I can be handy at times...
Overview
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To be frank, Ambipom is not a great Pokemon: Technician STAB Fake Out just isn't a good enough niche. Ambipom faces stiff competition from a lot of other Normal-types, including Cinccino, Tauros, and Zangoose, which boast more effective coverage and/or greater power. While Ambipom is fast, it has poor bulk and no resistances, so it must rely heavily on dealing damage while taking none in return. However, this is not easy, as Ambipom usually struggles to KO opponents due to its mediocre power and its reliance on neutral coverage rather than focusing on super effective coverage. While it can do some damage to offensive teams, it can hardly contribute against bulkier teams, while its Normal-type brethren can at least threaten both team archetypes. Ambipom is very outclassed, and other options should always be considered first.
All-Out Attacker
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name: All-Out Attacker
move 1: Fake Out
move 2: Return
move 3: Low Kick
move 4: Knock Off
ability: Technician
item: Life Orb
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
nature: Jolly
Moves
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Fake Out is Ambipom's main niche, scoring free, powerful damage on the opponent due to STAB and Technician. However, it very easily telegraphs Ambipom's attack, and the overwhelming presence of Pokemon such as Doublade, Alomomola, and Rhyperior means that Ambipom will often be nothing more than a free switch to a top threat. Return is Ambipom's most reliable attack and main way of dealing damage. Low Kick trips up Pokemon that resist Normal-type moves such as Cobalion, Registeel, and Rhyperior, and it can do serious damage due to their high weights. Knock Off strikes Ghost-types while also removing the items of defensive Pokemon to soften them up and make them easier to KO. U-turn can be used to gain momentum on opponents wanting to escape from Fake Out, while Pursuit targets the fleeing foes themselves and is especially effective on Dark-weak targets such as Delphox and Meloetta. Double Hit can be used to break Substitutes, but its chance to miss makes it unappealing for such a frail Pokemon that already has access to a much more accurate attacking option with similar power in Return, and Cinccino does this better anyway.
Set Details
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Maximum Speed investment allows Ambipom to outrun speedy Pokemon such as Heliolisk and Virizion, while max Attack investment maximizes Ambipom's damage output. The rest of the EVs go into either defensive stat, preferably Defense to take priority moves better, because Ambipom's current HP is an optimal Life Orb number, so it would be a waste to throw the leftover EVs in HP. Silk Scarf is a perfectly viable alternative to Life Orb, as Silk Scarf does not cause recoil and still boosts Ambipom's main attacks, although its coverage moves will be substantially weaker.
Usage Tips
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Ambipom is a very straightforward attacker. It checks frail sweepers that lack Protect with its powerful Fake Out regardless of their Speed. From there, Ambipom dishes out quick, reliable damage, with few foes outright resisting its attacks. Although Fake Out is usually quite safe to throw out, it is advisable to only use it if an opponent is certain to stay in, as the threat of a strong Fake Out can easily force out most frail attackers, and nailing the switch-in with the appropriate coverage move can be more practical. Ambipom can struggle to safely revenge kill Pokemon that are behind a Substitute, such as Moltres, Meloetta, and Cresselia, as they can dodge Fake Out's flinching effect. Ambipom also shouldn't switch into non-Ghost-type attack, as it thrives on revenge killing, or if it must be switched in it should at least be brought into battle via slow U-turns or Volt Switches.
Team Options
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As Ambipom forces switches so easily, entry hazards support is really useful to discourage switch-ins as well as soften up Ambipom's counters. Qwilfish makes for an amazing teammate, since it easily takes Fighting-type moves for Ambipom and lays down Spikes, which is effective because the majority of Ambipom's switch-in are grounded; Accelgor is also an effective user of Spikes for more offensive teams. On the other hand, Fighting-resistant teammates with Toxic Spikes, such as Qwilfish, Cofagrigus, and Weezing, are more plentiful. Toxic Spikes are potent against Regenerator users but they do not work against Steel-types and airborne Pokemon. Ambipom struggles against physically bulky Pokemon, so wallbreakers such as Clawitzer, Eelektross, Calm Mind Delphox, and Reuniclus can help Ambipom clean without much hindrance by dismantling the opponent's defensive cores. Fighting-types such as Cobalion, Virizion, and Hitmonlee can take out the Rock- and Steel-types that Ambipom cannot break through, while Ambipom can lure out problematic Ghost-types and weaken them with Knock Off. While not essential, slow Volt Switch or U-turn users can help bring Ambipom in safely; Clawitzer, Eelektross, and Magneton can all provide this support, and pack enough power and/or coverage to threaten bulkier foes that Ambipom cannot take down.
Other Options
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Ambipom can use the Fake Out + Last Resort combo, but its mono-coverage makes it easy to wall, Last Resort has low PP, and the fact that it must use Fake Out every time it enters battle can allow opponents to easily play around it. Ambipom has Nasty Plot, but it is too frail to set it up safely a vast majority of the time, and it is far too weak without or sometimes even with the boost. Baton Passing Special Attack boosts is done better by other Pokemon, such as Volbeat and Togetic. Ambipom does have a large amount of physical coverage options, though they are very situational over the main ones listed: Seed Bomb hits Rhyperior, Fire Punch hits Escavalier, and Ice Punch hits Gligar, but Ambipom hesitates to get rid of its main moves and risk leaving itself open to even more threats.
Checks & Counters
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**Physically Bulky Pokemon**: Anything that can take a hit or two from Ambipom already makes for an adequate response, especially when considering Ambipom lacks good power. Anything that has at least decent physical bulk, such as Alomomola, Tangrowth, Spiritomb, Cresselia, Bronzong, Gligar, and Rhyperior, can switch into Ambipom and stop it from doing much damage. Attackers with natural physical bulk such as Cobalion, Druddigon, Escavalier, Reuniclus, Doublade, and Durant, can survive Ambipom's attacks and easily retaliate for huge damage. Normal-resistant or immune Pokemon are especially good at stopping Ambipom.
**Faster Pokemon**: There aren't a lot of Pokemon faster than Ambipom, but the ones that are can easily threaten Ambipom due to its terrible bulk, though they should be wary of Fake Out if they lack Substitute. Swellow, Sceptile, Jolteon, Dugtrio, Meloetta-P, and Accelgor are such examples of faster Pokemon, threatening Ambipom with powerful STAB or super effective Fighting-type attacks. Kabutops is notable, as it resists Fake Out and makes use of Weak Armor to outspeed and KO Ambipom. Choice Scarf Pokemon, such as Emboar, Rotom-C, Gallade, and Delphox, can easily KO Ambipom with their STAB moves. Speed boosting Pokemon such as Unburden Hitmonlee and Slurpuff, as well as Speed Boost Sharpedo, can also get the drop on Ambipom, Sharpedo receiving a special mention because it can block Fake Out with Protect.
**Priority**: Priority attacks bypass Ambipom's high Speed, greatly shortening its overall lifespan. Powerful STAB priority such as Sucker Punch, Gale Wings Acrobatics, Aqua Jet, and Mach Punch cleave off a huge portion of Ambipom's health. It should be noted that Fake Out outprioritzes all of these moves, so note if Ambipom can use it.
**Status**: Paralysis and burn absolutely ruin Ambipom by crippling its best stats, Speed and Attack, respectively. Poison, alongside Life Orb recoil, drastically reduces Ambipom's time on the field. Bulky status users such as Cresselia, Amoonguss, Alomomola, Registeel, and Cofagrigus can also tank Ambipom's attacks.
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