[Overview]
<p>We all know well that Aggron is rampaging through RU and UU wit hall its might, don’t we? Well, it has sent little brother Lairon to join the party in NU with its other NFE buddies. Lairon might very well be the epitome of physical defense, as its monstrous 140 Defense is no laughing matter at all. Even then, Lairon isn’t fully evolved and so, it can use Eviolite to get an equivalent of 236 Base Defense if running an Impish nature! By running a specially defensive set, it can balance out its defensive capabilities and become more versatile. Lairon also sports a nice Base 90 Attack, allowing it to fire powerful, recoil-free Head Smashes thanks to Rock Head. Even without investment, this attack still hurts, and it especially lays a beating on types that are weak to Rock. Additionally, Lairon can run an offensive set with Rock Polish, using that nice Attack.</p>
<p>The steel still has scrapes, though, as Lairon faces very stiff competition from Bastiodon and Probopass, who have much better Special Defense than Lairon; unless one runs a specially defensive set, Lairon can still be beaten by special attacks relatively easily. Also note that Lairon is very slow, with only Base 40 Speed, meaning a lot of attackers can outspeed and KO it. It does, however, share the same Rock/Steel-type as its rivals, meaning it has two double weaknesses in Fighting and Ground. Don’t let this scare you away from using Lairon, however, as it can take Ground- and Fighting-type moves with the physically defensive set and still live, something Bastiodon and Probopass could only dream of!</p>
[SET]
name: Physically defensive
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Head Smash
move 3: Earthquake / Toxic
move 4: Roar
item: Eviolite
ability: Rock Head
nature: Impish
evs: 252 HP/252 Def/4 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>With Eviolite, this Lairon reaches a Defense of 624, higher than even Shuckle’s max Defense. This set is so physically bulky, it can survive Adamant Torterra’s Earthquake despite having a double weakness to it! Stealth Rock is the main move here, as with all that Defense, Lairon has no problem setting up the Rocks against a physical attacker at all. Head Smash makes for a powerful attacking move, even when uninvested. Earthquake is to form the SmashQuake Combo, which has nearly unresisted coverage in NU, only Torterra resisting it; Toxic is an alternative for inflicting passive damage and wearing foes down with Head Smash, mainly meant for opposing walls. You will lose out on offensive coverage, though, so be careful. Finally, Roar allows you to shuffle your foe’s team around.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Lairon and Golbat are partners for life; Golbat’s immunity to Ground- and double resistance to Fighting-type moves allow it to switch into any of those attacks for Lairon, while Lairon itself can return the favor by taking Ice-, Psychic- and Rock-type assaults for Golbat. Gardevoir also deserves a good mention; it can set up Dual Screens to give Lairon some special bulk and make its physical bulk cross the borders of insane. The Embrace Pokémon can also take Fighting-type hits for Lairon quite welland fend off attackers of said type with Psychic. Haunter and Misdreavus are your best choices for a Ghost-type partner; choose Haunter if you need offensive support and Misdreavus for defensive aid and more general support. Finally, Mesprit can easily switch in to Fighting-type moves and force Fighting-types out with its STAB Psychic. In terms of moves, there’s not much else for Lairon. Lastly, Spinners are great allies to Lairon, as they get rid of those annoying Spikes that plague our robust friend so much.</p>
[SET]
name: Specially Defensive
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Head Smash
move 3: Roar
move 4: Earthquake / Toxic
item: Eviolite
ability: Rock Head
nature: Careful
evs: 252 HP/4 Def/252 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
- Can take on Jynx and SubCM Mesprit
- Defensive on both fields
- Reaches 475 Defense and 327 Special Defense after Eviolite, which is quite bulky with 324 HP
- Stealth Rock for nerfing Bug-, Fire- and Flying-type Pokémon upon switch-in
- Iron Head for offensive move
- Roar for shuffling, works well in conjunction with Stealth Rock
- Toxic if you're really helpless against other walls
- Earthquake is for amazing offensive coverage with Head Smash, only resisted by Bronzor and Baltoy
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
- Once again, Golbat is close to mandatory for Lairon when it comes to teammates, the synergy makes them a dynamic duo
- Dual Screens Gardevoir again very handy, CM Mesprit can fend off Fighting-types
- Ghost-types like Haunter and Misdreavus can easily help Lairon by taking all Fighting- and Ground-type moves Lairon be opposed with
- Any spinner can support Lairon really well, to get rid of Spikes
[SET]
name: Offensive
move 1: Autotomize
move 2: Head Smash
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Iron Head
item: Eviolite/Life Orb
ability: Rock Head
nature: Adamant/Jolly
evs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
- A really different take on Lairon using its nice 90 base Attack, which really sets it apart from Bastiodon with its nonexistant offenses
- Very good late-game cleaner when its counters have been removed
- Autotomize to double your Speed with; it lets you take Low Kick and Grass Knot more well
- Head Smash from 306 Attack HURTS, even without LO; no recoil thanks to Rock Head
- Earthquake gives you the SmashQuake combo, which has nearly unresisted coverage in NU; only Torterra, Bronzor and Baltoy resist it.
- Iron Head can flinch after a Speed Boost
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
- With Adamant, you reach 306 Attack and 357 Speed after a Rock Polish/Autotomize, enough to outrun almost anything in NU
- If you're picky about Speed, you can run Jolly, which has 279 Attack and 392 Speed, but you'll lose out on power, so Adamant is better
- Eviolite is to retain some bulk, but feel free to run the very risky Life Orb; LO Adamant Head Smash hurts a LOT, though
- Defensive partners are great, like Misdreavus, Golbat and Gardevoir
- Misdreavus stalls Fighting-types out
- Golbat yet again has amazing synergy with Lairon and takes any supereffective hit on Lairon with usually little damage
- Gardevoir's Dual Screens are always welcome for some bulk, especially if you're running LO
[Other Options]
- Really not much else going on for Lairon
- Choice Band is too risky and Lairon's too slow for it
[Checks and Counters]
- Any Torterra walls Lairon REALLY hard and can OHKO with Earthquake on any set but the Physically Defensive set; Earthquake does 74.07 - 88.88% damage on that one.
- Sawk and Throh counter it very well, Mold Breaker ignores Sturdy
- Gurdurr laughs at Head Smash and KOes with STAB Fighting-type Drain Punch
- Quagsire laughs at any Lairon set
- Weezing can burn with Will-O-Wisp
- Gardevoir and Mesprit KO it with boosted Thunderbolt
- Water-types like Samurott, Alomomola and Wailord quickly dispatch of Lairon
- Tangela's Defense allows it to sponge Head Smash fairly well
- Swift Swim Pokemon can outspeed the Autotomize set and proceed to KO with a STAB Water-type move, like Gorebyss and Huntail
- Any Choice Scarfer with base 70 Speed or above outspeeds Lairon after one Autotomize and hit it hard
