just getting the thread up for now
[Pros]
<ul>
<li>Ampharos gained a Mega Evolution in X and Y, and with it came a new Dragon typing and amazing new stats.</li>
<li>Mega Ampharos's sheer power is just incredible, regularly dealing in the area of 70% to even the bulkiest walls.</li>
<li>Mold Breaker lets it bypass any user of Lightningrod and smack something hard, as well as break through strong abilities such as Sturdy, Wonder Guard, Filter, and Multiscale.</li>
<li>Its bulk and Electric / Dragon typing make it incredibly resilient.</li>
<li>Its low Speed and typing make it a neat catch-all answer to some of the biggest threats introduced in X and Y, most notably Aegislash, Talonflame, and Klefki, the latter of which still risks being 2HKOed even through Light Screen.</li>
</ul>
[Cons]
<ul>
<li>Its low Speed almost always requires Trick Room to be up to perform well.</li>
<li>Its most powerful STAB attack, Thunder, requires rain to be up, meaning either you need to use Politoed or you are stuck with Thunderbolt.</li>
<li>It's one of the only Dragon-types to not learn Draco Meteor.</li>
<li>It unfortunately carries weaknesses to Ice, Dragon, Fairy, and Ground, which are somewhat difficult to cover</li>
</ul>
[Set Recommendations]
<p>Ampharos @ Ampharosite<br />
Ability: Static<br />
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 HP / 4 SDef<br />
Quiet Nature<br />
IVs: 0 Spd<br />
- Thunderbolt / Thunder<br />
- Dragon Pulse<br />
- Focus Blast<br />
- Protect<br /></p>
<p>The idea of this set is to Mega Evolve and start destroying things. Mega Ampharos's ridiculous base 165 Special Attack, even without a boosting item, gives it absolutely absurd power with no drawbacks. Thunderbolt is the main STAB attack here, dealing loads of damage to anything it hits. Dragon Pulse is another STAB attack; while not as powerful, it maims Dragons and hits some frailer Ground-types. Focus Blast is Ampharos's best option for coverage, hitting threats such as Mega Kangaskhan and Excadrill hard. Protect allows Ampharos to avoid Fake Out or a potential double target. Considering Ampharos's incredible power, it can become a target quite often, and with Protect it can draw attention away from your partner so that Pokemon can set up Trick Room.</p>
<p>Ampharos loves two things more than anything else: rain and Trick Room. Rain should be easy—bring a Drizzle Politoed or bring a Rain Dance user. Trick Room is a bit trickier but still not too hard to set up, as there are a plethora of Trick Room users available. Ampharos pairs well with Aromatisse type-wise, as Aromatisse takes the Dragon-type attacks Ampharos fears while Ampharos takes Steel attacks for Aromatisse. Talonflame makes a nice partner for Ampharos, quickly taking out frail Grass-, Ground-, and Ice-type attackers for Ampharos with a priority Brave Bird and even nailing a few trickier Steel-types like Excadrill. Notably, the combination of Talonflame and Ampharos puts Klefki and Meowstic, the popular Prankster dual screens users, in a sticky situation, as they might only be able to set up one screen under the pressure. Ampharos also appreciates Helping Hand support from the likes of Hitmontop or Musharna—but then again, what doesn't?</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>In case you hadn't noticed, Ampharos has a long-held fear of anything remotely powerful that can carry Earthquake. Garchomp and Excadrill in particular are huge threats, as they can tank a Dragon Pulse or Focus Blast and deal massive damage with Earthquake or Dragon Claw. Bulky Electric- and Grass-types are capable of walling Ampharos without much thought, resisting Electric and often resisting Fighting through a secondary typing. Ampharos also hates Fairies once it Mega Evolves, although it can usually shrug off an uninvested Dazzling Gleam due to its natural bulk. Bulky Dragon-types are a pain for Ampharos to deal with, but will go down with a couple Dragon Pulses and some support from a partner. If Ampharos is running Thunder, changing the weather to sun will ruin its day as it can't spam Thunder as easily. Pokemon such as Trevenant, Musharna, Mega Banette, and Chandelure that can carry Trick Room and Imprison will ruin Ampharos's normal team archetype, and can all hit back hard with STAB Ghost- or Psychic-type moves.</p>
[Pros]
<ul>
<li>Ampharos gained a Mega Evolution in X and Y, and with it came a new Dragon typing and amazing new stats.</li>
<li>Mega Ampharos's sheer power is just incredible, regularly dealing in the area of 70% to even the bulkiest walls.</li>
<li>Mold Breaker lets it bypass any user of Lightningrod and smack something hard, as well as break through strong abilities such as Sturdy, Wonder Guard, Filter, and Multiscale.</li>
<li>Its bulk and Electric / Dragon typing make it incredibly resilient.</li>
<li>Its low Speed and typing make it a neat catch-all answer to some of the biggest threats introduced in X and Y, most notably Aegislash, Talonflame, and Klefki, the latter of which still risks being 2HKOed even through Light Screen.</li>
</ul>
[Cons]
<ul>
<li>Its low Speed almost always requires Trick Room to be up to perform well.</li>
<li>Its most powerful STAB attack, Thunder, requires rain to be up, meaning either you need to use Politoed or you are stuck with Thunderbolt.</li>
<li>It's one of the only Dragon-types to not learn Draco Meteor.</li>
<li>It unfortunately carries weaknesses to Ice, Dragon, Fairy, and Ground, which are somewhat difficult to cover</li>
</ul>
[Set Recommendations]
<p>Ampharos @ Ampharosite<br />
Ability: Static<br />
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 HP / 4 SDef<br />
Quiet Nature<br />
IVs: 0 Spd<br />
- Thunderbolt / Thunder<br />
- Dragon Pulse<br />
- Focus Blast<br />
- Protect<br /></p>
<p>The idea of this set is to Mega Evolve and start destroying things. Mega Ampharos's ridiculous base 165 Special Attack, even without a boosting item, gives it absolutely absurd power with no drawbacks. Thunderbolt is the main STAB attack here, dealing loads of damage to anything it hits. Dragon Pulse is another STAB attack; while not as powerful, it maims Dragons and hits some frailer Ground-types. Focus Blast is Ampharos's best option for coverage, hitting threats such as Mega Kangaskhan and Excadrill hard. Protect allows Ampharos to avoid Fake Out or a potential double target. Considering Ampharos's incredible power, it can become a target quite often, and with Protect it can draw attention away from your partner so that Pokemon can set up Trick Room.</p>
<p>Ampharos loves two things more than anything else: rain and Trick Room. Rain should be easy—bring a Drizzle Politoed or bring a Rain Dance user. Trick Room is a bit trickier but still not too hard to set up, as there are a plethora of Trick Room users available. Ampharos pairs well with Aromatisse type-wise, as Aromatisse takes the Dragon-type attacks Ampharos fears while Ampharos takes Steel attacks for Aromatisse. Talonflame makes a nice partner for Ampharos, quickly taking out frail Grass-, Ground-, and Ice-type attackers for Ampharos with a priority Brave Bird and even nailing a few trickier Steel-types like Excadrill. Notably, the combination of Talonflame and Ampharos puts Klefki and Meowstic, the popular Prankster dual screens users, in a sticky situation, as they might only be able to set up one screen under the pressure. Ampharos also appreciates Helping Hand support from the likes of Hitmontop or Musharna—but then again, what doesn't?</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>In case you hadn't noticed, Ampharos has a long-held fear of anything remotely powerful that can carry Earthquake. Garchomp and Excadrill in particular are huge threats, as they can tank a Dragon Pulse or Focus Blast and deal massive damage with Earthquake or Dragon Claw. Bulky Electric- and Grass-types are capable of walling Ampharos without much thought, resisting Electric and often resisting Fighting through a secondary typing. Ampharos also hates Fairies once it Mega Evolves, although it can usually shrug off an uninvested Dazzling Gleam due to its natural bulk. Bulky Dragon-types are a pain for Ampharos to deal with, but will go down with a couple Dragon Pulses and some support from a partner. If Ampharos is running Thunder, changing the weather to sun will ruin its day as it can't spam Thunder as easily. Pokemon such as Trevenant, Musharna, Mega Banette, and Chandelure that can carry Trick Room and Imprison will ruin Ampharos's normal team archetype, and can all hit back hard with STAB Ghost- or Psychic-type moves.</p>
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