OU Spotlight: Kartana

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Introduction

There's a running joke in the Pokémon community that the developers at Game Freak pick up a household object, slap some eyes on it, and call it a Pokémon. In 2016, they laid their eyes upon a simple sheet of paper. While inspecting this paper, the developer found himself annoyed by a paper cut. While tending his wound, a lightbulb appeared above his head and Kartana was born.

This little origami samurai has been cutting up the OU metagame. Not many Pokémon can switch into a Pokémon with a base 181 Attack stat, and base 109 Speed is nothing to scoff at. Defensive teams despise facing a Swords Dance-boosted Z-Move from this Ultra Beast or a Choice Band Leaf Blade in Grassy Terrain, and offensive teams find themselves being overrun by the Choice Scarf variant. What puts the icing on the cake is that, with every KO Kartana picks up, its Beast Boost ability allows it to sharpen its swords and pick up a +1 boost in Attack (or Speed, but I'll get into that later). With a decent movepool, obscene stats, and great synergy with common Pokémon in the USM OU metagame, Kartana finds itself as a superb fit and a force to be reckoned with.

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The Sets

Kartana is versatile enough to have several different sets. There are two things that Kartana sets can be tailored for: breaking down walls for its teammates and cleaning up late-game. Here are some sets.

• HP59
• ATK181
• DEF131
• SPA59
• SPD31
• SPE109

Swords Dance |

• Kartana @ Grassium Z / Fightinium Z / Steelium Z
• Ability: Beast Boost
• EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
• Jolly Nature
• - Leaf Blade
• - Sacred Sword
• - Defog / Knock Off / Smart Strike
• - Swords Dance

This set is perhaps the reason that Smogon Premier League winner ABR decided to run HP Fire on his Ferrothorn. This set completely walls Ferrothorn (though scouting for Thunder Wave is wise), removes the hazards it throws up, and scares it out. It is also very useful for breaking down defensive Pokémon such as Celesteela and Skarmory when running Fightinium Z, or for breaking the ever-present Landorus-T with the Grassium Z variant. Steelium Z is also an option that has seen increasing usage lately, as it lets Kartana destroy the common Mega Latios or Latias (with chip) as they switch in.

Choice Band |

• Kartana @ Choice Band
• Ability: Beast Boost
• EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
• Jolly Nature
• - Leaf Blade
• - Sacred Sword
• - Smart Strike
• - Knock Off

This set has a higher Attack stat than Mega Medicham. Without the need to set up, Kartana gets power straight from the get-go by forgoing its ability to switch moves. As the metagame becomes more bulky and balance oriented, people are preferring power over speed for their Kartana. Choice Band Knock Off is nothing to scoff at—it 2HKOes Zapdos when Stealth Rock is up, which makes Kartana a great Pinsir partner. Many teams find it hard to switch into the paper samurai.

Choice Scarf |

• Kartana @ Choice Scarf
• Ability: Beast Boost
• EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
• Jolly Nature
• - Leaf Blade
• - Sacred Sword
• - Knock Off
• - Defog / Smart Strike

The Choice Scarf set used to be the most common set but has seen a decrease in usage, as people are preferring power over speed to break the popular balance teams. The rise of Mega Latios and bulky Tornadus-T has been instrumental in this. Sacred Sword is a necessary coverage move, as it allows Kartana to strike through Heatran and hits Steel-types harder than Leaf Blade would. Knock Off is great, as defensive Pokémon that try to switch into this like Celesteela, Magearna, Landorus-T, and Tangrowth fear getting their items removed. Smart Strike is there for a secondary STAB attack and can be Kartana's most powerful move against things like Magearna and Mega Mawile, but it is not a necessary move. Defog is a nice utility option, as Kartana can force switches to get a Defog off. This Kartana performs well against offensive teams thanks to its high power and great Speed tier that allows it to revenge kill common setup sweepers such as Mega Gyarados. It has cleaned up many a team late-game over the course of USM. It enjoys support from breakers that allow it to do this such as Greninja and Heatran.

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Good Cores

Tapu Bulu |

• Tapu Bulu @ Leftovers
• Ability: Grassy Surge
• EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpD / 8 Spe
• Careful Nature
• - Swords Dance / Bulk Up
• - Horn Leech
• - Superpower
• - Synthesis / Protect

The most common Pokémon you will see paired with Kartana is Tapu Bulu. This is because the Grassy Terrain that is set by Tapu Bulu's Grassy Surge ability increases the power of Grass-type attacks by 1.5x, which makes it much easier for Kartana to rip through teams with Choice Scarf Leaf Blade or break down walls with a Bloom Doom.

Magnezone |

• Magnezone @ Choice Scarf
• Ability: Magnet Pull
• EVs: 8 HP / 4 Def / 244 SpA / 252 Spe
• Timid Nature
• - Thunderbolt
• - Hidden Power Fire
• - Flash Cannon
• - Volt Switch

On more offensive teams, Magnezone is a good choice for a teammate, because it can trap and remove Pokémon that could potentially stop a Kartana sweep such as Celesteela and Mega Scizor. Magnezone can also trap and dispose of opposing Kartana, which would threaten to revenge kill the user's own Kartana, as Magnezone with a Choice Scarf outspeeds non-Speed-boosted Kartana.

Ash-Greninja |

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

Ash-Greninja has been a great partner for Kartana. Its ability to get up Spikes limits Kartana's switch-ins, and Kartana's breaking power destroys Pokémon such as Tangrowth, Toxapex, and Ferrothorn for Greninja.

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Sample Teams

Click the buttons to reveal the sample teams

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Final Thoughts and Journey Through the Metagame

Kartana was overlooked when Sun and Moon came out. This was probably due to the existence of more potent threats in OU such as Pheromosa, Mega Metagross, and Dugtrio stall. After some bans were made, Kartana started being recognized as both a powerful breaker and a great late-game cleaner towards the end of Sun and Moon and into the beginning of Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. Getting Knock Off was also good for Kartana, as it could remove Leftovers from common switch-ins like Zapdos and Celesteela or Assault Vest from Tangrowth. Tapu Bulu's rise in usage (after being considered the worst Tapu at the start) has only helped Kartana both as a teammate and as an opponent. Only a quick look at the Smogon OU Viability rankings should tell you how respected Kartana is in this metagame.

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