[OVERVIEW]
Kommo-o is a valuable addition to a number of stall teams, as its ability, unique typing, and relatively good bulk allow it to check a number of troublesome Pokemon like Heatran, Ash-Greninja, Blacephalon, Mega Tyranitar, and Mega Gyarados. Conversely, its colorful movepool consisting of setup moves in Belly Drum and Dragon Dance, strong STAB moves, and plenty of coverage options like Thunder Punch, Poison Jab, and Earthquake also makes it a more than competent late-game sweeper. Its bulk and typing are beneficial to its offensive role too, as they allow Kommo-o to set up Substitutes on a number of common Pokemon in the tier, such asHeatran, Toxapex, and Ferrothorn. Its bulk and typing also make it resistant to a number of forms of revenge killing, such as Water Shuriken, Sucker Punch, and Choice Scarf Kartana. However, it does have its downsides. It can struggle defensively because it lacks access to any reliable recovery, making it overreliant on Wish support from other members of the team. Its typing, while good in a lot of regards, leaves it weak to some common typings like Psychic, Ice, and especially Fairy. This weakness to Fairy also extends to its offensive capabilities—its best move to hit Fairy-types is Poison Jab, which can't be fit on Belly Drum, and even when boosted it struggles to OHKO the majority of Fairy-types in the tier. Additionally, its Speed is only decent, meaning offensive sets are prone to being revenge killed by faster Pokemon like Hawlucha and Choice Scarf Greninja.
[SET]
name: Specially Defensive
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Dragon Tail
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Protect
item: Leftovers
ability: Bulletproof
nature: Careful
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Dragon Tail phazes the foe on the field, stopping setup sweepers like Gliscor, Serperior, and Mega Gyarados in their tracks. Earthquake has decent coverage alongside Dragon Tail, allowing Kommo-o to properly check Heatran, Mega Tyranitar, and Choice Band Victini. It also hits Fairy-types like Magearna, Mega Mawile, and Tapu Koko that would have nothing to fear from Kommo-o otherwise. Protect is multifaceted on the set—it weakens Z-Moves from the likes of Heatran and Blacephalon, allows you to scout what move Choice item users lock themselves into, punishes attempts at prediction, and lets Kommo-o get every ounce of recovery it can from Leftovers, which is very helpful considering its lack of reliable recovery.
Set Details
========
Bulletproof's main use is blocking Shadow Ball from Blacephalon, a huge threat to stall. As a bonus, it blocks other miscellaneous moves like Sludge Bomb from Tangrowth, Amoonguss, and Mega Venusaur and Focus Blast from Mega Charizard Y, Gengar, and Thundurus-T.
Usage Tips
========
Kommo-o should be used as a switch-in to the Pokemon it walls like Heatran, Mega Gyarados, and Blacephalon, which it can use as an opportunity to set up Stealth Rock when it inevitably forces them out. Protect is vital in Kommo-o's ability to check threats like the aforementioned Blacephalon, so you should attempt to predict when they will use their Z-Move. However, the Blacephalon user could predict this and use Calm Mind again, so the risk versus reward of using Protect should be evaluated. Keep Kommo-o from being inflicted with Toxic, as it will severely hinder its ability to check the Pokemon it's supposed to. Wish should be passed to Kommo-o fairly regularly to avoid letting it get too weakened; otherwise, it won't be able to check the Pokemon it should.
Team Options
========
This Kommo-o set is only used on stall teams, so it should be paired with Pokemon commonly found on such teams. Kommo-o's biggest flaw is its lack of reliable recovery, so this should be accounted for in teambuilding. Wish passers like Chansey, Clefable, and Jirachi can make up for this weakness and thus are stellar teammates. Chansey and Clefable can also use Heal Bell, which is greatly advantageous for Kommo-o, circumventing its weakness to Toxic. Steel-types like Celesteela, Mega Aggron, and the aforementioned Jirachi are necessary on every team, and all are great with Kommo-o, as they cover a lot of the breakers it is weak to such as Mega Alakazam, Kyurem-B, and Mega Pinsir. They also tend to be good answers to the Fairy-types that force Kommo-o out. Kommo-o can be worn down by entry hazards, namely Spikes and especially Toxic Spikes, so hazard removers commonly found on stall like Gliscor, Zapdos, and Mew are good partners.
[SET]
name: Belly Drum
move 1: Belly Drum
move 2: Substitute
move 3: Drain Punch
move 4: Thunder Punch
item: Salac Berry
ability: Bulletproof
nature: Jolly
evs: 52 HP / 204 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Drain Punch is used over moves like Close Combat, as the extra power isn't needed, and the recovery is greatly appreciated, leaving Kommo-o less prone to being revenge killed. The HP reduction from Substitute and Belly Drum activates Kommo-o's Salac Berry, giving it a boost to its Speed. Substitute is also key in letting Kommo-o set up on common Pokemon like Ferrothorn, Rotom-W, and Zapdos. Thunder Punch provides good coverage alongside Drain Punch, OHKOing Fighting-resistant Pokemon like Tornadus-T, Toxapex, and Tapu Fini after a Belly Drum while still providing neutral coverage against most other Fighting-type checks, namely Tapu Lele, Reuniclus, and Clefable.
Set Details
========
52 HP EVs ensure that Choice Scarf Magnezone can't break Kommo-o's Substitute behind screens. It also allows Kommo-o to set up a Belly Drum on Magnezone while avoiding being 2HKOed by Flash Cannon. Finally, it leaves Kommo-o's HP divisible by 4, meaning Salac Berry will always be activated after Substitute and Belly Drum. Bulletproof grants Kommo-o an immunity to a large number of moves, allowing it to set up on attacks like Ferrothorn's Gyro Ball, Blacephalon's Shadow Ball, and Mega Venusaur's Sludge Bomb.
Usage Tips
========
This set is used on hyper offensive teams, so the majority of the time Kommo-o should be sent out to attempt to sweep when its checks have been weakened and revenge killers dealt with. It can also be used to weaken the opposing team in order to pave the way for one of its teammates to clean up. Kommo-o's typing and decent bulk mean it can be used to check certain threats like Heatran and Ash-Greninja. However, sometimes it can be better to not use it to check these Pokemon, as it can put Kommo-o in range of even resisted priority like Water Shuriken and Sucker Punch after a Belly Drum, or it can simply leave Kommo-o unable to set up a Belly Drum and render it mostly useless offensively. While Kommo-o can set up on numerous Pokemon, it is often not a good idea to switch into these Pokemon and try to set up, as they will often be able to harass Kommo-o if it doesn't have a Substitute up—for example, Ferrothorn can whittle it down with Leech Seed, and Rotom-W can burn it with Will-O-Wisp.
Team Options
========
This set's used on hyper offense teams due to its reliance on one-time setup, so it should be paired with teammates that would fit on this archetype. Even with +1 Speed, Kommo-o is outsped by Choice Scarf users like Greninja and Tapu Lele, meaning it can be revenge killed if Substitute is broken. Sticky Web helps to circumvent this, so setters like Ribombee and Araquanid can be used. Dual screens Tapu Koko is an exemplary partner, as it sets up both screens that give Kommo-o more setup opportunities, has U-turn to pivot Kommo-o in, and boosts the power of Thunder Punch, allowing Kommo-o to OHKO Pokemon like Clefable and Mew with minor chip damage. Hawlucha has great synergy with Kommo-o, as they pressure each other's checks, namely Clefable, Reuniclus, and Hippowdon, likely facilitating a sweep. Additionally, Hawlucha too appreciates Tapu Koko as a teammate, completing a good offensive core with it. Unaware walls such as Clefable, Pyukumuku, and Quagsire perpetually wall Kommo-o, so it should be paired with sweepers like Mega Gyarados and Manaphy that can overcome these walls.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
An offensive set with Dragon Dance, Close Combat, Poison Jab, and Clanging Scales with Kommonium Z is an alternative to the offensive set listed above. It's actually better in some regards, namely in that it has an easier time setting up thanks to Dragon Dance boosting both Attack and Speed. However, it has less potential for results, as the listed coverage fails to OHKO staples of the tier like Magearna, Mega Mawile, Tornadus-T, and Toxapex. It also requires some heavy prediction to make effective use of the Z-Move due to Fairy-types preventing the boosts. If using specially defensive Kommo-o with other consistent entry hazard setters, you could replace Stealth Rock with a coverage move like Poison Jab to catch Fairy-types such as Tapu Bulu or Toxic to cripple Pokemon like Landorus-T, Tornadus-T, and Mega Alakazam.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Fairy-types**: Specially defensive Kommo-o only has Earthquake to hit Fairy-types, meaning it is forced out by the majority of Fairy-types in the tier, such as Tapu Bulu, Tapu Lele, and Clefable. The Belly Drum set has a better matchup, with +6 Thunder Punch OHKOing quite a few common ones, but it still misses out on healthy Clefable and is outsped by Choice Scarf Tapu Lele.
**Psychic-types**: Mega Alakazam, Tapu Lele, and Mega Medicham don't really fear much from defensive Kommo-o and easily OHKO it in return. Additionally, bulkier Psychic-types like Reuniclus, Mew, and Mega Slowbro can at least take one hit and threaten it back, with Reuniclus actually being able to set up on it with Acid Armor if at full HP.
**Status**: Toxic renders the defensive set unable to properly check the Pokemon it should and limits how many turns the offensive set has to break. Burn and paralysis severely cripple the offensive set, either leaving it much weaker to the point where it can't break or prone to being revenge killed.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Mellow, 423226]]
- Quality checked by: [[lyd, 303291], [Jordy, 395754], [GMars, 273636]]
- Grammar checked by: [[frostration, 447027], [The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216]]
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