7* Dark Type Incineroar Raids (Sept. 6-8, 13-15)

[SadisticMystic]

aka "Sorry, we should have put this as the raid alongside the world championship, but what are you gonna do?"

Until the raid details come out, we can only guess. Of course it'll bring Intimidate, so...maybe you bring back the Mirror Armor Corviknight from Dragonite week, boost up to +2 defense before the inevitable Flare Blitz, and that might be able to hold on long enough to change type with tera? Or maybe you pull out...Azumarill (duh)? Defiant Annihilape? That Competitive Wigglytuff that's been languishing in the box, never getting to do anything?

 

[R_N]

My first thought was legitimately "wow the world's celebration just keeps going!"


incineroar's definitely got a lot of things that can be annoying:
-Bulk Up, either at set intervals or as a regular move
-It'll definitely be using Darkest Lariat, so defensive set up won't be as useful
-It's got a fairly wide offensive moevpool to drawn in general. Iron head, Thunder Punch, Leech Life, Shadow Claw, Acrobatics (seems like the best fighting counter), Stomping Tantrum, Bulldoze, Earthquake....
-Could kind of see a turn 0 Swagger happen
-Power Trip could be spooky.

 

[flamewizzy21]

I’ll kick off some discussion with my thoughts

——General
First, dark means we realistically want to go with either big fighting physical smack, Azu, or sylveon hyper beam. And for a big fighting physical smack, intimidate means you need BD, defiant, or anger point (If you don’t want to be behind on tempo). There are some other options, but these are going to be the big ones imo. Ape and gapdos are the only defiant fighting types worth consideration, and neither boost particularly quickly.

Incineroar has pretty good moves as a raid boss. Flare blitz, EQ, dark lariat, double edge, cross chop (i doubt CC because of the stat drops), acro, leech life, and iron head. Flare blitz and lariat make sense as dual stab. I expect iron head to slap fairy types. EQ on top of that gives good neutral damage on every pokemon left that resists that combo of 3. Acrobatics gives better coverage to hit fighting types.

——Coordinated teams
For coordinated OHKO strats, it is just shy of a reliable turn 1 OHKO:
+6 252+ Atk Choice Band Sword of Ruin Crabominable Atk Cheer Close Combat vs. -2 0 HP / 0 Def Tera Dark Incineroar: 11396-13410 (98.3 - 115.7% of 35x hp boss) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO
This is as close as I got, with Crab, chien pao, screecher, and a crit pokemon. I’m not sure where to get more juice. Crab can easily outspeed cat with speed investment.

——Bonus moves
Taunt T0 is my prediction, as it is on theme. It would be very bad for solo and randos. Solo is already going to be rough, as lariat pierces def boosts. T0 fake out would be funny. Not strong, but funny.

I expect Bulk Up only as a bonus move later into the game (like halfway through or something). But not on the main set.

——Generally good picks:
Anger point Tauros-Paldea-Aqua or Crabominable are likely the optimal picks for OHKO cheese strats. Tauros is safer, while Crab gives the potential for that T1 OHKO. BD Azu is a promising win condition for solo/randos. BD Iron Hands is likely promising for randos, in the early period where people have a brain to support. Taking acro neutrally is good.

Defiant Ape is probably too slow to ramp up. And bulk up def boosts won’t really help against lariat. Sylveon is a bit risky due to low phys def, and chance of iron head. Koraidon is a great pick if you want to troll your teammates with sun.

In terms of support, screech and reflect are big ticket moves. Dark is the big nuke to resist, while being mindful of potential iron head flinch. Umbreon will definitely be solid. Sammurott-H might be a good sleeper pick. Golduck might be able to make some magic happen, depending on what people bring. Mabosstiff/Qwilfish-H with the intimidate + tears/acid spray support might be the best partners for special attackers.

 

[doipy hooves]

If it really has Thunder Punch, it's another point of evidence towards game freak being overly paranoid of Azumarill like with Sceptile. Unlike the evil Incineroar on smogon he can only have one set, so even in the worst case of Bulk Up spam there's enough weaknesses that some standout counter will work out like Unaware.

I feel like the TM drop will be some status move like Taunt or Bulk Up for the same reason as Primarina.

 

[Terimas]

Dachsbun @ Babiri Berry / Leftovers
Ability: Well-Baked Body
Tera Type: Fighting
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Body Press
- Charm
- Mud-Slap
- Helping Hand

Time for the dogs to chase out the cat. I'd consider Iron Head to be an extremely likely coverage move of choice for Incineroar, so Fairy types are a risky choice. Babiri Berry may or may not fool the AI, but in case it does, Dachsbun could have some major potential.

The Darkest Lariat will bypass Defense boosts, so you will need to be vary of that. Aside from that, Dachsbun has some decent support options in Mud-Slap and Charm to keep the cat off the counter.



Kommo-o @ Shell Bell
Ability: Bulletproof
Tera Type: Fighting
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Body Press
- Iron Defense
- Breaking Swipe
- Dragon Cheer / Coaching

Iron Defense + Body Press has many abusers and Kommo-o looks quite potent with its good natural bulk and typing. Breaking Swipe is a good move to use for weakening Incineroar and building Tera charge, while Dragon Cheer is an excellent support option to help allies break through potential Bulk Up defense boosts. Alternatively, Coaching can be used for support.



Urshifu-Rapid-Strike @ Shell Bell
Ability: Unseen Fist
Tera Type: Fighting
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
- Body Press
- Iron Defense
- Focus Energy
- Chilling Water

Same as Kommo-o, but more solo oriented. Watch out for Thunder Punch!

 

[flamewizzy21]

If it really has Thunder Punch, it's another point of evidence towards game freak being overly paranoid of Azumarill like with Sceptile.

For sceptile, I believe Thunder Punch was chosen to intentionally leave enough of a general blind spot for it to not be completely unmanageable at +6 with dragon dance. I don’t think it was to specifically mess with Azu.

Incineroar needs Thunder punch to handle Azu/Primarina/TaurosAqua. It needs Iron Head to touch Sylveon. It needs Acrobatics to hurt Hariyama, Komomomo-momomo, or other fighting types. It needs It needs EQ for a middle ground option to handle the above, but mediocrely.
Incineroar will have 4 moveslot syndrome. Whichever blind spot they leave, there will be a clearly strong strat remaining to handle it.

 

[DrrT]

Finally they covered all the Types! That was bothering me more than it should. Even trough Fighting would have fit Incineroar better but I guess that we wouldn't have any best Dark candidates then.

 

[flamewizzy21]

Babiri Berry may or may not fool the AI, but in case it does, Dachsbun could have some major potential.

AI cheats, and will always factor in type resist berries in its calculations. My Delphox could fight bosses with water moves before with a Passho berry, which would not be eaten the entire match. But without the berry, my Delphox would get hosed with water moves. Your Dachsbun will likely never consume its Babiri berry, and also never get hit with Iron Head (because the AI doesn’t know that it is one time use).

Be mindful at low HP, the AI will pick a second move randomly, and it can randomly pop a type resist berry. Which would allow the AI to freely choose a super effective move on its normal AI-controlled move on follow up turns.

Watch out for Thunder Punch!

Acro is the bigger threat for Urshifu-R and Kommo. Urshifu-S might be better against some Incineroar variants, if your plan is to stack Def.

0+ Atk Tera Dark Incineroar Acrobatics (110 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Kommo-o: 162-192 (45.7 - 54.2%) -- 53.1% chance to 2HKO
You might need to run Coba Berry or Weakness Policy to ward off Acro, so Incineroar doesn’t fish for an Acro crit that hits you for 75%. (AI also cheats to vaguely avoid activating weakness policy.)

 

[Terimas]

Your Dachsbun will likely never consume its Babiri berry, and also never get hit with Iron Head

Depends. If Iron Head remains Incineroar's strongest move even with Babiri factored in, it might still go for Iron Head. Of course, a neutral EQ or Acro will be stronger than neutral Iron Head so that is unlikely to be an issue if either is included in Incineroar's kit.

You might need to run Coba Berry or Weakness Policy to ward off Acro, so Incineroar doesn’t fish for an Acro crit that hits you for 75%. (AI also cheats to vaguely avoid activating weakness policy.)

Since Shell Bell is required for ID+BP strats, Coba Berry won't really be an option for these sets.

Seeing how Incineroar is vulnerable to being burned, the usual Inferno Torkoal strategy is likely to see success. Especially since Bulk Up or Swords Dance are also likely to be included, necessitating Clear Smog support.

Of course, a funnier alternative to Torkoal is:



Magcargo @ Leftovers / Light Clay
Ability: Flame Body
Tera Type: Fairy / Fighting / Dark (whichever resists Dark and isn't weak to coverage)
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
- Reflect
- Recover
- Mud-Slap
- Clear Smog

Obviously this set won't work if EQ or Brick Break are in play. However, with Reflect and Recover being in play, Incineroar is very likely to get burned by Flame Body at some point with it many contact moves being used. After that, Incineroar's damage output should be reduced to so little that you can afford to Mud-Slap and Clear Smog to keep Incineroar from being able to put out any meaningful damage.



Gouging Fire @ Leftovers
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Burning Bulwark
- Breaking Swipe
- Morning Sun
- Dragon Cheer

Alternatively, you could rely on Burning Bulwark for burning needs. With Breaking Swipe for further damage reduction, Clear Smog wouldn't be needed as much. The last slot is a generic support slot that could go to Dragon Cheer, Howl or Will-o-Wisp.

As a side note, side targeting your own team's Dachsbun with Wisp and other Fire moves is going to be fun.



Ho-Oh @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Sacred Fire
- Reflect
- Life Dew
- Will-O-Wisp / Helping Hand

More burning tricks, this time with Ho-oh. Your options for support are somewhat limited outside of Reflect and Sacred Fire but being a Life Dew bot is pretty useful even if that's the only thing you can do between refreshing Reflect.

 

[Worldie]

I am not that convinced it'll have Iron Head, for the simple reason that Fairy types don't usually resist fire so it doesn't need a supereffective coverage against it.

I am a lot more confident it'll have Will-o-Wisp, and potentially Snarl as either regular or scripted move.
WillOWisp on top of Intimidate on its own is already a pretty big middlefinger to any Fighting type since like 90% of them is phisical, and the special ones would get neutered by a Snarl or two.

My prediction:
Regular moveset: Flare Blitz, Darkest Lariat, Will o Wisp, coverage (most likely Acrobatics I do agree), potentially Taunt
Scripted: few of Snarl (maybe even twice), possibly a Fake Out at start, Bulk Up, Will o Wisp (if not in regular moveset), Taunt (if not on regular moveset), Sunny Day, Overheat

That said...

Primarina @ Covert Cloak (if Snarl / Thunder Punch) - Shell Bell (otherwise)
Ability: Torrent
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Modest Nature
- Draining Kiss
- Moonblast
- Aqua Ring
- Calm Mind

or if you want a supportive option

Primarina @ Covert Cloak (if Snarl / Thunder Punch), can use Lefties i guess if not or whatever
Ability: Torrent
Tera Type: Stellar
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
- Draining Kiss
- Chilling Water
- Aqua Ring
- Reflect

4 speed to outspeed Adamant or in general neutral natured incineroar (swap with Timid if it's +speed natured)
Damage rolls of potential moves on Adamant vs Modest

vs Bold

Should be a pretty safe bet

You can even bigbrain Sparkling aria on your allies to heal burn if it has will o wisp. Sounds very stupid, but it is something you can do.

 

[Terimas]

I would consider Misty Terrain if you want to protect allies from burns. Or Safeguard, although not many useful mons can learn it. Rain Dance is another reasonable support option to reduce damage from Fire moves, although it's mostly the Dark type moves that we should be worried about.

 

[flamewizzy21]

After sleeping on it, I think Taunt and Acro are the most likely non STAB moves on the main set, due to their strength and how they would be on theme. I also doubt we’ll see bulk up spam because GF tries not to repeat gimmicks for the most part. And GF doesn’t normally put setup spam on pokemon that are pretty strong already (Dragonite being the exception because they kind of cornered themselves with the 6*, and Mewtwo because it’s Mewtwo).

For main moveset Taunt, you’d realistically want Aroma Veil via Alcremie, Dachsbun, or Oinkalogne. Alcremie has the best support movepool, but poor phys def for this. Oinkalogne’s Chilling Water is what sets it appart. Dachsbun is the middle ground option with better phys def stats than the cream pie, and a better move pool than the hog. Aroma Veil means no fire immunity, but that can be managed.

Wisp wouldn’t be that terrible to play around tbh, as there are several types of counterplay for nonvolatile status ailments, as Terimas mentioned. I can see Wisp as a bonus move, but not as a main moveslot.

 

[Sugarbear]

Personally I think this’ll be one of the easier max raids, since Incineroar is on the slow side and doesn’t hit all that hard. I suspect it will go for Bulk Up + Flame Charge and unleash boosted Power Trips.

Likely moves:
Flare Blitz
Knock Off
Will-o-wisp
Swords Dance
Bulk Up
Taunt
Flame Charge
Power Trip
Darkest Lariat
Throat Chop

Good mons to beat it:

Hariyama - Guts protects it from burns, Belly Drum + Drain Punch will take it down quick enough.
Azumarill - Resists both STABs, Belly Drum + Play Rough should smash it. Does need to watch out for burns though.
Iron Hands - see Hariyama, but slightly worse as it’s affected by burns
Sylveon - Calm Mind up, then blast it with Tera Fairy Pixilate Hyper Beam.
Gallade - Taunt, then Swords Dance, then Sacred Sword
Koraidon - resists both STABs can sub and ko with boosted Drain Punch

Support mons:
Malamar if it turns out to be bulky booster
Decorate Smeargle with Topsy Turvy + Thunderous Kick

 

[Original Dragon Arkvelza]

Hope you guys beat the 7 star Primarina from before

Covert Cloak
Ability doesn't matter
Tera Fairy
252 SpA / 252 Def / 6 Speed
Modest Nature (If he has a Speed nature go timid)

Moonblast
Draining Kiss
Chilling Water
Calm Mind

There is something I am curious about though. We know the bosses tend to spam attacks that will deal the most damage. Like even though Bellibolt is weak to Earthquake, Dondozo would still go for Wave Crash because it deals more damage. However, how about when the boss has a move that ignores stat changes? Take Dachsbun for example. These are the calcs for Iron Head and Darkest Lariat without any Def buffs.

0+ Atk Tera Dark Incineroar Iron Head vs. 0 HP / 252+ Def Dachsbun: 94-112 (36.8 - 43.9%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
0+ Atk Tera Dark Incineroar Darkest Lariat vs. 0 HP / 252+ Def Dachsbun: 50-59 (19.6 - 23.1%) -- possible 5HKO

Now here's Iron Head against +2 Def

0+ Atk Tera Dark Incineroar Iron Head vs. +2 0 HP / 252+ Def Dachsbun: 48-58 (18.8 - 22.7%) -- possible 5HKO

In that instance will Incineroar be blind to the fact Darkest Lariat will ignore the Def boosts and go for Iron Head instead, or will he be fully aware of it and keep on using it?

 

[Vengeance417]

You're going to see Annihilape. You're also going to see Annihilape not be Defiant. You're ALSO going to see Tera Ghost Annihilape just spam Rage Fist, and sometimes Shadow Claw.

 

[doipy hooves]

There is something I am curious about though. We know the bosses tend to spam attacks that will deal the most damage. Like even though Bellibolt is weak to Earthquake, Dondozo would still go for Wave Crash because it deals more damage. However, how about when the boss has a move that ignores stat changes? Take Dachsbun for example. These are the calcs for Iron Head and Darkest Lariat without any Def buffs.

0+ Atk Tera Dark Incineroar Iron Head vs. 0 HP / 252+ Def Dachsbun: 94-112 (36.8 - 43.9%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
0+ Atk Tera Dark Incineroar Darkest Lariat vs. 0 HP / 252+ Def Dachsbun: 50-59 (19.6 - 23.1%) -- possible 5HKO

Now here's Iron Head against +2 Def

0+ Atk Tera Dark Incineroar Iron Head vs. +2 0 HP / 252+ Def Dachsbun: 48-58 (18.8 - 22.7%) -- possible 5HKO

In that instance will Incineroar be blind to the fact Darkest Lariat will ignore the Def boosts and go for Iron Head instead, or will he be fully aware of it and keep on using it?

Yes, the AI would be aware of the damage done after ignoring stat stages. We've seen this effect before with Hisuian Samurott's Sacred Sword, which I noted it went for against Azumarill after 2 Defense Curls.

 

[Vengeance417]

Zapdos-Galar @ Leftovers / Shell Bell
Ability: Defiant
Tera Type: Fighting
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Thunderous Kick
- Taunt
- Coaching
- Bulk Up / Helping Hand

I can see GapDos being pretty cool depending on what Incineroar has. Defiant combats intimidate giving you +1 Attack, but that's not the main selling point. Taunt can stop potential Bulk Up spam or Will-O-Wisp, Thunderous Kick can lower Defense on shield, and Coaching gives your team Bulk Up boosts. Darkest Lariat might ignore defense boosts, but Fighting-types resist it and will likely deter Incineroar from using it. Also if it has a scripted Snarl or something, you get +2 Attack from it.

 

[DougJustDoug]

Have they ever given a 7* boss Taunt to date? I can’t remember one, but maybe I’m just forgetting. And, of course, there’s a first time for everything and I’m way past trying to rule out anything these days, after so much cheap stuff we’ve seen in 7* raids. But Taunt in the regular moveset would suck so hard, I guess I’m trying my hardest to justify why they’d never do that, lol. And I gotta admit, flavor-wise it fits Incineroar better than anything we’ve seen so far.

 

[Worldie]

My first thought was legitimately "wow the world's celebration just keeps going!"

To be fair, this is the first Worlds since it's available that Incineroar did NOT win so not sure about the celebration part

Have they ever given a 7* boss Taunt to date? I can’t remember one, but maybe I’m just forgetting.

Taunt not really, Primarina had Encore as scripted move, does that count?

 

[flamewizzy21]

Yes, the AI would be aware of the damage done after ignoring stat stages. We've seen this effect before with Hisuian Samurott's Sacred Sword, which I noted it went for against Azumarill after 2 Defense Curls.

The AI is strange in how it cheats. It can definitely see your stats, ability, and item. It seems to factor in some items into its calculation and choices (like type resist berries and weakness policy). It has goldfish memory with some abilities, where it will use an attack you are immune to, pretend to learn you have an ability immunity, do something else, forget the ability exists, and restart the cycle. The AI absolutely factors in itself having Contrary. It does not know that liquid voice sound moves will be covered by water absorb. It remembers if it has tried a status move yet….

Overall the SV AI is a real mixed bag. It is smart enough to do some things, and very dumb/abusable in other things, even related mechanics. For the most part, we learn about a lot of the spaghetti code via testing manually, and not by reasonning that the AI will use some sort of consistent logic across the board.

 

[Original Dragon Arkvelza]

As long as Incineroar doesn't have Earthquake Heatran could probably work.


Leftovers / Shell Bell
Flash Fire
Tera Fighting
252 Def / 252 HP / 6 SpA
Bold Nature

Body Press
Iron Defense
Will O Wisp
Protect

Thanks to Flash Fire Flare Blitz becomes a complete non issue and fighting doesn't share fairy's steel weakness so you won't have to worry about any potential Iron Heads. While the Def boosts will cause Incineroar to spam Darkest Lariat, Tera Fighting makes it a complete non issue.

0+ Atk Incineroar Darkest Lariat vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Fighting Heatran: 39-46 (10.1 - 11.9%) -- possible 9HKO

And that's not even factoring in Intimidate CPUs. That said, if he's a Bulk Up spammer you're better off using him as support.

 

[flamewizzy21]

Against a Taunt spammer, Oinkalogne-F is a good call.
Oinkalogne-F @ Ability Shield
Tera Dark (optional)
Aroma Veil
252/0-/252+/0/4/0
-Helping Hand
-Chilling Water
-Mud Slap
-Rain Dance/Tail Whip

0+ Atk Tera Dark Incineroar Flare Blitz vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Oinkologne-F: 144-171 (33.1 - 39.4%) -- 100% chance to 3HKO

She’s obviously not the strongest support, but we are here to exist and repeatedly block taunt by aroma veil. Chilling water spam can keep Incineroar in check (as Taunt spam AND bulk up spam is unlikely). We naturally outspeed the cat. Rain + Tera Dark can keep yourself safe, or go Tail whip to aid your team’s offense.

Yes Dachsbun is probably better. But Oinkalogne is funnier, and frequenyly convinces teammates to play more defensively. She also gets curse body press, if you want to boost extremely slowly. But then you won’t be able to spam chilling water that gives you an actual niche over doggo.

 

[Vengeance417]

Wigglytuff @ Fairy Feather / Light Clay / Ability Shield
Ability: Competitive
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 Def / 132 SpA / 124 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draining Kiss
- Nasty Plot
- Taunt / Reflect / Fake Tears / Chilling Water / Charm

Did you know the Jigglypuff line gets Taunt? I didn't, either.

Thanks to Intimidate triggering Competitive, you start the raid at +2 SpA. You also counter potential Snarl which will boost you by 1. Might have issues against Bulk Up Spam Incin, but Taunt can delay it during the early stage. I can also see Parting Shot be used at least once during the raid since it's a staple support move for VGC Incin, which you mega counter with Competitive.

Alcremie (F) @ Ability Shield
Ability: Aroma Veil
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Charm
- Draining Kiss
- Decorate
- Acid Armor

I think you can still get away with Alcremie vs Incin. You naturally outspeed so you can invest in max bulk and get Charms off before it attacks. During the shield portion, you can sustain yourself and help with minor chip damage with Draining Kiss + Acid Armor. Decorate is probably the best progress-making support move in the game and that's really all you need for the mid-end game anyway.

 

[Worldie]

Wigglytuff @ Ability Shield
Ability: Competitive
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 Def / 132 SpA / 124 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Taunt
- Fake Tears / Reflect
- Draining Kiss
- Nasty Plot

I don't see much point in ability shield honestly. Competitive not triggering for 1 turn isn't exactly a big deal.

As much as I love Wigglytuff, what I do worry is the fact you get obliterated by Flare Blitz (and this is with neutral, much worse if adamant)
0 Atk Incineroar Flare Blitz vs. 0 HP / 252 Def Wigglytuff: 181-214 (42.9 - 50.8%) -- 3.9% chance to 2HKO
Assuming you Reflect first, you are taking a bit less
0 Atk Incineroar Flare Blitz vs. 0 HP / 252 Def Wigglytuff through Reflect: 90-107 (21.3 - 25.4%) -- 0.2% chance to 4HKO
but with no way to boost your defense I don't see this working better than just... using Primarina instead honestly. If you have to rely on others to debuff attack for you may as well just use an actually good pokemon

 

[Vengeance417]

I don't see much point in ability shield honestly. Competitive not triggering for 1 turn isn't exactly a big deal.

As much as I love Wigglytuff, what I do worry is the fact you get obliterated by Flare Blitz (and this is with neutral, much worse if adamant)
0 Atk Incineroar Flare Blitz vs. 0 HP / 252 Def Wigglytuff: 181-214 (42.9 - 50.8%) -- 3.9% chance to 2HKO
Assuming you Reflect first, you are taking a bit less
0 Atk Incineroar Flare Blitz vs. 0 HP / 252 Def Wigglytuff through Reflect: 90-107 (21.3 - 25.4%) -- 0.2% chance to 4HKO
but with no way to boost your defense I don't see this working better than just... using Primarina instead honestly. If you have to rely on others to debuff attack for you may as well just use an actually good pokemon

I thought of Ability Shield for the scenario of Player stat reset turn, followed by Snarl or Parting Shot. AS lets you keep Competitive for that turn and get stat boosted, allowing you to keep momentum. You're probably right that it's not super necessary, could run Fairy Feather or something. You wouldn't want Covert Cloak since that removes Snarl's SpA drop and thus no competitive boost. If you're worried about better survivability, Wiggly has Chilling Water, Charm, and Defense Curl, either of which could be slotted over Fake Tears, or even Taunt if it ends up not being necessary.

I have faith in Wiggly. To me, it's a more offensive counterpart to Primarina that boosts faster with Nasty Plot / Competitive and isn't held back by Snarl. Not saying Prim is bad, I just think it'll be slower.