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Overview<p>Drifblim is very peculiar Pokemon. At first glance, he may appear to be a unique and incredible Pokemon with multiple options to choose from. This stems mostly from Drifblim's colossal 150 base HP stat, decent Speed and offensive stats, and vast movepool. However, any presumptions made about Drifblim in that respect are unfortunately false. While he does possess a sizable support movepool, he's largely outclassed by his Ghost-type brethren since he does not have reliable recovery or good defenses. With a crippling weakness to Stealth Rock, Drifblim will also be hard-pressed trying to find a chance to switch in. In terms of being played as an offensive Ghost-type, Drifblim faces fierce competition with Mismagius, which has much higher Speed and Special Attack stats as well as Nasty Plot. All is not lost for Drifblim, though, as he does have a few tricks up his sleeve. With access to a great ability in Unburden, Calm Mind, Will-O-Wisp, Baton Pass, and workable bulk and Speed, Drifblim can be a very good Pokemon if played correctly.</p>
[SET]
name: ChestoRest
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Rest
move 3: Shadow Ball
move 4: Thunderbolt / Baton Pass / Hidden Power Fighting
item: Chesto Berry
ability: Unburden
nature: Modest
EVs: 252 Def / 108 SpA / 148 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>ChestoRest is without a doubt Drifblim's most effective set and best shot at differentiating himself from every other Pokemon in the UU tier. The idea here is to stack up as many Calm Mind boosts as possible and use Rest once Drifblim takes a considerable amount of damage. This will cause Drifblim to use up his Chesto Berry and activate Unburden, doubling his Speedand giving him a very good shot at sweeping. Shadow Ball is Drifblim's most reliable STAB attack and is fairly easy to compliment in coverage, due to it having only one resistance and immunity. In regards to coverage, Thunderbolt is the best option in the last slot, as it lets Drifblim hit bulky waters such as Empoleon and Suicune (which can Calm Mind alongside Drifblim) for heavy damage, and Dark- and Normal-types for at least neutral damage.</p>
<p>This set is best left to sweeping later in the game, but running a support option in the fourth slot is also viable. If one decides to forgo coverage for utility, then Baton Pass is highly recommended not only for its greater reliability than other support options such as Will-O-Wisp, Thunder Wave, and Disable, but also for its effectiveness in passing the Calm Mind boosts Drifblim amasses.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>With the given EV spread, Drifblim will outpace +1 Speed Yanmega and Sharpedo once Unburden is activated. This is very important, as it significantly reduces the chance that either Pokemon will be able to revenge-kill Drifblim if it carries Protect. Unfortunately, Drifblim with Hidden Power Fighting will never outpace Choice Scarf Krookodile since said Hidden Power requires an imperfect Speed IV. Drfiblim's high base HP makes investment into said stat almost unnoticeable, so more focus is placed on Drifblim's defense stats. Because Drifblim is running Calm Mind, his defense stat is maxed out as compliments the Special Defense boosts. The remaining EVs are delegated to Drifblim's Special Attack for much needed power; with 267 Special Attack and a Modest nature, Drifblim can 3HKO Suicune with an unboosted Thunderbolt and OHKO Victini after a single boost. Drifblim has a plethora of options to choose from, but only a few are usable on this set.Hidden Power Fighting complements Shadow Ball well in terms of coverage, making it a solid option. However, keep in mind that Chansey and Snorlax can still wall Drifblim. Will-O-Wisp is also usable because it works in tandem with Calm Mind, allowing Drifblim to tank hits from both physical and special attackers. However, keep in mind that Will-O-Wisp will not help with threats such as Chansey, which can shrug off the burn with Natural Cure; Houndoom, which is immune to burn; and most importantly, Heracross, which receives a deadly Attack boost from the burn. Drifblim's movepool is without a doubt large, but because of how this set functions, there aren't many extremely helpful moves to choose from—keep this in mind if one is considering any alterations.</p>
<p>Similarly to any dedicated special attacker not running Psyshock, this set has problems with special walls, sponges, and tanks such as Chansey, Snorlax, and Registeel. Drifblim's Ghost / Flying typing is a double-edged sword, granting it an immunity to Ground- and Fighting-type attacks but leaving it with a Stealth Rock weakness. To remedy this problem, Hitmontop can be used as Drifblim's partner. While there isn't much type synergy between the two, Hitmontop compliments Drifblim well by spinning away entry hazards and scaring away most of the Pokemon that can outright wall Drifblim. Nidoqueen is also a fairly good choice for a teammate since she has access to Toxic Spikes and decent synergy with Drifblim. Nidoqueen is an even better partner if Drifblim is running Baton Pass in the final slot. With a special movepool comprised of power special attacks that are all boosted by her ability, Sheer Force, Nidoqueen can punch holes in opposing teams with a few special attack boosts, greatly lightening the load for Drifblim. Similarly, Cobalion can switch into Chansey, Snorlax, and Registeel, fearing only the occasional status attack or Earthquake from the latter two (which is unlikely to be used on Drifblim), set up a Swords Dance, and proceed to break down walls that would otherwise give Drifblim problems. In return, Drifblim can set up on the Pokemon that give Cobalion troubles, namely Dusclops and Slowbro.</p>
<p>This set should be played defensively early in the game and more aggressively as the game progresses; keep this in mind at all times. There are many Pokemon that don't mind switching into Drifblim and scaring him away. Drifblim certainly isn't the strongest Pokemon either, so one should be more focused on weakening his threats, giving him a much better shot at sweeping. Pokemon with super effective moves such as Weavile and Jolteon can be worn down with entry hazards and unboosted attacks, respectively; bulkier threats such as Snorlax and Eviolite Ferroseed must be slowly worn down over time or lured into an unexpected KO. Regardless of how bulky a threat to Drifblim is, it must be weakened over the course of the game so Drifblim has enough breathing room to stack up a few Calm Minds and sweep.</p>
[OTHER OPTIONS]
<p>While Drifblim has a respectable movepool, it is the perfect example of a jack of all trades, master of none. Drifblim is a very fun pivot in Baton Pass chains due to his very large substitutes and access to both Stockpile and Calm Mind. This means that the potential Baton Pass recipient will have an incredibly bulky Substitute to hide behind. Disable can be used in tandem with Substitute and Baton Pass, as a lot of Pokemon in the UU tier only possess one attack that can break Drifblim's substitutes, giving Drifblim an unique niche on Baton Pass teams. Outside of on such teams, however, Drifblim is outclassed by other Baton Pass users in UU.</p>
<p>A weather support set is possible and can work very well with Drifblim's movepool, but such as set is a bit underwhelming when compared to other weather starters. Of course, being a Ghost-type, Drifblim has access to always annoying double status strategy, which can be effective if played correctly; however, Drifblim has much better things to do than spread status around. Pain Split can be used in order to give Drifblim a semi-reliable method of healing itself, but due to its high HP stat, Drifblim won't be able to make much use out of Pain Spilt unless he's extremely low on health. A more committed support set is definitely possible with Drifblim's movepool, but he faces fierce competition with Cofagrigus and Dusclops, which boast better defensive capability and methods of healing.</p>
<p>Drifblim's offensive movepool is large enough that a Charge Beam or even non-boosting set is possible, but Calm Mind is generally better due to Drifblim's more defensive nature. A purely offensive set would also be outclassed by Mismagius, which has access to Nasty Plot. Acrobatics can be used with a Flying Gem, giving Drifblim the jump on some of his checks an counters after activating Unburden, but it is both overall underwhelming and done much better by Sceptile. Air Cutter and Recycle are other possible options for ChestoRest for extra STAB coverage and virtually infinite instant recovery, respectively. However, both are situational and don't hold as much use as the recommended and additional options already mentioned.</p>
<p>Drifblim has already been released with his Dream World ability, Flare Boost, which boosts Drifblim’s Special Attack stat by 1.5 when Drifblim is burned. While Flare Boost is unique to Drifblim, it’s not even close to holding more use than Unburden or even Aftermath. This is because Drifblim will be losing HP every turn without a reliable method of healing himself, making Drifblim an inferior Mismagius</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Drifblim's checks and counters are very straightforward: Dark-types and special sponges.</p>
<p>Chansey, Snorlax, and Registeel have no problem switching into Drifblim, walling and either outstalling or setting up on him. Suicune and Spiritomb can Calm Mind alongside Drifblim, and will quickly stall out his its PP with their Pressure abilities. However, neither Pokemon can directly switch into Drifblim and defeat him, requiring either Roar or very good luck with Sleep Talk. Umbreon can come in effortlessly and accumulate many Curse boosts. Without Baton Pass, Drifblim exposes itself to the threat of Pursuit users such as Excavalier and Heracross, making them excellent checks as well. Bisharp doesn't mind switching into a Thunderbolt or Calm Mind, setting a Swords Dance or two and mauling Drifblim with one of its extremely powerful Sucker Punches. Krookodile doesn't mind switching into Drifblim either, and not only outpaces Drifblim, but also traps him with Pursuit. Mandibuzz can switch into everything Drifblim can toss out, barring a boosted Thunderbolt, and phaze him with Whirlwind. Forcing Drifblim to use his early Chesto Berry will undoubtedly make him much easier to counter, so one should keep this in mind if Drifblim ever shows up.</p>
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Change log:
- (7/30/11) - Added "Overview" and "Checks and Counters" sections
- (7/30/11) - Expanded on Drifblim's other options (i.e, his versatility)
- (8/2/11) - Added mentions of pinch berries in the Dream World section
- (8/6/11) - Fixed the weather set to focus more on Drifblim's strengths
- (8/18/11) - Added "Baton Pass" as Drifblim's second set
- (8/18/11) - Fixed the DW section by giving more detail on why not to use Flare Boost
- (8/21/11) - Moved "Baton Pass" and "Weather Support" to OO upon the request of QC
- (9/25/11) - "Big-ass update"
