In-battle formes
| Type | |
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| Abilities | |
| Tier |
| HP: | 91 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Attack: | 72 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Defense: | 90 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Sp. Atk: | 129 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Sp. Def: | 90 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Speed: | 108 |
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Formes
- Base
- Resolute
Overview
Keldeo's solid Special Attack and Speed stat allow it to function as a solid balance breaker in the OU tier. A Water / Fighting typing in conjunction with solid bulk for an offensive Pokemon allows Keldeo to check threatening Water-, Fire-, Steel-, and Dark-type Pokemon such as Ash-Greninja, Heatran, Mega Scizor, Tyranitar, and Weavile. Keldeo's STAB Secret Sword also allows it to bypass traditional checks to special attacking Water-types such as Chansey and Ferrothorn. Unfortunately, not all shines for Keldeo, as numerous Pokemon such as Toxapex, Amoonguss, and Tapu Fini are all hard counters to most Keldeo sets. Keldeo also lacks any powerful coverage options and is forced to rely on weaker moves such as Hidden Power and Icy Wind.
Calm Mind
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Moves
Calm Mind in conjunction with Substitute allows Keldeo to set up repeatedly on passive foes like Chansey and Celesteela, meaning it can easily break through bulkier teams. It also stops them from draining Keldeo's health with Toxic and Leech Seed. Keldeo can break past Toxapex with burn and hazards long-term, making Substitute a better choice overall compared to Taunt, which aims to break past Toxapex immediately by setting up on it and blowing it back with the combination of Waterium Z and Hydro Pump. Scald is Keldeo's most spammable move and is used instead of Hydro Pump for its reliability and higher PP on Substitute sets, as well as its burn chance. This allows Keldeo to annoy common cores such as Heatran + Tapu Bulu. Secret Sword allows Keldeo to beat Chansey and pressure Assault Vest variants of Tangrowth and Magearna while letting it beat other Pokemon that resist or are immune to Scald such as Ferrothorn, Ash-Greninja, Kyurem-B, and Gastrodon.
Set Details
Leftovers heals chip damage from defensive foes that have been Taunted such as Scald from Toxapex and Heavy Slam from Celesteela, allowing Keldeo to set up more Calm Mind boosts and beat bulky teams with a bit more ease. It also provides Keldeo with longevity so that it can switch into the likes of Heatran and Ash-Greninja more safely.
Usage Tips
Against more offensive teams, Keldeo can be switched into resisted attacks from foes that it forces out such as Heatran, Ash-Greninja, and Mega Tyranitar. Scald should be spammed early-game to fish for burns on the likes of Tapu Bulu, Mega Latios, and Mega Latias. Keldeo should only attempt to set up once its checks have been weakened or removed. Taunt should be used before setting up against Pokemon that can use Toxic such as Heatran, Toxapex, and Chansey, as a poison status can prevent Keldeo from beating bulky teams effectively. Keldeo can be used to beat a lot of stall teams on its own, but it should first be brought in via an aggressive switch, as most Pokemon used on this playstyle will be able to poison or burn Keldeo or Knock Off its Leftovers before it can start setting up. Keldeo also has to be wary of physically defensive Tangrowth, Unaware Clefable, and Heart Swap Magearna on these teams, as they can tank its attacks and force it out with their super effective STAB moves.
Team Options
Keldeo struggles to beat Mega Latios and Mega Latias, so Pursuit trappers that are able to remove them such as Tyranitar and Weavile make useful partners. Entry hazards, especially Spikes, make Keldeo's job a lot easier. Hazard setters like Heatran, Ferrothorn, and Mega Tyranitar are able to keep up hazards for most of the game. Powerful wallbreakers like Mega Mawile, Mega Medicham, and Rockium Z Garchomp form strong offensive cores with Keldeo. The latter two can also force in and weaken Fairy-types such as Clefable and Tapu Fini that give Keldeo a hard time, while the former can take advantage of bulky Grass-types that Keldeo forces in. Keldeo can act as a check to Ash-Greninja and Heatran, but it gets worn down quickly, so other checks to these Pokemon such as Toxapex and Tapu Bulu, or Garchomp and Mega Latias, respectively, are needed. Bulky Grass-types like Tapu Bulu and Tangrowth can take even a boosted attack from Keldeo and force it out, so a reliable switch-in to these Pokemon such as Tornadus-T or Mega Scizor is a useful partner. Bulky Steel-types such as Celesteela and defensive variants of Magearna are able to take on Fairy-types like Clefable and Tapu Bulu that give Keldeo a hard time. They also provide a secondary soft check to Ash-Greninja.
Other Options
A Calm Mind + 3 Attack set with Hyper Beam and Normalium Z allows Keldeo to not only boost its Special Attack but to blow through traditional counters such as Toxapex and Tapu Fini with a powerful Breakneck Blitz as well. This set has only one attempt to get off its Z-Move, though, and it is very weak without a boost. Choice Scarf can be used to pressure normally faster Pokemon such as Ash-Greninja and Volcarona, but is very mediocre at accomplishing anything else, because of the popularity of bulky Grass-types and Toxapex. Toxic, while undesirable to be Choice locked into, can be useful for chipping away at Pokemon such as Tangrowth and Slowbro that take little damage from any of Keldeo's attacks but despise status ailments.
Checks and Counters
Bulky Water-types: Bulky Water-types such as Toxapex, Mantine, Tapu Fini, and Slowbro all resist Keldeo's STAB attacks and can either status Keldeo or hit it super effectively with their STAB attacks. Though, do note that Toxapex, Mantine, and non-Psyshock Slowbro can lose to Taunt variants.
Bulky Grass-types: Bulky Grass-types such as Amoonguss, Mega Venusaur, and Tangrowth all take little damage from any attack Keldeo can throw at it and in turn can hit Keldeo super effectively with STAB Grass-type attacks. Tapu Bulu also resists Keldeo's STAB moves, but has to be wary of being burnt by Scald and a Choice Specs Hydro Pump or Icy Wind.
Faster Offensive Pokemon: Faster offensive Pokemon such as Tapu Koko, Kartana, Mega Alakazam, Mega Diancie, and Tornadus-T can all outspeed Keldeo and OHKO it with their super effective STAB moves.
