Sheep says Baaaaaaaah
--------->
Ampharos ------> Mega-Ampharos
General Information (pipelines || indicate Mega-Evolution)
Pokedex Number - 181
Type(s) - Electric || Electric / Dragon
Base Stats* - 90 HP / 75 Atk / 75 Def / 115 SpA / 90 SpD / 55 Spe
||
90 HP / 95 Atk / 105 Def / 165 SAtk /110 SpD / 45 SpE (Serebii)
Abilities:
Ability 1 - [Static]: 30% Chance to paralyzes from a contact move
Dream World Ability - [Plus]: If allied with a Pokemon with Plus or Minus, the wielder's Special Attack increases by 50%
||
Mega-Ability - [Mold Breaker]: Abilities that hinder attacks are nullified.
Resistances / Weaknesses:
Normal:
Important Moves:
- Thunder
- Thunderbolt
- Discharge
- Volt Switch
- Charge Bea
- Dragon Pulse
- Focus Blast
- Focus Punch
- Signal Beam
- Power Gem
- Counter
- Agility
- Cotton Guard
- Cotton Spore
- Reflect
- Light Screen
- Heal Bell
- Thunder Wave
- Toxic
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Rain Dance
New moves:
Dragon Pulse
Iron Deluge
Magnetic Flux
General Analysis of Pokemon:
Ampharos is one of the lucky few Pokemon to start out with a Mega-Evolution stone this generation. Ampharos looks sub-par option compared to the absolute power offered by Adaptability MegaLucario, Speed Boost Blaziken, and Huge Power Mawhile. Ampharos appears to be in direct competition with those powerhouses because its stat that was increased the most was its special attack stat by 50 points. With lackluster speed, which is decreased when it Mega-Evolves, and "only" 165 Special Attack, just how can Ampharos compete?
Upon closer inspection, however, we can see that Ampharos offers an entirely different niche. When Amphaos goes through Mega-Evolution, it receives a Dragon-typing, which gives it 3 extra x0.5 resists and a x.25 to Electric type attacks! In addition, it gives Ampharos a Dragon STAB which compliments Electric quite nicely, since neither Fairy nor Steel resist Electric. In addition, its once sub-par base 75 Defense is buffed up by 30 points to base 105 and its already high special defense is buffed up to base 110. Overall it has solid bulk with base 90 HP / 105 Def / 110 SpA. Mold Breaker allows for it to spam its Electric Attacks with impunity because Lightning Rod and Volt Absorb will not longer affect Electric attacks. In addition, it allows for its support moves to be more potent against teams with a Magic Bouncer (looking at you Mega-Absol). Lastly, Ampharos has some nifty support moves under its belt such as Heal Bell, Reflect, Light Screen, and Thunder Wave.
So what happens when you take all of that into consideration? Ladies and gentleman, meet the most optimized pivot switch in the metagame.
Potential Movesets:
[SET] [Pivot ]
name: Ampharos
move 1: Volt Switch
move 2: Drago Pulse
move 3: Thunderbolt / Focus Blast
move 4: Heal Bell / Thunder Wave / Thunderbolt / Focus Blast (bear w/ me)
ability: Static || Mold Breaker
item: Ampharosite
nature: Modest
evs: 172 HP / 252 SAtk / 84 Spd
Speed EV's outspeed min-speed Scizor. Really the EV spread is a placeholder though.
Set Description:
***
Volt Switch that is only blocked by Ground-types, a spammable 130 base power STAB, great resistances, bulk, good support options, and low speed to get safe switchins. What more could you ask of a pivot? Ampharos can do it, and this set aims to do it well.
Volt Switch is the key move on this set. Ampharos' lowered speed is a blessing in disguise because that lowered speed allows it to tank the hit for your teammate so your teammate can come in safely. Ampharos' good bulk and stellar resistances means it can tank those hits quite well. Volt Switch is sure to sting the opponent coming off of STAB and 165 Special Attack. Ampharos has an advantage over other Volt Switchers in that it can Volt Switch through Pokemon with Lightningrod and Volt Absorb.
Draco Meteor is the second key move on the set. At 130 base power and backed up by STAB, it is the strongest move in Ampharos' arsenal. Draco Meteor compliments Volt Switch perfectly because you can reset Draco Meteor's drop in power with Volt Switch and it puts the opponent in a precarious position. "Should I stay in and die to the Draco Meteor or face the risk of Ampharos gaining momentum through Volt Switch?"
Move 3 is where one can change up there set. Thunderbolt is the first choice because it provides a more reliable and powerful Electric-STAB move, which can be important to smack fairies around. It can be important to stopping SubDD Gyarados. If you feel running two Electric-STAB's is redundant, Focus Blast can be used to hurt Tyranitar and Ferrothorn. It is important to note no Steel-type outside of Ferrothorn in OU resists Electric though. Thunder is an option if you are on a rain team / running rain dance / want the extra power to go through Faries.
Move 4 is you most varied slot and where your support option can come in. Heal Bell can be an amazing asset for offensive teams to recover off status, which is quite useful versus defensive teams. Just one use heals all the status on your team and the potential for your team to recover any lost momentum. On the otherhand, Mold Breaker Thunder Wave is an awesome option against opposing offensive teams. Magic Bouncers such as Mega-Absol nor Volt-Absorbers such as Thundurus-T will be able to avoid the status. The only way would be able to switch in a Ground-type, but how many of those want to take a Draco Meteor? You could also run an an all-out attacking set with Thunderbolt + Focus Blast.
That isn't even the end of the fourth slot. You can also run either of Reflect or Light Screen to beef up your next switch in or you can run Rain Dance + Thunder to hit Fairies and Steels much harder.
Personal Opinion of the pokemon and conclusion (roughly one paragraph)
***
Ampharos has a lot to compete against for a Mega-Evolution slot on a team. While initially in this generation I don't think it will receive very high use, I am sure as time goes on people will opt for Ampharos for their Mega-Evo slot becauseMega Gengar is a broken piece of shit and will be banned they will recognize the awesome utility that Ampharos can bring to a team. Ampharos can ease the switch-ins for a team extremely well, and it also has a unique dual-STAB with Dragon that is resilient to the introduction of Fairies and the popularity of Steel-types. The three best Fairies so far: Azumarill, Togekiss, and Mawhile do not have a resistance to Ampahros' Electric-STAB. Azumarill and Togekiss are weak to it actually.


Ampharos ------> Mega-Ampharos
General Information (pipelines || indicate Mega-Evolution)
Pokedex Number - 181
Type(s) - Electric || Electric / Dragon
Base Stats* - 90 HP / 75 Atk / 75 Def / 115 SpA / 90 SpD / 55 Spe
||
90 HP / 95 Atk / 105 Def / 165 SAtk /110 SpD / 45 SpE (Serebii)
Abilities:
Ability 1 - [Static]: 30% Chance to paralyzes from a contact move
Dream World Ability - [Plus]: If allied with a Pokemon with Plus or Minus, the wielder's Special Attack increases by 50%
||
Mega-Ability - [Mold Breaker]: Abilities that hinder attacks are nullified.
Resistances / Weaknesses:
Normal:
- Resistances: Electric x.5 , Flying x0.5, Steel x0.5
- Weaknesses: 2x Ground
- Resistances: Fire x0.5, Water x0.5, Electric x0.25, Grass x0.5, xFlying 0.5, x0.5 Steel
- Weaknesses: Ground x2, Ice x2, Dragon x2, Fairy x2
Important Moves:
- Thunder
- Thunderbolt
- Discharge
- Volt Switch
- Charge Bea
- Dragon Pulse
- Focus Blast
- Focus Punch
- Signal Beam
- Power Gem
- Counter
- Agility
- Cotton Guard
- Cotton Spore
- Reflect
- Light Screen
- Heal Bell
- Thunder Wave
- Toxic
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Rain Dance
New moves:
Dragon Pulse
Iron Deluge
Magnetic Flux
General Analysis of Pokemon:
Ampharos is one of the lucky few Pokemon to start out with a Mega-Evolution stone this generation. Ampharos looks sub-par option compared to the absolute power offered by Adaptability MegaLucario, Speed Boost Blaziken, and Huge Power Mawhile. Ampharos appears to be in direct competition with those powerhouses because its stat that was increased the most was its special attack stat by 50 points. With lackluster speed, which is decreased when it Mega-Evolves, and "only" 165 Special Attack, just how can Ampharos compete?
Upon closer inspection, however, we can see that Ampharos offers an entirely different niche. When Amphaos goes through Mega-Evolution, it receives a Dragon-typing, which gives it 3 extra x0.5 resists and a x.25 to Electric type attacks! In addition, it gives Ampharos a Dragon STAB which compliments Electric quite nicely, since neither Fairy nor Steel resist Electric. In addition, its once sub-par base 75 Defense is buffed up by 30 points to base 105 and its already high special defense is buffed up to base 110. Overall it has solid bulk with base 90 HP / 105 Def / 110 SpA. Mold Breaker allows for it to spam its Electric Attacks with impunity because Lightning Rod and Volt Absorb will not longer affect Electric attacks. In addition, it allows for its support moves to be more potent against teams with a Magic Bouncer (looking at you Mega-Absol). Lastly, Ampharos has some nifty support moves under its belt such as Heal Bell, Reflect, Light Screen, and Thunder Wave.
So what happens when you take all of that into consideration? Ladies and gentleman, meet the most optimized pivot switch in the metagame.
Potential Movesets:
[SET] [Pivot ]
name: Ampharos
move 1: Volt Switch
move 2: Drago Pulse
move 3: Thunderbolt / Focus Blast
move 4: Heal Bell / Thunder Wave / Thunderbolt / Focus Blast (bear w/ me)
ability: Static || Mold Breaker
item: Ampharosite
nature: Modest
evs: 172 HP / 252 SAtk / 84 Spd
Speed EV's outspeed min-speed Scizor. Really the EV spread is a placeholder though.
Set Description:
***
Volt Switch that is only blocked by Ground-types, a spammable 130 base power STAB, great resistances, bulk, good support options, and low speed to get safe switchins. What more could you ask of a pivot? Ampharos can do it, and this set aims to do it well.
Volt Switch is the key move on this set. Ampharos' lowered speed is a blessing in disguise because that lowered speed allows it to tank the hit for your teammate so your teammate can come in safely. Ampharos' good bulk and stellar resistances means it can tank those hits quite well. Volt Switch is sure to sting the opponent coming off of STAB and 165 Special Attack. Ampharos has an advantage over other Volt Switchers in that it can Volt Switch through Pokemon with Lightningrod and Volt Absorb.
Draco Meteor is the second key move on the set. At 130 base power and backed up by STAB, it is the strongest move in Ampharos' arsenal. Draco Meteor compliments Volt Switch perfectly because you can reset Draco Meteor's drop in power with Volt Switch and it puts the opponent in a precarious position. "Should I stay in and die to the Draco Meteor or face the risk of Ampharos gaining momentum through Volt Switch?"
Move 3 is where one can change up there set. Thunderbolt is the first choice because it provides a more reliable and powerful Electric-STAB move, which can be important to smack fairies around. It can be important to stopping SubDD Gyarados. If you feel running two Electric-STAB's is redundant, Focus Blast can be used to hurt Tyranitar and Ferrothorn. It is important to note no Steel-type outside of Ferrothorn in OU resists Electric though. Thunder is an option if you are on a rain team / running rain dance / want the extra power to go through Faries.
Move 4 is you most varied slot and where your support option can come in. Heal Bell can be an amazing asset for offensive teams to recover off status, which is quite useful versus defensive teams. Just one use heals all the status on your team and the potential for your team to recover any lost momentum. On the otherhand, Mold Breaker Thunder Wave is an awesome option against opposing offensive teams. Magic Bouncers such as Mega-Absol nor Volt-Absorbers such as Thundurus-T will be able to avoid the status. The only way would be able to switch in a Ground-type, but how many of those want to take a Draco Meteor? You could also run an an all-out attacking set with Thunderbolt + Focus Blast.
That isn't even the end of the fourth slot. You can also run either of Reflect or Light Screen to beef up your next switch in or you can run Rain Dance + Thunder to hit Fairies and Steels much harder.
Personal Opinion of the pokemon and conclusion (roughly one paragraph)
***
Ampharos has a lot to compete against for a Mega-Evolution slot on a team. While initially in this generation I don't think it will receive very high use, I am sure as time goes on people will opt for Ampharos for their Mega-Evo slot because
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