VoltTurn in OU

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Introduction

Pivoting in OU has been a cornerstone of the metagame since the introduction of U-turn and got much better with Volt Switch, granting teams with a way to damage while gaining momentum. U-turn and Volt Switch give a pathway for fragile offensive Pokémon that could otherwise take a beating from switching in regularly to come onto the field safely and set up or wallbreak or allow a more defensively capable teammate to enter and sponge an otherwise dangerous attack. Paired together, these two moves form a core that puts serious pressure on the opponent, as the constant switching and upper hand can overwhelm many teams, especially when paired with hazards such as Stealth Rock and Spikes.

A popular scenario that puts the basic principle of VoltTurn into action is breaking through the infamous stall core of Chansey and Skarmory using a VoltTurn core with good synergy. On the first turn an offensive Mega Scizor is in on a Chansey, pressuring it to switch out fearing a powerful Superpower or Knock Off, so the opponent switches safely out into Skarmory. However, Mega Scizor goes for U-turn and switches out into Rotom-W, which also just happens to scare out the Skarmory, forcing the opponent to switch back out into Chansey. Then, the Rotom-W goes straight for Volt Switch, wearing down the incoming Chansey and switching straight back out into Mega Scizor. The end result will almost always end up in the VoltTurn core wearing down the stall core too much and winning.

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Common VoltTurn Users

• Tapu Koko @ Magnet
• Ability: Electric Surge
• EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
• Timid Nature
• - Thunderbolt
• - U-turn
• - Hidden Power Ice
• - Taunt / Volt Switch

Tapu Koko is arguably one of the most metagame-defining Pokémon in OU, as its relatively high Speed stat allows it to outspeed most Pokémon in the tier easily, although it is still outpaced by some faster threats in the tier such as Mega Lopunny, Ash-Greninja, and most Choice Scarf users. Its ability, Electric Surge, allows Tapu Koko to boost its Electric-type attacks by a whopping 1.5x, making Tapu Koko an extremely powerful wallbreaker that can deal out sizeable chunks of damage with a Magnet-boosted Thunderbolt. Hidden Power Ice allows Tapu Koko to hit many of its common Ground-type switch-ins such as Landorus-T and Zygarde for major damage, while Taunt allows it to stop opposing leads from getting hazards up or using Defog to remove them, as well as stopping any slightly bulkier Pokémon from using recovery moves. U-turn and Volt Switch are both great for gaining momentum, the former of which also allows Tapu Koko to easily switch out on any threatening Ground-types, and the latter of which does a lot more damage and helps chip the opposing walls down.

(Defensive)

• Landorus-Therian @ Leftovers
• Ability: Intimidate
• EVs: 252 HP / 216 Def / 24 SpD / 16 Spe
• Impish Nature
• - Stealth Rock
• - Earthquake
• - Hidden Power Ice
• - U-turn

Although Landorus-T can run several different sets viably and function very well as an offensive wallbreaker, it can also function just as well as a slow defensive pivot and Stealth Rock setter. Its ability Intimidate allows it to check many physically offensive Pokémon in the tier such as Mega Tyranitar and Zygarde, which can otherwise be a major threat to teams, especially once they have set up. Leftovers is used for gradual recovery, as Landorus-T has no other method of reliable recovery, and this means that it can often be worn down pretty easily. Stealth Rock is used to chip down the opponent's team and pressure some major threats such as Mega Charizard Y and Volcarona heavily, while Earthquake is used as its strongest and most reliable STAB attack, allowing Landorus-T to not be as passive as a few other Stealth Rock setters in the tier. Hidden Power Ice is used to hit Pokémon such as Zygarde and opposing Landorus-T for major damage, 2HKOing them the majority of the time and impeding their ability to set up. U-turn is used in order to allow a more frail Pokémon such as Mega Medicham to come in safely and punch holes in the opponents team, as well as just keeping up overall momentum.

(Offensive)

• Landorus-Therian @ Choice Scarf
• Ability: Intimidate
• EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
• Jolly Nature
• - Earthquake
• - U-turn
• - Stone Edge
• - Explosion

Landorus-T is a very metagame-defining Pokémon, and even with an offensive set it can easily switch in on common physical attackers such as Garchomp and Mega Scizor most of the time, proceeding to threaten said Pokémon with a strong move coming off its base 145 Attack stat. It can run many sets, with Choice Scarf being another of them, allowing Landorus-T to outspeed and threaten several Pokémon such as Tapu Koko and non-Choice Scarf Tapu Lele, and it can potentially sweep a team late-game with enough chip damage on its checks. Explosion allows Landorus-T to pretty much get rid of any non-Steel, Rock-, or Ghost-type Pokémon, which would most likely not switch into Landorus-T anyway, considering the first two are weak to its strongest STAB attack in Earthquake. However, it can still be stopped by a few Pokémon such as Skarmory; thus, U-turn aids Landorus-T in keeping momentum to pressure and overwhelm its dedicated checks and counters.

• Scizor @ Scizorite
• Ability: Technician
• EVs: 248 HP / 244 Def / 16 Spe
• Impish Nature
• - Defog
• - U-turn
• - Bullet Punch
• - Roost

Mega Scizor has an amazing defensive typing, and along with its great defenses and access to reliable recovery in Roost, it can take on many of the biggest threats in the tier, although it is hard walled by most Fire-types. Roost, as stated previously, is used as reliable recovery for Mega Scizor and allows it to continuously wall certain Pokémon, while Defog is used to prevent the opponent from getting up layers of hazards that may hinder Mega Scizor and its team. Bullet Punch is used as a relatively strong priority STAB attack that is boosted by Mega Scizor's ability Technician, allowing it to threaten and revenge kill many Pokémon such as Nihilego, Mega Diancie, and weakened Pokémon in general. A slow U-turn is used to enable Mega Scizor to keep up momentum and bring in teammates safely, which can be very helpful if used on an incoming Pokémon that can threaten Mega Scizor out. Although Mega Scizor is relatively bulky with its defenses, it still has to watch out for any Pokémon that could potentially be running Hidden Power Fire to try to stop Mega Scizor in its tracks.

• Magearna @ Assault Vest
• Ability: Soul-Heart
• EVs: 200 HP / 56 SpA / 252 SpD
• Calm Nature
• - Fleur Cannon
• - Flash Cannon
• - Hidden Power Fire / Ice Beam
• - Volt Switch

Magearna is an extremely versatile Pokémon, forcing opponents to scout for its set in most battles and often taking on many resisted hits with ease. Assault Vest allows Magearna to capably deal with threats such as Ash-Greninja and Tapu Lele and scare them out with Fleur Cannon and Flash Cannon, respectively. Both Fleur Cannon and Flash Cannon are used as strong STAB options, while Hidden Power Fire is used to hit Steel-types that resist its dual STAB combination harder. However, Ice Beam is also an option to hit Ground-type switch-ins a lot harder. Volt Switch is used to help pivot around the opposing team and gain momentum with a slow Volt Switch into another Pokémon such as a powerful wallbreaker that can punch holes in the opposing team. Although Volt Switch is mainly used on Magearna's Assault Vest set, it can also be used on Trick Room teams, as Volt Switch allows it get up Trick Room safely, then pivot out into a more threatening Pokémon and deal damage at the same time.

• Greninja-Ash @ Choice Specs
• Ability: Battle Bond
• EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
• Timid Nature
• - Hydro Pump
• - Dark Pulse
• - Water Shuriken
• - U-Turn

Ash-Greninja is one of the most powerful and prominent Pokémon in the OU metagame, boasting a great 153 base Special Attack stat when Battle Bond activates and having relatively strong STAB moves in Hydro Pump and Dark Pulse. It also has reliable priority in Water Shuriken, which can become extremely powerful when Ash-Greninja has transformed after KOing a Pokémon. However, it can sometimes be extremely hard to actually activate Battle Bond in the first place against teams with reliable checks to Greninja such as Assault Vest Tangrowth and Chansey, and this is where U-turn comes in useful. U-turn allows Ash-Greninja to pivot out of its checks and keep up both momentum and pressure on the opponent. Thus, it is best paired with another Pokémon such as Mega Pinsir or Mega Scizor that can come in and handle the threats that Ash-Greninja has to switch out of with U-turn. The first can help weaken the opposing team for a late-game Ash-Greninja sweep, while the latter can help Ash-Greninja easily come back in later with its own U-turn.

• Magnezone @ Assault Vest
• Ability: Magnet Pull
• EVs: 140 HP / 192 SpA / 176 Spe
• Modest Nature
• - Volt Switch
• - Hidden Power Fire
• - Thunderbolt
• - Flash Cannon

Although Magnezone isn't too impressive with its stats and movepool options alone, it is able to reliably trap and revenge kill several Steel-types in the tier thanks to its amazing ability Magnet Pull, such as Celesteela, Scizor, and Ferrothorn, and it is often put on a team simply to trap one of these problematic Steel-types. Assault Vest can help Magnezone switch into and deal with common deadly special attackers such as Magearna and Tapu Koko, and it therefore also allows it to pivot around more easily. Volt Switch lets Magnezone gain momentum and use its reasonably low Speed to bring in more threatening Pokémon, while Hidden Power Fire is used to KO many of the Steel-types that it traps such as Excadrill Choice-locked into Iron Head or Rock Slide and Mega Scizor. Thunderbolt and Flash Cannon are used as reliable and powerful STAB options. However, Magnezone is not as prominent as it used to be due to it being threatened heavily by both Landorus-T and Zygarde, as they are immune to both of its Electric-type STAB moves and can easily decide to set up on Magnezone or get some major damage off on something else.

• Manectric @ Manectite
• Ability: Lightning Rod
• EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
• Timid Nature
• - Volt Switch
• - Thunderbolt
• - Overheat / Flamethrower
• - Hidden Power Ice

Mega Manectric has one of the best Speed tiers in the game alongside Mega Lopunny and Mega Alakazam, even outspeeding the likes of Tapu Koko and Ash-Greninja, which along with its high Special Attack makes Mega Manectric a very big threat to more offensively orientated teams. Intimidate allows Mega Manectric to deal with and revenge kill some of the strongest physical wallbreakers in the tier, such as Mega Mawile. Volt Switch allows Mega Manectric to gain more momentum and pivot around easily, while Thunderbolt is used as a slightly stronger STAB option that does not force it out. Overheat is used to hit possible Grass- and Steel-type switch-ins harder, while Hidden Power Ice is used to hit most common Ground type switch-ins for big damage, such as Zygarde and Landorus-T, 2HKOing them the majority of the time and scaring them out when they are low on HP. However, even with its nice Fire-type coverage and astronomically high Speed stat, it is still outclassed by Tapu Koko, which not only has stronger STAB Electric-type attacks thanks to Electric Terrain but also has access to U-turn to easily switch out of Ground-types and Taunt to pressure more defensive teams.

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Good Partners for VoltTurn

Powerful Wallbreakers and Setup Sweepers

Having powerful wallbreakers and potential setup sweepers to switch into after a Volt Switch or U-turn can help pressure an opponent severely, taking advantage of a VoltTurn core perfectly and allowing said wallbreakers and setup sweepers to do their jobs a lot more easily. Firstly, having a powerful wallbreaker to switch into from a Volt Switch or U-turn allows said wallbreaker to put a massive dent into the opposing team, possibly even KOing a Pokémon every time it comes in, and doing so can help pave the way for a setup sweeper to come in and clean up the opposing team late-game. Secondly, the aforementioned setup sweepers are also great partners for VoltTurn cores in general, as being paired with a VoltTurn core can often allow a setup sweeper to come in freely on a favorable matchup against an enemy Pokémon, proceeding to then try to set up and sweep from there or at the very least put some major dents into the enemy team, leaving a teammate clean up the rest of the opposing team.

Offensive Hazard Stacking Pokémon

Any kind of hazard support is heavily appreciated by VoltTurn teams, as they often force the opponent to make a lot of switches, and therefore hazards are often crucial for applying pressure and slowly racking up damage on the opposing Pokémon. Although more defensive hazard setters such as Ferrothorn and Skarmory can be used on VoltTurn, the majority of the time VoltTurn tends to go down the more offensive route and use less passive hazard setters such as Greninja and Garchomp, as they can keep up the pressure on the opponent while simultaneously setting up hazards. Spikes are often the go to hazard for VoltTurn teams, as they can stack to do massive damage once all set up, although basic Stealth Rock is still the most popular option, as it is often easy to set up and hit even Flying-type Pokémon on the field. Due to Toxic Spikes being relatively scarce in OU outside of lead Greninja and Toxapex, it is easily the least used hazard on VoltTurn teams but can be very effective once set up, chipping down any walls or opposing Pokémon that may otherwise be very hard to deal with.

Rapid Spinners and Defoggers

Making sure your VoltTurn core has a partner or multiple partners with reliable hazard removal is of utmost importance when building your team, and it should come as high priority after your basic VoltTurn core. Having a good partner with reliable hazard removal allows the core itself to have freely spam Volt Switch and U-turn against the opposing team, without having to constantly worry about getting chipped down by hazards, which can potentially be even more problematic for VoltTurn users that do not have access to reliable recovery. Rapid Spin is usually the best option if you also have a hazard setter on your team; however, the only viable Rapid Spin users in OU are Excadrill and Starmie, which are stopped dead if an opposing Ghost-type switches in. Defog is the more popular option in OU due to the number of Pokémon with access to it, and not only does it get rid of all hazards currently on the field, it also rids the opposing team of any screens that they may have up at the time, allowing your Pokémon to more easily break through the opposing team.

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Threats and Counters to VoltTurn

Bulky Wallbreakers and Setup Sweepers

Not only are wallbreakers and potential setup sweepers great partners for a VoltTurn core, but bulkier ones can also be very threatening to VoltTurn teams in general, being able to easily eat up a Volt Switch or U-turn and proceed to then either punch a big hole in opposing team or take advantage of the opportunity to set up and potentially take out several Pokémon at once. If your team is looking inherently weak to VoltTurn, then it is usually a good idea good to add a relatively bulky wallbreaker that can eat up both moves well and fire off a hit back, such as Alolan Marowak or Mega Mawile, heavily pressuring most VoltTurn cores and teams. Setup sweepers can be extremely threatening to almost every type of build without a solid answer, especially so to more offensive VoltTurn teams, as after a Pokémon such as Mega Charizard X has boosted, it can powerhouse through most frail offensive Pokémon and has very few counters on offense in general aside from some priority users.

Hazard Stacking Pokémon

Due to the nature of VoltTurn and having to constantly switch in and out between your Pokémon, hazards can potentially be one of the biggest threats to a VoltTurn team, severely hindering its ability to freely fire off Volt Switch and U-turn. Stealth Rock is useful for damaging non-grounded members of the team, which are immune to both Spikes and Toxic Spikes, putting major pressure on Pokémon that are especially weak to them, such as Mega Charizard Y and Zapdos. Spikes is possibly the most problematic hazard for many teams, as it is possible to get up to three layers of them on the field at once, doing a massive 25% chunk of damage when a Pokémon switches in, while Toxic Spikes is good for weakening and pressuring particularly bulky Pokémon such as Chansey and Tangrowth, consistently doing good chunks of damage to them and potentially forcing them to switch out earlier than they would like. However, the fact that Toxic Spikes is absorbed by any opposing Poison-type Pokémon can often make it hard to keep them on the field. Whilst many Pokémon have access to hazards, there are certain Pokémon in OU that are especially good at setting up hazards, and two such Pokémon are Ferrothorn and Skarmory, as they are both relatively bulky and can eat up hits while setting up multiple layers of hazards, and they have access to both Stealth Rock and Spikes.

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Sample Team

The main objective of this team is to use the VoltTurn core to pressure the opponent early on and then try to get Magearna in with Volt Switch or U-turn (made easier by the fact that both VoltTurn users have Intimidate) and set up Trick Room. Then, Magearna can either proceed to sweep or put giant holes in the opposing team, or it can switch out into Alolan Marowak and have it wallbreak instead until Trick Room runs out. After the Trick Room + VoltTurn core has severely weakened the opposing team, Kartana can usually pivot in and clean up the rest of the team with its amazing Speed and Attack, using its reliable coverage options to hit almost anything for decent damage and sweep with the boosts gained with its ability Beast Boost.

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Closing Thoughts

VoltTurn offers teams a very reliable method of gaining momentum, often allowing them to easily spam the two moves while punching holes in the opposing team. Not only that, but it can also give many teams a core with both amazing offensive and defensive synergy, such as Landorus-T + Tapu Koko, helping the team to build a more defensive backbone without losing any momentum in the process. Most successful VoltTurn teams have either a powerful wallbreaker or setup sweeper that can come in for free with Volt Switch or U-turn and severely pressure the opposing team with their immense power and sweeping capabilities. It may not be as popular as it used to, but it is by no means a bad strategy, and it is certainly fun to use at the very least, so get out there and try it!

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