Possibilities of Diancie

By Nuked.
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Art by LifeisDANK

Art by LifeisDANK.

Introduction

Diancie recently arrived in NU, and it's made a huge splash so far. One of the main reasons for this is its great versatility, as its defensive qualities are great and its offensive typing is good; so good, in fact, that it's almost impossible to wall, as Moonblast combined with Earth Power, Power Gem, and Psychic hits everything in NU for neutral damage. This causes major mind games for any team facing an offensive Diancie set. Calm Mind allows it to function as a deadly sweeper, especially against defensive teams. Its utility movepool is also very good, with moves like Stealth Rock and Heal Bell, allowing Diancie to easily fit on defensive teams. Let's explore the possibilities that Diancie has in NU.

Stealth Rock

Diancie

Stealth Rock Diancie makes great use of the move because Xatu is deterred from switching into it by virtue of Diamond Storm. Additionally, other entry hazard removers like Cryogonal and Rotom can't remove the hazards without either getting KOed or taking a lot of damage from Moonblast. Diancie can also provide support to its team by curing status with Heal Bell from Pokémon like Slowbro and Venusaur that hate getting burned or poisoned. With its absurd bulk, Diancie can also stomach even the strongest of hits, like Hariyama's Close Combat and Life Orb Medicham's High Jump Kick, but it especially takes special hits well with the Special Defense investment. However, it doesn't have reliable recovery, so Wish users like Mega Audino are appreciated teammates; however, if it's running Normalium Z, Diancie does get a one-time recovery move, which can help immensely at certain points in the game.

Choice Specs

diancie

Diancie can be a great Choice Specs user because of its good offensive typing and power. Its sheer power allows it to OHKO threats such as Toxicroak, Rotom, and weakened Sceptile even with a neutral Moonblast. Another thing that makes Choice Specs Diancie good is that it has impressive coverage between its STAB attacks, Psychic, and Earth Power, as Psychic and Earth Power hit Poison- and Steel-types, like Garbodor and Steelix, and also Rhydon, which OHKOes Diancie if it doesn't get OHKOed. Also, Diancie's insane defenses combined with the given HP investment means that it still retains defensive value, comfortably switching into Sneasel and Guzzlord. While Diancie is slow, these Speed EVs ensure that it outspeeds standard Guzzlord.

Calm Mind

diancie

Calm Mind Diancie finds lots of setup opportunities because of the plethora of Pokémon it naturally forces out, like Braviary, Houndoom, and Choice-locked Guzzlord. Once Diancie is at +1, Fairium Z allows it to more easily power through Pokémon that would normally be problematic, like Slowbro, Type: Null, and Rhydon. Earth Power is used to cover anything that Moonblast doesn't hit neutrally, like Ferroseed, Klinklang, and Vileplume. Psychic can be used in the last slot so that Diancie can more heavily damage Vileplume, needing less chip damage to KO them. If your team doesn't worry much about Vileplume, Power Gem can be used as a secondary STAB move to net more neutral damage on most targets and still retain the ability to hit Flying-types super effectively. Finally, Substitute can be used because of all of the setup opportunities Diancie finds, making Substitute rather easy to set up, but it does wear Diancie down a lot because of its lack of recovery.

Other Options

Diancie has access to Trick Room, which it sets and uses well because of its bulk and good offensive typing, but Trick Room Diancie is not great by itself. If you're using the set, it should be on a full Trick Room team. Shuca Berry can be used on offensive sets alongside Earth Power to lure in Pokémon such as Rhydon or take Earthquake more easily from the likes of Guzzlord, Piloswine, and Incineroar. Rock Polish can also work to patch up Diancie's subpar Speed, but it lacks significant sweeping power unless it runs Calm Mind. Furthermore, if Diancie runs Calm Mind + Rock Polish, it has to choose between being walled by Steelix or Vileplume both of which are highly common. Different variations of EV spreads on defensive and offensive sets are also options, but Diancie wants to take Scalds and Grass-type coverage as well as possible. Toxic on defensive sets can cripple Pokémon like Whimsicott and Rhydon on the switch, but Heal Bell generally has more use on teams.

Experiment with Diancie yourself!

Diancie's insane movepool and diverse stat spread mean it can run several dangerous sets. Build a team around Diancie and see what set works best for you.

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