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Mankey

Type	Fighting Resists: Bug Dark Rock Weak to: Flying Psychic
Abilities	Vital Spirit This Pokemon cannot fall asleep. Gaining this Ability while asleep cures it. Anger Point If this Pokemon (not its substitute) takes a critical hit, its Attack is raised 12 stages. Defiant This Pokemon's Attack is raised by 2 for each of its stats that is lowered by a foe.
Tier	LC

HP:

Attack:

Defense:

Sp. Atk:

Sp. Def:

Speed:

Evolutions

Mankey
- Primeape

Strategies

Formats:

Written by dragonboy52

Overview

Mankey is a very uncommon, albeit underrated, threat in the LC metagame. This is rather surprising, as Mankey hits hard with an amazing base 80 Attack, and thanks to its high Speed stat, it is also able to Speed tie with many top-tier threats, including Chinchou and Mienfoo. Mankey also has decent abilities in Defiant and Vital Spirit, both of which help it sweep more efficiently when Mankey is matched up against Intimidate users, such as Growlithe, and sleep inducers, such as Shroomish. With these traits, Mankey becomes a powerful revenge killer when holding a Choice Scarf. Mankey can effectively run a Substitute + Encore set as well, thanks to its high Speed stat and Anger Point. Unfortunately, Mankey's defenses are absolutely terrible, meaning that almost any hit can easily take it down. The primary reason why Mankey is rarely seen is because it lives in the shadows of Mienfoo, which has much better bulk, a better ability in Regenerator, a more powerful STAB move in High Jump Kick, and a higher Attack. In fact, the only reasons to use Mankey over Mienfoo are its ability, Vital Spirit, and its access to decent support moves such as Encore.

Choice Scarf

Move 1

Close Combat
Lowers the user's Defense and Sp. Def by 1.
Type Fighting
Category Physical
Power 120 BP
Accuracy 100%

Move 2

U-turn
User switches out after damaging the target.
Type Bug
Category Physical
Power 70 BP
Accuracy 100%

Move 3

Punishment
60 power +20 for each of the target's stat boosts.
Type Dark
Category Physical
Accuracy 100%

Move 4

Final Gambit
Does damage equal to the user's HP. User faints.
Type Fighting
Category Special
Accuracy 100%
Ice Punch
10% chance to freeze the target.
Type Ice
Category Physical
Power 75 BP
Accuracy 100%

Item	Choice Scarf Holder's Speed is 1.5x, but it can only select the first move it executes.
Ability	Vital Spirit This Pokemon cannot fall asleep. Gaining this Ability while asleep cures it.
Nature	Jolly Adamant
Level	5
EVs	116 HP 196 Atk 196 Spe

This set is the only set Mankey can run without being outclassed by Mienfoo, which sports better offenses and defenses. With high Speed and Attack, Mankey can effectively run a Choice Scarf set. Close Combat is Mankey's most reliable STAB move and hits everything that doesn't resist it hard. Unfortunately, as Close Combat lowers Mankey's already terrible defenses, it is more prone to getting OHKOed by almost every move it does not resist. U-turn is a great scouting move that can instantly gain momentum for your team. Punishment hits Psychic- and Ghost-types that can switch into Close Combats with impunity, such as Natu and Misdreavus, for a good amount of damage. In fact, Punishment is the only move Mankey threatens Misdreavus with, and as Misdreavus is very common in the current LC metagame, Punishment is an important move to have. Final Gambit is a very gimmicky move that allows Mankey to score a quick KO on an opposing Pokemon. However, Final Gambit is only effective when Mankey is at or near full health. Alternatively, Ice Punch provides coverage against Flying- and Grass-types and also has a chance to freeze the opponent.

The EV spread maximizes Mankey's Attack and Speed, which, in turn, maximizes its sweeping capabilities. A Jolly nature gives Mankey enough Speed to outrun Modest Choice Scarf Chinchou and Adamant Choice Scarf Mienfoo. An Adamant nature increases Mankey's Attack, allowing it to OHKO Omanyte and Munchlax with Close Combat after Stealth Rock damage. Mankey has three excellent abilities, all of which are viable. Vital Spirit is an amazing ability, as it prevents sleep inducers, such as Shroomish, from putting Mankey to sleep. Defiant is helpful against Intimidate users and Feather Dance Natu, as it gives Mankey a free Attack boost. However, there are not many Intimidate users in the LC metagame, so its use is situational. Anger Point boosts Mankey's Attack to +6 when hit by a critical hit, but most of the time, Mankey won't survive one. In terms of alternative moves, Rock Slide is an option over Final Gambit or Ice Punch for super effective coverage against Fire- and Bug-types, such as Shelmet and Larvesta. Because Beat Up is a multi-hit move, it can be used over Punishment to beat Pokemon that carry Substitute, such as Misdreavus.

Mankey needs a lot of team support in order to be able to sweep. Dwebble and Ferroseed are excellent teammates, as they can set up Spikes and Stealth Rock, which give Mankey OHKOs on certain Pokemon. For example, Mankey is able to OHKO Ferroseed and Lileep with Close Combat after 3 layers of Spikes damage. Mankey can be paired with a Volt Switch user such as Chinchou to form the famous and effective VoltTurn combo, which helps keep offensive momentum, especially when entry hazards have been laid on the opposing side of the field. As Mankey is affected by all forms of entry hazards, Rapid Spin or Magic Bounce users, such as Drilbur, Staryu, and Natu, make for good teammates, as they can prevent entry hazards from being set up. Misdreavus is a huge threat to Mankey, so Pokemon that can take it on, such as Vullaby, are very helpful, as Misdreavus is extremely common in LC. Dual screens support from the likes of Natu is needed, as Mankey possesses terrible defenses. Bronzor with Hidden Power Ice is a great teammate, as it can set up dual screens and Stealth Rock and can also take on Vullaby.

Other Options

Mankey has quite a few other options to consider. An all-out offensive set with a Life Orb can be used, as Mankey boasts a high Speed stat and a decent movepool. Cross Chop is an alternative STAB move that Mankey can use over Close Combat if you are too worried about the latter's Defense and Special Defense drops. However, the power difference between Close Combat and Cross Chop is quite noticeable. Moreover, Cross Chop's low accuracy makes it a much less reliable alternative to Close Combat when it comes to revenge killing. A Flying Gem and Acrobatics can be used over Choice Scarf and Ice Punch to hit Grass-types harder than Mankey's other moves would, but other Pokemon, such as Drifloon, can run this type of set better. Earthquake is a powerful move that gives super effective coverage against Poison- and Electric-types, such as Croagunk and Chinchou. Seed Bomb is an interesting move that can hit Chinchou along with Staryu. Hone Claws and Bulk Up are two viable boosting moves: the former increases Mankey's Attack and accuracy, while the latter increases Mankey's Attack and Defense. However, Mankey is hard-pressed to set up reliably due to its low defenses. Retaliate is a strong option for a revenge killer, as its power doubles when used the turn after a teammate is KOed. A Substitute + Encore set can be used with an Oran Berry and an EV spread of 196 HP / 36 Atk / 76 Def / 196 Spe. This set's goal is to repeatedly set up Substitutes, hoping for a critical hit, so that Mankey's Attack boosts to +6 courtesy of Anger Point. Thanks to Encore, this set can also mess with Pokemon that think it's safe to set up on Mankey, such as Nasty Plot Misdreavus.

Checks and Counters

Because Mankey's defenses are very poor, countering it isn't a difficult task. Natu is arguably the best counter to Mankey, as it boasts a 4x resistance to Mankey's Fighting-type STAB, and thanks to its Flying typing, it can OHKO Mankey with a STAB Hidden Power Flying. Physical walls such as Slowpoke and Hippopotas are great checks to Mankey. Slowpoke's Psychic typing, coupled with its high Defense boosted by Eviolite, allows it to take Mankey's STAB move with ease and OHKO it with Psychic. Hippopotas, on the other hand, can take two Close Combats thanks to its high physical bulk; it can also KO Mankey with a STAB Earthquake once Mankey's defenses have been lowered by Close Combat. If Mankey chooses not to run Vital Spirit, Shroomish can cripple it with Spore and can also wear it down with STAB Giga Drain. Koffing can easily take on Mankey, as it resists Close Combat and is able to cripple Mankey with Will-O-Wisp. Larvesta can take any hit Mankey throws at it bar Rock Slide and OHKO it with Flare Blitz. Larvesta also has a decent chance of burning Mankey with Flame Body. Vullaby is bulky enough to take a few Close Combats and can OHKO Mankey with Air Slash. Bulky Ghost-types, such as Misdreavus, also trouble Mankey, as they are immune to Close Combat and can cripple it with Will-O-Wisp. Croagunk can wall Mankey for ages, as it resists most of Mankey's moves and is able to KO it with a combination of Drain Punch and Vacuum Wave.

Although it cannot directly switch into any of Mankey's moves, Choice Scarf Taillow is a good check to Mankey, as it can outspeed and OHKO it with STAB Brave Bird. Similarly, other Choice Scarf users, such as Diglett, can take out Mankey quickly if they are able to outspeed it. Abra is a good counter to Mankey; it can switch into Close Combats, outspeed it, and subsequently OHKO it with STAB super effective Psychic. Drilbur in sandstorm can outspeed even Choice Scarf Mankey and OHKO it with Earthquake. As Drifloon is immune to Fighting-type moves, it can easily switch into Mankey and OHKO it with Acrobatics. It should be noted that Drifloon is able to outspeed Choice Scarf Mankey when Unburden is activated. Tirtouga can survive one of Mankey's hits thanks to Sturdy and can then either set up with Shell Smash or KO Mankey with Aqua Tail. Because Mankey is very frail, priority moves can severely hamper its sweep.