable partner due to its ability to trap Steel-types such as Mega Scizor, Corviknight, Ferrothorn, and Skarmory. Kartana is incapable of revenge killing a healthy Mega Mawile, Mega Scizor, and Volcarona. Therefore, Volcarona, so running Pokemon that can deal with them such as Heatran and Toxapex is very advisable.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Darkinium Z along with a Swords Dance boost enables Kartana to remove Mega Latios and a Mega Latias in its base form on the switch. However, forgoing both Normalium Z and Fightinium Z means Kartana will be unable to adequately pressure its two most common checks in Zapdos and Mega Scizor. Toxic can be used on Choice Scarf sets to cripple checks like Zapdos and Tangrowth, but it’s undesirable to lock into due to the number of Pokemon in the tier that are immune to poison. Swords Dance Kartana can explore other item options, such as Life Orb for more power or Salac Berry with Endure to beat Pokemon like Mega Lopunny, Tapu Koko, and Choice Scarf Magnezone. However, these options often need to forgo too much of Kartana’s longevity or coverage. A Swords Dance set with 19 Attack EVs and a Timid nature to boost Kartana’s Speed with Beast Boost may seem desirable, as it allows Kartana to outspeed checks such as Weavile, Mega Latias and Latios as well as Tapu Koko, Mega Lopunny and Greninja. However, it can struggle to properly wallbreak, and can often feel outxlassed outclassed by Swords Dance and Choice Scarf sets.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Flying-types**: Corviknight, Zapdos, Moltres, Skarmory, and Mega Charizard Y are some of the best checks to Kartana due to their resistance to Leaf Blade. On top of that, Zapdos can heavily cripple Kartana with Static. However, Corviknight and Skarmory must be cautious of boosted Sacred Swords and Zapdos, Moltres, and Mega Charizard Y are pressured heavily by Normalium Z variants and Choice Band-boosted hyphen Return. On top of that, none of Zapdos, Moltres, Skarmory, or Corviknight appreciate their item being removed by Knock Off. Landorus-T can soft-check Kartana for a while as well, but its lack of reliable recovery makes it prone to being worn down in the long run.

**Mega Latias and Mega Latios**: Both Mega Latias and Mega Latios can stomach all of Kartana's attacks relatively easily, bar a Choice Band-boosted Knock Off or the rare Black Hole Eclipse. As they outspeed non-Choice Scarf variants, they can both proceed to use Kartana as setup bait or force it out with strong moves, respectively. However, they must be wary of taking too much damage, as Knock Off from Choice Scarf sets can rip through them.

**Steel-types**: Steel-types that aren't weak to Sacred Sword such as Mega Scizor and Mega Mawile are all capable of checking Kartana to a degree. However, they can all be overwhelmed by +2 All-Out Pummeling. Other Steel-types can prevent choiced Choice variants of Kartana from spamming Leaf Blade, but they need to be wary of its coverage.

**Grass-types**: The likes of Tangrowth and Amoonguss can easily scout any of Kartana's attacks and force it out, (comma) while keeping healthy with Regenerator. Neither of them appreciate a boosted Breakneck Blitz, however. Serperior cannot switch into Kartana, but it can revenge kill all variants without a Choice Scarf.

**Magnezone**: Choice Scarf Magnezone is able to trap every non-Choice Scarf Kartana set courtesy of Magnet Pull and Hidden Power Fire. A healthy non-Choice Scarf Magnezone is also capable of surviving non-Choice Band Sacred Sword and finishing Kartana off.

**Faster threats**: Although they cannot switch into Kartana safely, many offensive Pokemon that can outspeed non-Choice Scarf Kartana will more than likely force it out. Examples include Ash-Greninja, Mega Lopunny, Hawlucha, and Choice Scarf Victini.

**Contact Items/Abilities**: Kartana is easily worn down by contact effects such as Tangrowth, Corviknight and Landorus-T's Rocky Helmet, Ferrothorn's Iron Barbs, Tank Garchomp's Rough Skin as well as Volcarona and Moltres' Flame Body and Zapdos' Static. The highest threat would be status effects and therefore Kartana should be very careful if it's a non-z variant.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Guard, 360582]]
- Quality checked by: [[Sputnik, 475916], [username2, userid2], [username3, userid3]] don't forget to fill these out
- Grammar checked by: [[UT, 523866], [username2, userid2]]

GP 1/1!

GP Team done

 

[Sulo]

amgp check, implement what you want
add remove comment
ac = add comma
rc = remove comma
ap = add period
ah = add hyphen

blades of steel

[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Leaf Blade
move 3: Sacred Sword
move 4: Giga Impact / Knock Off
item: Normalium Z / Fightinium Z
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Kartana is a menacing presence in the tier National Dex metagame due to its magnificent Attack, high Speed, a great ability in Beast Boost, and access to Swords Dance. On top of that, Kartana also has a very good offensive and defensive typing. Its Defensively, its many resistances alongside with its good physical bulk aids Kartana in setting up against the likes of Gliscor, Landorus-T, and Ferrothorn. Offensively, Kartana's typing alongside its coverage is also very good, as it is capable of pressuring common bulky Water- and Steel-types (ah) (rc) such as Tapu Fini, Slowbro, Heatran, and Ferrothorn, with Leaf Blade and Sacred Sword respectively. Giga Impact alongside Normalium Z allows Kartana to overwhelm some of its best checks in Zapdos and physically defensive Tangrowth after a Swords Dance boost. On the other hand, Fightinium Z can be used to easily remove Mega Scizor, Skarmory, and Corviknight, with Knock Off in the fourth slot to cripple Pokemon like Volcarona, Zapdos, and Moltres. However, it renders makes Kartana useless less impactful against Zapdos and Tangrowth.

Kartana fits best on balance and bulky offense offensive teams that can provide are capable of providing it with proper support it needs wallbreak. to break open teams. Mega Tyranitar is extremely useful for Kartana, as it can remove Pokemon that wall Kartana it is capable of removing many roadblocks to Kartana's sweep with Pursuit, such as Mega Latias and Mega Latios. (ap) and It also heavily pressures Zapdos, (ac) letting Kartana in case Kartana needs to preserve its Z-Move for another target. It can also set Stealth Rock, which is particularly important for Knock Off variants, letting as it allows Kartana to punish Zapdos more effectively after removing Heavy-Duty Boots. In a similar vein, Magnezone is a potent teammate due to its ability to trap Mega Scizor, Corviknight, and Skarmory, which are some of the very few counters hard-checks to Normalium Z Kartana. Pokemon that can pressure Kartana's other common checks in Tangrowth and Landorus-T, (ac) such as Garchomp, Greninja, Mega Lopunny, and Mega Mawile can prove to be great partners. In turn, Kartana can heavily pressure some of their checks in Tapu Fini, Slowbro, and Heatran. Kartana requires a good defensive backbone, as it is quite frail and prone to being revenge killed by the likes of Mega Lopunny, Ash-Greninja, and Mega Latias. As a result, the likes of Tapu Fini, Toxapex, and the aforementioned Mega Tyranitar make for good teammates. Given Kartana’s poor bulk, Pokémon that can pivot Kartana in into battle such as Mega Lopunny, Rotom-W, and Landorus-T are useful teammates. Late-game cleaners that Lastly, late-game cleaners than appreciate Kartana's wallbreaking prowess such as Choice Scarf Tapu Lele, Ash-Greninja, and Mega Lopunny make for good teammates as well.

[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Leaf Blade
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Sacred Sword
move 4: Return / Smart Strike
item: Choice Band
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
A Choice Band gives Kartana the ability to harshly pressure most of its usual checks without dedicating having to dedicate a turn to set up. The boost from Choice Band makes Leaf Blade 2HKO After the boost from Choice Band, Leaf Blade is capable of 2HKOing almost every single neutral target in the tier metagame, making it a very risk-free and spammable move once checks have been weakened. A strong Knock Off is another draw of this set, allowing lets Kartana to greatly damage checks in Mega Latias and Mega Latios, and punish sturdier checks such as Zapdos, Corviknight, and Tangrowth by removing their item. Sacred Sword takes care of Steel-types such as Ferrothorn and Heatran, as well as some other Grass-resistant Pokémon in Hydreigon and Kyurem. Return gives Kartana a strong neutral hit on Pokemon like Zapdos, Tangrowth, and Moltres (moltres def not relevant enough to mention this imo. i'd change it to zardy but you can always take it up with other qc members) that would otherwise tank its attacks. Alternatively, Smart Strike can be used to hit the likes of Mega Mawile and Tangrowth harder than anything else, while almost always OHKOing physically defensive Clefable.

Kartana fits well on balance and bulky offense offensive teams as a fearsome wallbreaker that can make great amounts of progress throughout the game if it predicts correctly. Stealth Rock setters are very important, since they can allow Kartana to heavily pressure Zapdos and Moltres after removing Heavy-Duty Boots. Thus, the likes of Mega Tyranitar, Heatran, Clefable, and Landorus-T are examples of good Stealth Rock setters. pair well. Weavile and the aforementioned Mega Tyranitar can trap and weaken or dispose of Mega Latias, Heatran, and Zapdos, making Kartana's job easier and less prediction-reliant. Magnezone is a notable partner due to its ability to trap some of the best checks to Kartana in Mega Scizor, Corviknight, and Skarmory. (this just seems like fluff to me. all of these were already mentioned as kart checks and zone was brought up as a partner in the sd norm z set) Other wallbreakers that can pressure Kartana's checks in Zapdos, Tangrowth, and Mega Scizor can also prove to be good teammates. Examples of this include the likes of Heatran and Ash-Greninja. Pivoting support from the likes of Tapu Koko, Mega Lopunny, and Landorus-T is appreciated, as they give Kartana more opportunities to safely hit the field and wallbreak. can greatly increase the amount of opportunities for Kartana to break walls by granting it safe ways to enter a match. Late-game cleaners Lastly, late-game cleaners that can KO weakened walls, wrap up the game after Kartana has done its job such as Mega Lopunny, Choice Scarf Tapu Lele, and Swords Dance Weavile, are good partners for it. good options as well.

[SET]
name: Synthesis Utility
move 1: Leaf Blade
move 2: Synthesis
move 3: Knock Off / Sacred Sword
move 4: Defog
item: Grassium Z
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Jolly
evs: 136 HP / 120 Atk / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
With Synthesis and Defog, Kartana can provide valuable utility by in reliably checking the tiers metagame's dangerous Ground-types in Garchomp, Landorus-T, Mega Swampert, and Gliscor. (ap) It can also check as well as Mega Tyranitar lacking Fire Punch. Leaf Blade alongside Grassium Z allows Kartana to properly threaten the Ground-types it checks, taking them out after little to no chip with Bloom Doom. Knock Off gives Kartana additional utility in punishing common switch-ins such as Zapdos and Corviknight, as well as removing items from the likes of Ferrothorn and Heatran. Alternatively, Sacred Sword may be used to directly threaten Ferrothorn and Heatran, but dropping the utility of Knock Off is undesirable. Defog improves its matchup into the Pokemon it's supposed to check by removing the entry hazards they set, making it and its teammates harder to wear down. enables Kartana to fully check Garchomp, Landorus-T, Mega Tyranitar, and Ferrothorn by nullifying their attempts at setting up entry hazards. 120 Attack EVs allow Kartana to OHKO Garchomp with Bloom Doom. The remaining EVs are allocated to HP so that Kartana can check Ground-types more consistently.

Kartana fits best on balance and bulky offense offensive teams in need of a sturdy check to Ground-types. As such, Pokémon that appreciate Ground-types out of the picture such as Heatran, Mega Mawile, and Toxapex are can prove to be good teammates. Pursuit support from Mega Tyranitar and Weavile is useful, as it pressures Mega Latias and weakens Zapdos, both of which being good checks to Kartana variants that lack Knock Off. which are some of Kartana's best checks, especially for non-Knock Off variants. However, when pairing Kartana with Mega Tyranitar, be careful with your timing and positioning, as Synthesis recovers less HP in sand. Kartana is easily forced out by special attackers or faster threats such as Ash-Greninja, Mega Latias, and Mega Lopunny. As such, it requires a sturdy defensive backbone to take these threats on, such as which may consist of Pokémon such as specially defensive Heatran, Slowbro, and Toxapex. Kartana can remove entry hazards for them with Defog, as all of the aforementioned walls are susceptible to them, bar Slowbro. All of these bar Slowbro are susceptible to entry hazards due to the amount of times they are required to pivot into various threats throughout a match, and therefore appreciate Kartana’s Defog support. Lastly, Kartana has the tendency to remove items from force Knock Off on Pokémon such as Ferrothorn, Heatran, Toxapex, and Tangrowth. As a result, Pokémon that can take advantage of this such as Calm Mind Clefable and Tapu Lele are good options to consider as well.

[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Leaf Blade
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Sacred Sword
move 4: Smart Strike / Defog
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
A Choice Scarf sacrifices a great deal of Kartana's wallbreaking prowess (rc) and makes it instead allowing it to function as a revenge killer that outpaces earlier on in games by outpacing common offensive Pokemon such as Mega Lopunny, Ash-Greninja, Tapu Koko, +1 Mega Gyarados, and Weavile and either KOes defeating them or forcing them out. Once the opponent's team has been sufficiently weakened, weakened sufficiently, Kartana can then clean up late-game with the assistance of its enhanced Speed and Beast Boost. Knock Off is a great move that punishes checks such as Zapdos, Corviknight, and Moltres. It is also Kartana's best option against Mega Latias and Mega Latios. Sacred Sword is a crucial coverage move, letting enabling Kartana to hit opposing Steel-types such as Ferrothorn and Heatran, as well as almost always OHKO Mega Lopunny. Smart Strike rounds out the set as a reliable secondary STAB move that hits provides the strongest hit against threats such as Clefable and Kyurem for super effective damage. Defog may be used instead of Smart Strike to remove entry hazards for more offensive teams.

Kartana fits best on in offensive teams in need of a revenge killer and late-game wincon in one slot. Because Kartana needs the opposing team weakened to efficiently clean late-game, As Kartana is a good late-game cleaner once the opposing team has been weakened, it is a good idea to pair it with early-game wallbreakers that can threaten or take advantage of Kartana's checks in Zapdos, Mega Latias, Tangrowth, and Corviknight. Good examples include Garchomp, Kyurem, Weavile, Mega Medicham, and Tapu Lele. Pursuit support from the likes of Mega Tyranitar and Weavile is appreciated in order to trap the likes of Mega Latias, Mega Latios, and Heatran. (ap) This as this allows Kartana to spam Leaf Blade late-game. Mega Tyranitar also provides Stealth Rock support, which is important in pressuring to pressure Zapdos and Moltres once Kartana removes has removed their Heavy-Duty Boots. Similarly, Magnezone is a notable partner due to its ability to trap Steel-types such as Mega Scizor, Corviknight, Ferrothorn, and Skarmory. Kartana is incapable of revenge killing a healthy Mega Mawile, Mega Scizor, and Volcarona. Therefore, running Pokemon that can deal with them such as Heatran and Toxapex is very advisable.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Darkinium Z along with a Swords Dance boost enables lets Kartana to remove Mega Latios and a Mega Latias in its base form on the switch. However, forgoing both Normalium Z and Fightinium Z means Kartana will be unable to adequately pressure its two most common checks in Zapdos and Mega Scizor. Toxic can be used on Choice Scarf sets to cripple checks like Zapdos and Tangrowth, but it’s undesirable to lock into due to the number of Pokemon in the tier that are immune to poison. Swords Dance Kartana can explore other item options, such as Life Orb for more power or Salac Berry with Endure to beat Pokemon like Mega Lopunny, Tapu Koko, and Choice Scarf Magnezone. However, these options often need to forgo too much of Kartana’s longevity or coverage. A Swords Dance set with 19 Attack EVs and a Timid nature to boost Kartana’s Speed with Beast Boost may seem desirable, as it allows Kartana to outspeed checks such as Weavile, Mega Latias and Latios as well as Tapu Koko, Mega Lopunny and Greninja. However, it can struggle to properly wallbreak, and is often outclassed can often feel outxlassed by Swords Dance and Choice Scarf sets.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Flying-types**: Corviknight, Zapdos, Moltres, Skarmory, and Mega Charizard Y are some of the best checks to Kartana due to their resistance to Leaf Blade. On top of that, Zapdos can heavily cripple Kartana with Static. However, Corviknight and Skarmory must be cautious of boosted Sacred Swords and Zapdos, Moltres, and Mega Charizard Y are pressured heavily by Normalium Z variants and Choice Band boosted Return. On top of that, none of Zapdos, Moltres, Skarmory, or Corviknight appreciate their item being removed by Knock Off. Landorus-T can soft-check Kartana for a while as well, but its lack of reliable recovery makes it prone to being worn down in the long run.

**Mega Latias and Mega Latios**: Both Mega Latias and Mega Latios can stomach all of Kartana's attacks relatively easily, bar a Choice Band-boosted Knock Off or the rare Black Hole Eclipse. As they outspeed non-Choice Scarf variants, they can both proceed to use Kartana as setup bait or force it out with strong moves, respectively. However, they must be wary of taking too much damage, as Knock Off from Choice Scarf sets can rip through them.

**Steel-types**: Steel-types that aren't weak to Sacred Sword such as Mega Scizor and Mega Mawile are all capable of checking Kartana to a degree. However, they can all be overwhelmed by +2 All-Out Pummeling. Other Steel-types can prevent choiced variants of Kartana from spamming Leaf Blade, but they need to be wary of its coverage.

**Grass-types**: The likes of Tangrowth and Amoonguss can easily scout any of Kartana's attacks and force it out, while keeping healthy with Regenerator. Neither of them appreciate a boosted Breakneck Blitz, however. Serperior cannot switch into Kartana, but it can revenge kill all variants without a Choice Scarf.

**Magnezone**: Choice Scarf Magnezone is able to trap every non-Choice Scarf Kartana set courtesy of Magnet Pull and Hidden Power Fire. A healthy non-Choice Scarf Magnezone is also capable of surviving non-Choice Band Sacred Sword and finishing Kartana off.

**Faster threats**: Although they cannot switch into Kartana safely, many offensive Pokemon that can outspeed non-Choice Scarf Kartana will more than likely force it out. Examples include Ash-Greninja, Mega Lopunny, Hawlucha, and Choice Scarf Victini.

**Contact Items/Abilities**: Kartana is easily worn down by contact effects such as Tangrowth, Corviknight and Landorus-T's Rocky Helmet, Ferrothorn's Iron Barbs, Tank Garchomp's Rough Skin as well as Volcarona and Moltres' Flame Body and Zapdos' Static. The highest threat would be status effects and therefore Kartana should be very careful if it's a non-Z-Move non-z variant.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Guard, 360582]]
- Quality checked by: [[Sputnik, 475916], [username2, userid2], [username3, userid3]]
- Grammar checked by: [[username1, userid1], [username2, userid2]]

UT got to it before me but I did not look at their check while doing this.