[SET]
Mandibuzz (F) @ Heavy-Duty Boots / Rocky Helmet
Name: Physically Defensive (Dark)
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 248 HP / 244 Def / 16 Spe
Impish Nature
- Foul Play
- U-turn / Toxic
- Roost
- Defog / Toxic
[SET COMMENTS]
Mandibuzz is a decent supportive piece for Dark teams with its ability to pivot into physical attackers like Gouging Fire and Excadrill due to its natural Ground immunity, access to Defog, which empowers Dark teams' most powerful breaker in Choice Band Chien-Pao, and U-turn to position the aforementioned breaker and its other teammates into favorable matchups. Foul Play punishes strong physical attackers like Ogerpon-W, Dragonite, and Scizor. U-turn lets Mandibuzz act as a pivot to escape common switch-ins like Gliscor, Clodsire, and Gholdengo to maintain the offensive momentum of its team. Defog lets Mandibuzz prevent its teammates from getting worn down over the course of the match, and if paired with Toxic, lets Mandibuzz pressure entry hazard setters like Great Tusk and Ting-Lu. Aside from these, Toxic greatly cuts the longevity of threats like Ursaluna-B and Volcarona, which otherwise switch in and set up on Mandibuzz. Overcoat lets Mandibuzz ignore Sandstorm damage, which is vital for checking Excadrill on sand-based Ground teams. 16 Speed EVs let Mandibuzz outspeed and use Foul Play against Adamant Azumarill, checking it after it has used Belly Drum. Heavy-Duty Boots lets Mandibuzz get in freely to remove Stealth Rock without much issue, but Rocky Helmet racks up chip damage against threats like Choice Scarf Urshifu-R, Excadrill, and Gouging Fire and also punishes U-turn users like Sneasler and Roaring Moon.
Mandibuzz's ability to remove entry hazards and pivot its teammates greatly benefits wallbreakers like Choice Band Chien-Pao and Choice Specs Hoopa-U, which typically cannot afford to use Choice items due to their vulnerability to entry hazards and the lack of removal on Dark teams. Choice Band Chien-Pao, for instance, tears up Pokemon that check Mandibuzz, like Gliscor, Clodsire, and Gholdengo and guarantees a 2HKO at worst on virtually any enemy Pokemon. On the other hand, Hoopa-U deals with Ursaluna-B, Toxapex, and Archaludon, and sports a great natural Special Defense to trade with Choice Scarf Iron Valiant and Enamorus in the worst-case scenario. Hoopa-U can also use a Choice Scarf to surprise threats like Flutter Mane and Keldeo, which take advantage of Mandibuzz. Special walls like Alolan Muk and Ting-Lu complement Mandibuzz to complete a defensive core for Dark teams, with Alolan Muk checking Fairy-types like Hatterene, Flutter Mane, and Enamorus, while Ting-Lu provides entry hazards, is bulky enough to deal with Raging Bolt and Gholdengo, and provides an Electric immunity to help against Regieleki. Kingambit provides a Fairy-type neutrality, which lets it check Flutter Mane in a pinch, and appreciates Mandibuzz's ability to remove entry hazards, as it lets Kingambit use a different item like Chople Berry or Black Glasses to be more effective offensively. Choice Scarf Meowscarada forms a decent pivoting core with Mandibuzz and can clean up against types like Ground, Flying, and Dragon late-game. While Mandibuzz slightly overlaps with Sableye due to their role as a physical wall, Sableye is still greatly appreciated thanks to its ability to check IronPress users like Skarmory and Zamazenta, burn Urshifu-R and Barraskewda to let Mandibuzz check these threats safely, and use Encore on setup sweepers like Keldeo, Primarina, and Volcarona, which take advantage of Mandibuzz.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Dark
--------
Iron Defense is an option that allows Mandibuzz to go toe-to-toe and always win against Dragon Dance Gouging Fire, Swords Dance Ogerpon-H lacking Encore, and Swords Dance Kingambit while being able to dissuade Iron Defense users like Skarmory and Zamazenta from continuing their attempts to harass Dark teams. However, this comes at a steep cost of not being able to run Defog, which is the main reason why Mandibuzz is used, and a common teammate in Sableye is able to wall Iron Defense users in its stead. Brave Bird can be considered over Foul Play to heavily damage Volcarona and Iron Valiant switching in, but the targets are so few that Foul Play or Toxic will always be more beneficial.
[SET CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/neko.542526/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/boomp.637295/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/captaindaimyo.602431/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/vertigo.543620/
Mandibuzz (F) @ Heavy-Duty Boots / Rocky Helmet
Name: Physically Defensive (Dark)
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 248 HP / 244 Def / 16 Spe
Impish Nature
- Foul Play
- U-turn / Toxic
- Roost
- Defog / Toxic
[SET COMMENTS]
Mandibuzz is a decent supportive piece for Dark teams with its ability to pivot into physical attackers like Gouging Fire and Excadrill due to its natural Ground immunity, access to Defog, which empowers Dark teams' most powerful breaker in Choice Band Chien-Pao, and U-turn to position the aforementioned breaker and its other teammates into favorable matchups. Foul Play punishes strong physical attackers like Ogerpon-W, Dragonite, and Scizor. U-turn lets Mandibuzz act as a pivot to escape common switch-ins like Gliscor, Clodsire, and Gholdengo to maintain the offensive momentum of its team. Defog lets Mandibuzz prevent its teammates from getting worn down over the course of the match, and if paired with Toxic, lets Mandibuzz pressure entry hazard setters like Great Tusk and Ting-Lu. Aside from these, Toxic greatly cuts the longevity of threats like Ursaluna-B and Volcarona, which otherwise switch in and set up on Mandibuzz. Overcoat lets Mandibuzz ignore Sandstorm damage, which is vital for checking Excadrill on sand-based Ground teams. 16 Speed EVs let Mandibuzz outspeed and use Foul Play against Adamant Azumarill, checking it after it has used Belly Drum. Heavy-Duty Boots lets Mandibuzz get in freely to remove Stealth Rock without much issue, but Rocky Helmet racks up chip damage against threats like Choice Scarf Urshifu-R, Excadrill, and Gouging Fire and also punishes U-turn users like Sneasler and Roaring Moon.
Mandibuzz's ability to remove entry hazards and pivot its teammates greatly benefits wallbreakers like Choice Band Chien-Pao and Choice Specs Hoopa-U, which typically cannot afford to use Choice items due to their vulnerability to entry hazards and the lack of removal on Dark teams. Choice Band Chien-Pao, for instance, tears up Pokemon that check Mandibuzz, like Gliscor, Clodsire, and Gholdengo and guarantees a 2HKO at worst on virtually any enemy Pokemon. On the other hand, Hoopa-U deals with Ursaluna-B, Toxapex, and Archaludon, and sports a great natural Special Defense to trade with Choice Scarf Iron Valiant and Enamorus in the worst-case scenario. Hoopa-U can also use a Choice Scarf to surprise threats like Flutter Mane and Keldeo, which take advantage of Mandibuzz. Special walls like Alolan Muk and Ting-Lu complement Mandibuzz to complete a defensive core for Dark teams, with Alolan Muk checking Fairy-types like Hatterene, Flutter Mane, and Enamorus, while Ting-Lu provides entry hazards, is bulky enough to deal with Raging Bolt and Gholdengo, and provides an Electric immunity to help against Regieleki. Kingambit provides a Fairy-type neutrality, which lets it check Flutter Mane in a pinch, and appreciates Mandibuzz's ability to remove entry hazards, as it lets Kingambit use a different item like Chople Berry or Black Glasses to be more effective offensively. Choice Scarf Meowscarada forms a decent pivoting core with Mandibuzz and can clean up against types like Ground, Flying, and Dragon late-game. While Mandibuzz slightly overlaps with Sableye due to their role as a physical wall, Sableye is still greatly appreciated thanks to its ability to check IronPress users like Skarmory and Zamazenta, burn Urshifu-R and Barraskewda to let Mandibuzz check these threats safely, and use Encore on setup sweepers like Keldeo, Primarina, and Volcarona, which take advantage of Mandibuzz.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Dark
--------
Iron Defense is an option that allows Mandibuzz to go toe-to-toe and always win against Dragon Dance Gouging Fire, Swords Dance Ogerpon-H lacking Encore, and Swords Dance Kingambit while being able to dissuade Iron Defense users like Skarmory and Zamazenta from continuing their attempts to harass Dark teams. However, this comes at a steep cost of not being able to run Defog, which is the main reason why Mandibuzz is used, and a common teammate in Sableye is able to wall Iron Defense users in its stead. Brave Bird can be considered over Foul Play to heavily damage Volcarona and Iron Valiant switching in, but the targets are so few that Foul Play or Toxic will always be more beneficial.
[SET CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/neko.542526/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/boomp.637295/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/captaindaimyo.602431/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/vertigo.543620/
Last edited:
