NU Malamar (revamp)

JustoonSmitts

JustoonSmitts

I draw stuff for a living
is a Contributor to Smogonis a Top Artist Alumnus
184521

**art by me**​

[OVERVIEW]

Malamar is a distinctive setup sweeper that can dismantle passive teams by virtue of its unique ability Contrary in conjunction with Superpower. By utilizing Rest and Sleep Talk, it can switch into and set up against Pokemon such as Blastoise, Vaporeon, and Steelix that rely on status to shut down offensive Pokemon. However, Malamar is weak before boosting and slow, and although it has few weaknesses, its typing doesn't grant it many resistances either, offsetting some of the benefits its defensive utility provides. Additionally, strong wallbreakers such as Whimsicott, Medicham, Pangoro, and Accelgor can overwhelm it before it gets a chance to set up. Malamar also needs a lot of team support to function, and it tends to be quite inconsistent because of the ubiquity of its checks. Therefore, it only fits on teams tailored to it.

[SET]
name: Rest Talk Sweeper
move 1: Superpower
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Rest
move 4: Sleep Talk
item: Leftovers
ability: Contrary
nature: Careful
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Superpower acts as an offensive Bulk Up thanks to Contrary. It also hurts Dark-types such as Incineroar, Pangoro, and Sneasel for super effective damage. Knock Off is Malamar's best form of damage against Poison-types like Weezing, Garbodor, and Golbat as well as Fighting-resistant Pokemon such as Slowking, Rotom, and Xatu. Rest enables Malamar to take advantage of certain defensive Pokemon such as Slowking, Weezing, and Vaporeon by healing itself of status conditions that would normally shut down other offensive Pokemon. Sleep Talk prevents Malamar from being passive after it uses Rest, allowing it to potentially continue boosting with Superpower while bypassing the move's low PP.

Set Details
========

The following EV spread with a Careful nature gives Malamar an easier time setting up against Pokemon like Slowking and Blastoise. Contrary reverses stat drops, allowing Malamar to set up with Superpower and pressure Defog users by gaining an evasion boost.

Usage Tips
========

Malamar should be used late-game as a wincon once its checks and counters are gone. However, it can also spam Knock Off early-game to cripple checks so they're less effective at stopping it late-game. Malamar can be brought in against Pokemon like Slowking, Seismitoad, and Weezing and begin setting up. This is because Malamar can heal status conditions such as Scald burns and Toxic poison and continue boosting its stats with Rest and Sleep Talk so it can combat Pokemon like Blastoise, Vaporeon, and Slowking. If Malamar has sustained a lot of damage in battle, use Rest to bring it back to full health so it can consistently check Pokemon like Rotom and Delphox.

Team Options
========

Malamar fits best on teams that are built specifically around it, since it requires unique support to function consistently. Steelix is an ideal partner for Malamar, as it can threaten the Fairy-, Bug-, and Poison-types that threaten Malamar and pressure physically offensive Pokemon like Sneasel and Aerodactyl, giving Malamar an easier time setting up. In return, Malamar can check special attackers like Slowking and pressure Xatu, allowing Steelix more free rein to set Stealth Rock. Spikes setters such as Garbodor and Ferroseed also pair well with Malamar, since it pressures Defog users thanks to Contrary, which can help keep Spikes on the field. Garbodor can also blanket check Fighting- and Fairy-types as well as U-turn users such as Decidueye and Choice Scarf Togedemaru. Weezing is another Pokemon that works well with Malamar, as it can punish U-turn spam with its Rocky Helmet, and Toxic Spikes wears down checks to Malamar like Whimsicott and Comfey.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Malamar can use Z-Happy Hour to give it a boost to all of its stats, potentially making it more immediately threatening. However, it is still outpaced and revenge killed by Choice Scarf users like Passimian and Togedemaru after a boost.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Bug-type Coverage and Bug-types**: Pokemon with U-turn such as Passimian and Choice Scarf Togedemaru can threaten Malamar out of battle because of its low Defense before boosting and its nasty weakness to Bug-type moves. Swords Dance Samurott is also notable because it can easily OHKO Malamar with Savage Spin-Out before setting up. Bug-type Pokemon such as Vikavolt and Accelgor fear very little from Malamar's moves, can outspeed it in Accelgor's case, and can OHKO Malamar before it has the chance to set up.

**Fairy-types**: Fairy-type Pokemon such as Comfey and Whimsicott can take any move Malamar goes for and retaliate with their own STAB moves. Comfey can even set up Calm Mind in front of Malamar and recover damage it takes with Draining Kiss.

**Strong Wallbreakers**: Pokemon such as Medicham, Pangoro, Flyinium Z Aerodactyl, Poisonium Z Garbodor, and Mega Glalie can overwhelm Malamar by outspeeding it and exploiting its weaker Defense before it has a chance to boost with Superpower. However, most of these Pokemon want to directly switch into Malamar.

**Unaware Users**: Pokemon like Quagsire and Pyukumuku can hard wall Malamar, since they ignore the stat boosts accumulated by Superpower.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[JustoonSmitts, 239732]]
- Quality checked by: [[quziel, 297859], [Rabia, 336073], [Eternally, 295647]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Rabia, 336073], [Fireflame479, 231476]]
 
Last edited:
JustoonSmitts said:
View attachment 184521
**art by me**​

[OVERVIEW]
  • Malamar is an interesting late-game cleaner thanks to its access to Contrary and Superpower, potentially dismantling defensive teams that rely on Taunt to stop setup sweepers.
  • With investment, it has decent enough bulk to check Pokemon such as Heliolisk, Slowking, and Delphox to allow an easier time setting up.
  • However, Malamar has mediocre firepower and physical bulk before boosting, is rather slow, its defensive typing gives it no useful resistances outside of an immunity to Psychic, and it has one weakness that can easily be exploited by any Pokemon with U-turn such as Passimian and Togedemaru. Reword, "it has one weakness" ignores the fairy weakness. Even Pokemon that it's supposed to check such as Xatu, Decidueye, and defensive Incineroar can break Malamar without needing to prepare for it. I'd say heavily damage rather than break.
  • Malamar's main boosting option in Superpower means it can have trouble against Pokemon such as Garbodor, Golbat, and Decidueye. Mention superpower's lacking pp here.
  • Other set up sweepers like Incineroar, Pangoro, and Scrafty not only perform more constantly, but are also much easier to fit on teams since they require much less support.
[SET]
name: Rest Talk Sweeper
move 1: Superpower
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Rest
move 4: Sleep Talk
item: Leftovers
ability: Contrary
nature: Careful
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

  • Superpower is Malamar's main boosting move, which boosts acts as an offensive Bulk Up thanks to Contrary.
  • Knock Off cripples any potential defensive switch ins such as Weezing, Garbodor, and Golbat
  • Rest keeps Malamar healthy, especially after it boosts.
  • Sleep Talk prevents Malamar from being passive after it uses Rest, allowing it to potentially continue boosting with Superpower. Also way more pp.
Set Details
========

  • The following EV spread with a Careful nature gives Malamar an easier time setting up against common special attackers, as it is 3HKO'd by Heliolisk's Hyper Voice and Delphox's Fire Blast before a Calm Mind boost.
  • Contrary reverses stat drops, allowing Malamar to set up with Superpower. Also mention that it can be used to give evasion from defog.
Usage Tips
========

  • Malamar should be used late-game as a wincon once its checks and counters are gone. What do I do early game (aka knock spam)
  • Malamar can be brought in if a teammate has fainted, via U-turn support, or against a special attacker it can threaten such as Heliolisk, Delphox, Rotom, or Mismagius.
  • Malamar should use Knock Off to apply pressure against more defensive Pokemon like Slowking, but it can also take advantage of more passive Pokemon like Blastoise and Vaporeon and set up against them due to their general passivity.
  • If Malamar has sustained a lot of damage in battle, use Rest to bring it back to full health and so it can consistently check special attackers like Heliolisk and Delphox.
  • Thanks to Rest and Sleep Talk, Malamar is not afraid of taking status conditions such as Toxic poison or burns from Scald users like Blastoise, Vaporeon, and Slowking.
Team Options
========

  • Malamar best fits on balanced and bulky offense teams since it can pressure defensive Pokemon like Slowking and Steelix.
  • Speaking of, Steelix is an ideal partner for Malamar as Steelix can threaten the Fairy-, Bug- and Poison-types that threaten Malamar and can pressure physically offensive Pokemon like Sneasel and Aerodactyl, giving Malamar an easier time setting up. In return, Malamar can check special attackers like Slowking and Heliolisk and pressure Xatu, allowing Steelix more free rein to set Stealth Rock.
  • Spikes setters such as Garbodor, Ferroseed, and Accelgor also pair well with Malamar, since its Contrary does put pressure on Defog users, which can help keep Spikes on the field. Garbodor can also blanket check Fighting- and Fairy-types, as well as U-turn users such as Passimian and Choice Scarf Togedemaru. Also weezing, aka Rocky Helmet beats up U-turn spam, and tspikes work well with a mon that spends forever on the field.
  • Malamar can also act as a status absorber for defensive partners such as Slowking, Vaporeon, and Decidueye, and offensive ones like Passimian, Aerodactyl, and Scrafty because it is not threatened by Toxic or burns from Scald thanks to Rest. These Pokemon also appreciate Malamar's ability to threaten defensive cores with Knock Off, which gives them more opportunities to sweep late-game. Passimian and Decidueye can also bring Malamar into battle safely with U-turn.
  • Teammates such as Togedemaru, Rhydon, and Delphox can also pressure the Poison-, Bug-, and Fairy-types that threaten Malamar out of the battle.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
  • Malamar can also use Z-Happy Hour to give it a boost to all of its stats, potentially making it more threatening. However, it is still outpaced and revenge killed by Choice Scarf users like Passimian and Togedemaru after a boost.
  • Psycho Cut can be used over Knock Off to threaten specific Pokemon like Golbat, Weezing, and Garbodor, but the wider coverage and utility of Knock Off makes this an inferior option.
Checks and Counters
===================

**Bug-type Coverage and Bug-types**: Any Pokemon with U-turn such as Passimian, Choice Scarf Togedemaru, and defensive Incineroar can all threaten Malamar out of battle because of its low defense before boosting and its nasty weakness to Bug-type moves. Bug-type Pokemon such as Vikavolt, Vivillon, and Accelgor fear very little from Malamar's moves, can outspeed it in Vivillon and Accelgor's case, and can OHKO Malamar before it has the chance to set up and wallbreak. Viv rarely runs Bug Buzz.

**Poison-types**: Because it is reliant on Superpower to boost, Malamar can have trouble breaking Pokemon such as Garbodor, Weezing, and Golbat. Golbat, in particular, is much faster and threatens Malamar out with U-turn. None of these Pokemon want to risk switching into a boosted Knock Off, however.

**Fairy-types**: Fairy-type Pokemon such as Comfey and Whimsicott can take any move Malamar goes for and retaliate with their own powerful STAB moves, or even U-turn in Whimsicott's case. Comfey can even set up Calm Mind in front of Malamar and recover damage it takes with a priority boosted Draining Kiss.

Fairy types should be #2 here.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[JustoonSmitts, 239732]]
- Quality checked by: [[, ], [, ], [, ]]
- Grammar checked by: [[, ], [, ]]
Click to expand...

1/3 on implementation.
 
JustoonSmitts said:
View attachment 184521
**art by me**​

[OVERVIEW]
  • Malamar is an interesting late-game cleaner thanks to its access to Contrary and Superpower, potentially dismantling defensive teams that rely on Taunt to stop setup sweepers.
  • With investment, it has decent enough bulk to check Pokemon such as Heliolisk, Slowking, and Delphox to allow an easier time setting up. Heliolisk and Delphox are questionable mentions in my eyes; Heliolisk has a damn good shot of 2HKOing with Stealth Rock, while Z-Dazzling Gleam Delphox nukes at +1 (although it isn't a particularly common set). I'd mention Rotom and Weezing instead and reword this to address how Rest lets Malamar take advantage of Pokemon like those two that rely on status to shut down certain setup sweepers.
  • However, Malamar has mediocre firepower and physical bulk before boosting, is rather slow, its defensive typing gives it no useful resistances outside of an immunity to Psychic, and it has two weaknesses that can easily be exploited by any Pokemon with U-turn such as Passimian and Togedemaru and Fairy-types like Comfey and Whimsicott. Even Pokemon that it's supposed to check such as Xatu, Decidueye, and defensive Incineroar can deal heavy damage to Malamar without needing to prepare for it. This needs rewording; it reads incredibly clunky currently.
  • Malamar's main boosting option in Superpower has low PP and it can have trouble against Pokemon such as Garbodor, Golbat, and Decidueye. Why does Malamar have trouble against these Pokemon? Golbat you beat unless it's Taunt, and I don't see Defog variants of Decidueye breaking Malamar particularly easily. Even Garbodor struggles to do much versus it.
  • Other set up sweepers like Incineroar, Pangoro, and Scrafty not only perform more constantly, but are also much easier to fit on teams since they require much less support. Incineroar is a wallbreaker, not a setup sweeper. Scrafty is one of the last things I would deem consistent.
[SET]
name: Rest Talk Sweeper
move 1: Superpower
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Rest
move 4: Sleep Talk
item: Leftovers
ability: Contrary
nature: Careful
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

  • Superpower is Malamar's main boosting move, which boosts acts as an offensive Bulk Up thanks to Contrary. Superpower is its only boosting move, not its main one. Maybe note that Superpower gives Malamar coverage for Dark-types.
  • Knock Off cripples any potential defensive switch ins such as Weezing, Garbodor, and Golbat Reword to say that Knock Off is Malamar's best form of damage for Poison-types and how it bops other Fighting-resistant Pokemon like x, y, and z.
  • Rest keeps Malamar healthy, especially after it boosts. Address how Rest enables Malamar to take advantage of certain defensive Pokemon like x, y, and z.
  • Sleep Talk prevents Malamar from being passive after it uses Rest, allowing it to potentially continue boosting with Superpower while bypassing the aforementioned move's low PP.
Set Details
========

  • The following EV spread with a Careful nature gives Malamar an easier time setting up against common special attackers, as it is 3HKO'd by Heliolisk's Hyper Voice and Delphox's Fire Blast before a Calm Mind boost. Pick better examples for the reasons stated before.
  • Contrary reverses stat drops, allowing Malamar to set up with Superpower, as well as an evasion boost from Defog users. Fix the grammatical issues here, they bug me.
Usage Tips
========

  • Malamar should be used late-game as a wincon once its checks and counters are gone. It can also spam Knock Off early-game to dismantle defensive cores.
  • Malamar can be brought in if a teammate has fainted, via U-turn support, or against a special attacker it can threaten such as Heliolisk, Delphox, Rotom, or Mismagius. This is such a bland and generic point that really doesn't say what it needs to. Already talked about how some of these are questionable examples. I think the main thing you should be noting here is how Malamar can switch into passive Pokemon (and certain special attackers of course, but this is the more relevant point) and set up versus them while not fearing really much of anything due to Rest.
  • Malamar should use Knock Off to apply pressure against more defensive Pokemon like Slowking, but it can also take advantage of more passive Pokemon like Blastoise and Vaporeon and set up against them due to their general passivity. Yeah the passive Pokemon point should be brought above; you can talk about how early-game Malamar should focus on crippling checks with Knock Off.
  • If Malamar has sustained a lot of damage in battle, use Rest to bring it back to full health and so it can consistently check special attackers like Heliolisk and Delphox. It consistently checks only one of those.
  • Thanks to Rest and Sleep Talk, Malamar is not afraid of taking status conditions such as Toxic poison or burns from Scald users like Blastoise, Vaporeon, and Slowking. Covered in other bullet with my feedback implemented properly.
Team Options
========

  • Malamar best fits on balanced and bulky offense teams since it can pressure defensive Pokemon like Slowking and Steelix. This is definitely not why.
  • Speaking of, Steelix is an ideal partner for Malamar as Steelix can threaten the Fairy-, Bug- and Poison-types that threaten Malamar and can pressure physically offensive Pokemon like Sneasel and Aerodactyl, giving Malamar an easier time setting up. In return, Malamar can check special attackers like Slowking and Heliolisk and pressure Xatu, allowing Steelix more free rein to set Stealth Rock. Still not loving talking about Malamar as a Heliolisk check.
  • Spikes setters such as Garbodor, Ferroseed, and Accelgor also pair well with Malamar, since its Contrary does put pressure on Defog users, which can help keep Spikes on the field. Garbodor can also blanket check Fighting- and Fairy-types, as well as U-turn users such as Passimian and Choice Scarf Togedemaru. Mention Decidueye > Passimian, you already said Garbodor checks Fighting-types.
  • Weezing is another Pokemon that works well with Malamar, as it can punish U-turn spam with its Rocky Helmet and help Malamar break defensive cores further with Tocic Spikes.
  • Malamar can also act as a status absorber for defensive partners such as Slowking, Vaporeon, and Decidueye, and offensive ones like Passimian, Aerodactyl, and Scrafty because it is not threatened by Toxic or burns from Scald thanks to Rest. These Pokemon also appreciate Malamar's ability to threaten defensive cores with Knock Off, which gives them more opportunities to sweep late-game. Passimian and Decidueye can also bring Malamar into battle safely with U-turn.
  • Teammates such as Togedemaru, Rhydon, and Delphox can also pressure the Poison-, Bug-, and Fairy-types that threaten Malamar out of the battle. This bullet feels like filler text to me. Find some way to move these mentions into other sections if you want to keep them.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
  • Malamar can also use Z-Happy Hour to give it a boost to all of its stats, potentially making it more threatening. However, it is still outpaced and revenge killed by Choice Scarf users like Passimian and Togedemaru after a boost.
  • Psycho Cut can be used over Knock Off to threaten specific Pokemon like Golbat, Weezing, and Garbodor, but the wider coverage and utility of Knock Off makes this an inferior option. No.
Checks and Counters
===================

**Bug-type Coverage and Bug-types**: Any Pokemon with U-turn such as Passimian, Choice Scarf Togedemaru, and defensive Incineroar can all threaten Malamar out of battle because of its low defense before boosting and its nasty weakness to Bug-type moves. Bug-type Pokemon such as Vikavolt and Accelgor fear very little from Malamar's moves, can outspeed it in Accelgor's case, and can OHKO Malamar before it has the chance to set up.

**Fairy-types**: Fairy-type Pokemon such as Comfey and Whimsicott can take any move Malamar goes for and retaliate with their own powerful STAB moves, or even U-turn in Whimsicott's case. Comfey can even set up Calm Mind in front of Malamar and recover damage it takes with a priority boosted Draining Kiss. Why would Whimsicott be "retaliating" with U-turn? If anything, you should talk about it separately and say how it can capitalize on Malamar being forced out with U-turn.

**Poison-types**: Because it is reliant on Superpower to boost, Malamar can have trouble breaking Pokemon such as Garbodor, Weezing, and Golbat. Golbat, in particular, is much faster and threatens Malamar out with U-turn. None of these Pokemon want to risk switching into a boosted Knock Off, however. Replace this section with one about Unaware users. I get that stall is rather dead, but honestly I'm only considering one of these three a worthy mention as a check.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[JustoonSmitts, 239732]]
- Quality checked by: [[quziel, 297859], [, ], [, ]]
- Grammar checked by: [[, ], [, ]]
Click to expand...
let me know when this is implemented so that I can check again
 
JustoonSmitts said:
[OVERVIEW]
  • Malamar is an interesting late-game cleaner thanks to its access to Contrary and Superpower, potentially dismantling defensive teams that rely on Taunt to stop setup sweepers.
  • With investment and utilizing Rest and Sleep Talk, it can check Pokemon such as Slowking, Weezing, and Rotom that rely on status to shut down offensive Pokemon and set up if their faces.
  • However, Malamar has mediocre firepower and poor physical bulk before boosting and it's rather slow. what does this mean for Malamar
  • Its defensive typing gives it no useful resistances outside of an immunity to Psychic and while it has only two weaknesses, Malamar can easily be exploited by any Pokemon with U-turn such as Passimian and Togedemaru and Fairy-types like Comfey and Whimsicott. Even Pokemon that it's supposed to check such as Xatu, Decidueye, and defensive Incineroar can deal heavy damage to Malamar without needing to prepare for it. I feel like this can just go in the previous idea; Malamar is weak before boosting, slow, and really exploitable defensively because of its weaknesses, offsetting some of the benefits its defensive utility provides. you could then talk about how it's prone to being overwhelmed by stronger special attackers because its bulk just isn't that amazing
  • Other set up sweepers like Comfey, Pangoro, and Delphox are usually much easier to fit on teams since they require much less support to succeed.
[SET]
name: Rest Talk Sweeper
move 1: Superpower
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Rest
move 4: Sleep Talk
item: Leftovers
ability: Contrary
nature: Careful
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

  • Superpower is Malamar's only boosting move, which acts as an offensive Bulk Up thanks to Contrary. It also hurts Dark-types such as Incineroar, Pangoro, and Sneasel for super effective damage.
  • Knock Off is Malamar's best form of damage against Fighting-resistant Pokemon like Weezing, Garbodor, and Golbat this isn't what I wanted you to do; I wanted you to talk about how Knock Off is Malamar's best form of damage against Poison-types such as the ones you listed and how it hits other Pokemon that resist or are immune to Fighting such as blah
  • Rest enables Malamar to take advantage of certain defensive Pokemon such as Slowking, Weezing, and Vaporeon by healing itself of any status conditions that would normally shut down other offensive Pokemon.
  • Sleep Talk prevents Malamar from being passive after it uses Rest, allowing it to potentially continue boosting with Superpower while bypassing the aforementioned move's low PP.
Set Details
========

  • The following EV spread with a Careful nature gives Malamar an easier time setting up against Pokemon like Slowking or Rotom.
  • Contrary reverses stat drops, allowing Malamar to set up with Superpower and pressure Defog users by gaining an evasion boost.
Usage Tips
========

  • Malamar should be used late-game as a wincon once its checks and counters are gone. It can also spam Knock Off early-game to dismantle defensive cores. I have no idea how it is dismantling defensive cores. talk about how early-game Knock Off spam is helpful to cripple checks so that they're less effective at stopping it late-game
  • Malamar can be vrought in against Pokemon like Slowking, Rotom, and Weezing and begin setting up. This is because Malamar can heal status conditions from Scald burns or Toxic and continue boosting its stats with Rest and Sleep Talk. Malamar can also apply further pressure with Knock Off against these more passive targets. remove the bit about Knock Off, should be covered in previous point
  • If Malamar has sustained a lot of damage in battle, use Rest to bring it back to full health and so it can consistently check Pokemon like Rotom and Delphox.
  • Thanks to Rest and Sleep Talk, Malamar is not afraid of taking status conditions such as Toxic poison or burns from Scald users like Blastoise, Vaporeon, and Slowking. there are like 3 bullets here talking about uses of Rest. this seems really redundant and can probably be made more concise.
Team Options
========

  • Malamar best fits on balanced and bulky offense teams since it can continue boosting its stats against defensive Pokemon like Blastoise or Weezing that rely on using status conditions to shut down offensive Pokemon. yeah this still isn't why. consider why you would want to put other defensive pokemon alongside malamar
  • Steelix is an ideal partner for Malamar as Steelix can threaten the Fairy-, Bug- and Poison-types that threaten Malamar and can pressure physically offensive Pokemon like Sneasel and Aerodactyl, giving Malamar an easier time setting up. In return, Malamar can check special attackers like Slowking and pressure Xatu, allowing Steelix more free rein to set Stealth Rock.
  • Spikes setters such as Garbodor, Ferroseed, and Accelgor also pair well with Malamar, since its Contrary does put pressure on Defog users, which can help keep Spikes on the field. Garbodor can also blanket check Fighting- and Fairy-types, as well as U-turn users such as Decidueye and Choice Scarf Togedemaru. remove Accelgor mention, I don't see a world in which I run Accelgor alongside Malamar
  • Weezing is another Pokemon that works well with Malamar, as it can punish U-turn spam with its Rocky Helmet and help Malamar break defensive cores further with Tocic Spikes. Malamar is not breaking defensive cores; talk instead about how Toxic Spikes wears down checks to Malamar like Whimsicott, Comfey, etc
  • Malamar can also act as a status absorber for defensive partners such as Slowking, Vaporeon, and Decidueye, and offensive ones like Passimian, Aerodactyl, and Scrafty because it is not threatened by Toxic or burns from Scald thanks to Rest. These Pokemon also appreciate Malamar's ability to threaten defensive cores with Knock Off, which gives them more opportunities to sweep late-game. Passimian and Decidueye can also bring Malamar into battle safely with U-turn. I mean, Vaporeon runs Heal Bell really frequently, so not too sure if it really needs a status absorber as a partner
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
  • Malamar can also use Z-Happy Hour to give it a boost to all of its stats, potentially making it more threatening. However, it is still outpaced and revenge killed by Choice Scarf users like Passimian and Togedemaru after a boost.
Checks and Counters
===================

**Bug-type Coverage and Bug-types**: Any Pokemon with U-turn such as Passimian, Choice Scarf Togedemaru, and defensive Incineroar can all threaten Malamar out of battle because of its low defense before boosting and its nasty weakness to Bug-type moves. Bug-type Pokemon such as Vikavolt and Accelgor fear very little from Malamar's moves, can outspeed it in Accelgor's case, and can OHKO Malamar before it has the chance to set up.

**Fairy-types**: Fairy-type Pokemon such as Comfey and Whimsicott can take any move Malamar goes for and retaliate with their own powerful STAB moves. Comfey can even set up Calm Mind in front of Malamar and recover damage it takes with a priority boosted Draining Kiss. Whimiscott can also capitalize on Malamar being forced out by U-turn.

**Unaware users**: Pokemon like Quagsire and Pyukumuku can hard wall Malamar since they ignore the stat boosts accumulated by Superpower.


[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[JustoonSmitts, 239732]]
- Quality checked by: [[quziel, 297859], [, ], [, ]]
- Grammar checked by: [[, ], [, ]]
Click to expand...
qc 2/3 after write up. make sure to fix the random pokemon name/move typos.
 
JustoonSmitts said:
Malamar can be brought in against Pokemon like Slowking, Rotom, and Weezing and begin setting up.
Click to expand...
I don't think that mentioning Rotom here is a good idea, it's not actually a pokemon it can set up on, you should probably put a fat water instead as Malamar can set up on most of them quite easily.

JustoonSmitts said:
Malamar best fits on balanced and bulky offense teams since it's a setup sweeper that can be paired with defensive Pokemon to act as a status absorber with Rest. Because of this, defensive partners such as Slowking, Druddigon, and Decidueye, and offensive ones like Passimian, Aerodactyl, and Scrafty pair well with Malamar because it is not threatened by Toxic or burns from Scald thanks to Rest. These Pokemon also appreciate Malamar's ability to threaten defensive cores with Knock Off, which gives them more opportunities to sweep late-game.
Click to expand...

This part is kinda iffy to me, I don't think Malamar should act as a status absorber throughout the battle to "give them more opportunities to sweep late-game", especially since Malamar is a late-game wincon as you said earlier. I also don't know why you would pair Scrafty with Malamar as Scrafty has Shed Skin as an ability so it's not threatened by Toxic or burns either and it's also a bulky wincon kind of so just remove its mention.

JustoonSmitts said:
This is because Malamar can heal status conditions from Scald burns or Toxic and continue boosting its stats with Rest and Sleep Talk. It's because of Rest Talk that Malamar is not afraid of taking status conditions such as Toxic poison or burns from Scald users like Blastoise, Vaporeon, and Slowking
Click to expand...
I don't know if this is intentional or not but it seems like you're just repeating yourself, fix that

This needs to be looked at again before 3/3
 
Earth said:
I don't think that mentioning Rotom here is a good idea, it's not actually a pokemon it can set up on, you should probably put a fat water instead as Malamar can set up on most of them quite easily.



This part is kinda iffy to me, I don't think Malamar should act as a status absorber throughout the battle to "give them more opportunities to sweep late-game", especially since Malamar is a late-game wincon as you said earlier. I also don't know why you would pair Scrafty with Malamar as Scrafty has Shed Skin as an ability so it's not threatened by Toxic or burns either and it's also a bulky wincon kind of so just remove its mention.


I don't know if this is intentional or not but it seems like you're just repeating yourself, fix that

This needs to be looked at again before 3/3
Click to expand...
Went ahead and fixed all this. Thank you, Earth.
 
JustoonSmitts said:
View attachment 184521
**art by me**​

[OVERVIEW]

Malamar is an interesting late-game cleaner thanks to its access to Contrary and Superpower, potentially dismantling defensive teams that rely on Taunt to stop setup sweepers. (I think game cleaner is a little inaccurate here. "Malamar is a distinctive setup sweeper that can dismantle passive teams by virtue of it's unique ability Contrary in conjunction with Superpower.") By utilizing Rest and Sleep Talk, it can check Pokemon such as Slowking, Weezing, and Rotom that rely on status to shut down offensive Pokemon and set up if their faces (It can't actually setup on Rotom because it's a Ghost-type, Blastoise, Vaporeon, and even Steelix would be better examples). However, Malamar is weak before boosting, slow, and really exploitable defensively because of its weaknesses (It only has one weakness to Bug, reword this to say that although it has few weaknesses, it's typing doesnt grant it many resistances either.), offsetting some of the benefits its defensive utility provides. It can even be overwhelmed by special attackers such as Heliolisk, Sceptile, and Comfey because even with investment, its special bulk is not that amazing (Heliolisk isn't a great example since it either gets OHKO'd by Superpower, or loses it's item via Knock Off, leaving it unable to even 3HKO Malamar. I also don't really feel you need to specifically mention Special Attackers here, because it deals with them far better than strong physical attackers overall. Maybe just reword this to say that strong wallbreakers can overwhelm it before it gets a chance to set up, and then you can use examples such as Medicham, Whimsicott, Pangoro, and Accelgor?). Other set up sweepers like Comfey, Pangoro, and Delphox are usually much easier to fit on teams since they require much less support to succeed. (They all fill very different roles though, Malamar doesn't compete with any of them because of how unique it is in the way it functions. I'd just say that Malamar needs a lot of team support to function, and it tends to be quite inconsistent because of the ubiquity of it's checks, e.g Passimian's U-Turn, Comfey, Whimsicott, etc. Therefore it best fits on teams that are specifically tailored around it.)

[SET]
name: Rest Talk Sweeper
move 1: Superpower
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Rest
move 4: Sleep Talk
item: Leftovers
ability: Contrary
nature: Careful
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Superpower is Malamar's only boosting move, which acts as an offensive Bulk Up thanks to Contrary. It also hurts Dark-types such as Incineroar, Pangoro, and Sneasel for super effective damage. Knock Off is Malamar's best form of damage against Poison-types like Weezing, Garbodor, and Golbat, as well as Fighting-resistant Pokemon such as Slowking, Rotom, and Xatu. Rest enables Malamar to take advantage of certain defensive Pokemon such as Slowking, Weezing, and Vaporeon by healing itself of any status conditions that would normally shut down other offensive Pokemon. Sleep Talk prevents Malamar from being passive after it uses Rest, allowing it to potentially continue boosting with Superpower while bypassing the aforementioned move's low PP.

Set Details
========

The following EV spread with a Careful nature gives Malamar an easier time setting up against Pokemon like Slowking or Rotom (Change the Rotom examples throughout). Contrary reverses stat drops, allowing Malamar to set up with Superpower and pressure Defog users by gaining an evasion boost.

Usage Tips
========

Malamar should be used late-game as a wincon once its checks and counters are gone. It can also spam Knock Off to cripple checks so that they're less effective at stopping it late-game. Malamar can be brought in against Pokemon like Slowking, Seismitoad, and Weezing and begin setting up. This is because Malamar can heal status conditions from Scald burns or Toxic and continue boosting its stats with Rest and Sleep Talk, so it can combat Pokemon like Blastoise, Vaporeon, and Slowking. If Malamar has sustained a lot of damage in battle, use Rest to bring it back to full health and so it can consistently check Pokemon like Rotom and Delphox.

Team Options
========

Malamar best fits on balanced and bulky offense teams since it's a setup sweeper that can be paired with defensive Pokemon to threaten frailer offensive teams. (I'd make your opening sentence here say that Malamar fits best on teams that are built specifically around it, since it requires unique support to function consistently.) Because of this, defensive partners such as Slowking, Druddigon, and Decidueye, and offensive ones like Passimian, Aerodactyl, and Dragon Dance Scrafty (You'd never pair Malamar and Scrafty together, too redundant and they dont offer enough defensively to make an effective team with eachother. I dont really understand why these Pokemon you've listed in particular are standout partners for Malamar, this point just comes across very vague and could apply to anything in the tier. Delete it or give more specific examples of mons that appreciate Malamar's ability to absorb status and come in on bulky waters.) pair well with Malamar because it is not threatened by Toxic or burns from Scald thanks to Rest. These Pokemon also appreciate Malamar's ability to threaten defensive cores with Knock Off, which gives them more opportunities to sweep late-game. Passimian and Decidueye can also bring Malamar into battle safely with U-turn. Steelix is an ideal partner for Malamar as Steelix can threaten the Fairy-, Bug- and Poison-types that threaten Malamar and can pressure physically offensive Pokemon like Sneasel and Aerodactyl, giving Malamar an easier time setting up. In return, Malamar can check special attackers like Slowking and pressure Xatu, allowing Steelix more free rein to set Stealth Rock. Spikes setters such as Garbodor and Ferroseed also pair well with Malamar, since its Contrary does put pressure on Defog users, which can help keep Spikes on the field. Garbodor can also blanket check Fighting- and Fairy-types, as well as U-turn users such as Decidueye and Choice Scarf Togedemaru. Weezing is another Pokemon that works well with Malamar, as it can punish U-turn spam with its Rocky Helmet and Toxic Spikes wears down checks to Malamar like Whimsicott and Comfey.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Malamar can also use Z-Happy Hour to give it a boost to all of its stats, potentially making it more threatening. However, it is still outpaced and revenge killed by Choice Scarf users like Passimian and Togedemaru after a boost.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Bug-type Coverage and Bug-types**: Any Pokemon with U-turn such as Passimian, Choice Scarf Togedemaru, and defensive Incineroar (Defensive Incineroar is outsped by Malamar and takes a huge amount of damage from Superpower because of the Contrary Intimidate boost.) can all threaten Malamar out of battle because of its low defense before boosting and its nasty weakness to Bug-type moves. Bug-type Pokemon such as Vikavolt and Accelgor fear very little from Malamar's moves, can outspeed it in Accelgor's case, and can OHKO Malamar before it has the chance to set up. (Give SD Samurott a mention here too)

**Fairy-types**: Fairy-type Pokemon such as Comfey and Whimsicott can take any move Malamar goes for and retaliate with their own powerful STAB moves. Comfey can even set up Calm Mind in front of Malamar and recover damage it takes with a priority boosted Draining Kiss. Whimiscott can also capitalize on Malamar being forced out by U-turn. (Remove this line, unnecessary.)

(Add a section for Wallbreakers that can immediately threaten Malamar before it gets the chance to snowball boosts, e.g Medicham, Pangoro, Z-Sky Attack Aerodactyl, Poisonium-Z Garbodor, and Glalie-Mega. Note that many of these cannot switch in safely.)

**Unaware users**: Pokemon like Quagsire and Pyukumuku can hard wall Malamar since they ignore the stat boosts accumulated by Superpower.


[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[JustoonSmitts, 239732]]
- Quality checked by: [[quziel, 297859], [Rabia, 336073], [, ]]
- Grammar checked by: [[, ], [, ]]
Click to expand...

Tag me once you've gone through and implemented all of this, and I'll give it one last look.
 
Amcheck, feel free to use what you want from this. Add Remove Comments (AC) = Add Comma (RC) = Remove Comma (AS) = Add Space (AA) = Add Apostrophe
View attachment 184521
**art by me**​

[OVERVIEW]

Malamar is a distinctive setup sweeper that can dismantle passive teams by virtue of it's its unique ability Contrary in conjunction with Superpower. By utilizing Rest and Sleep Talk, it can check Pokemon such as Blastoise, Vaporeon, and Steelix that rely on status to shut down offensive Pokemon and set up if their faces. However, Malamar is weak before boosting, slow, and although it has few weaknesses, it's its typing doesn't (AA) grant it many resistances either, offsetting some of the benefits its defensive utility provides. Strong wallbreakers such as Whimsicott, Medicham, Pangoro, (AS) and Accelgor can overwhelm it before it gets a chance to set up. Malamar needs a lot of team support to function, and it tends to be quite inconsistent because of the ubiquity of its checks. Therefore, it only fits on teams tailored to it.

[SET]
name: Rest Talk Sweeper
move 1: Superpower
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Rest
move 4: Sleep Talk
item: Leftovers
ability: Contrary
nature: Careful
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Superpower is Malamar's only boosting move, which acts as an offensive Bulk Up thanks to Contrary. It also hurts Dark-types such as Incineroar, Pangoro, and Sneasel for super effective damage. Knock Off is Malamar's best form of damage against Poison-types like Weezing, Garbodor, and Golbat, as well as Fighting-resistant Pokemon such as Slowking, Rotom, and Xatu. Rest enables Malamar to take advantage of certain defensive Pokemon such as Slowking, Weezing, and Vaporeon by healing itself of any status conditions that would normally shut down other offensive Pokemon. Sleep Talk prevents Malamar from being passive after it uses Rest, allowing it to potentially continue boosting with Superpower while bypassing the aforementioned move's low PP.

Set Details
========

The following EV spread with a Careful nature gives Malamar an easier time setting up against Pokemon like Slowking or Steelix. Contrary reverses stat drops, allowing Malamar to set up with Superpower and pressure Defog users by gaining an evasion boost.

Usage Tips
========

Malamar should be used late-game as a wincon once its checks and counters are gone. It can also spam Knock Off to cripple checks so that they're less effective at stopping it late-game. Malamar can be brought in against Pokemon like Slowking, Seismitoad, and Weezing and begin setting up. This is because Malamar can heal status conditions from Scald burns or Toxic and continue boosting its stats with Rest and Sleep Talk, so it can combat Pokemon like Blastoise, Vaporeon, and Slowking. If Malamar has sustained a lot of damage in battle, use Rest to bring it back to full health and so it can consistently check Pokemon like Rotom and Delphox.

Team Options
========

Malamar fits best on teams that are built specifically around it, since it requires unique support to function consistently. Steelix is an ideal partner for Malamar as Steelix it can threaten the Fairy-, Bug-, (AC) and Poison-types that threaten Malamar and can pressure physically offensive Pokemon like Sneasel and Aerodactyl, giving Malamar an easier time setting up. In return, Malamar can check special attackers like Slowking and pressure Xatu, allowing Steelix more free rein to set Stealth Rock. Spikes setters such as Garbodor and Ferroseed also pair well with Malamar, since its Contrary does put pressure on Defog users, which can help keep Spikes on the field. Garbodor can also blanket check Fighting- and Fairy-types, as well as U-turn users such as Decidueye and Choice Scarf Togedemaru. Weezing is another Pokemon that works well with Malamar, as it can punish U-turn spam with its Rocky Helmet and Toxic Spikes wears down checks to Malamar like Whimsicott and Comfey.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Malamar can also use Z-Happy Hour to give it a boost to all of its stats, potentially making it more threatening. However, it is still outpaced and revenge killed by Choice Scarf users like Passimian and Togedemaru after a boost.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Bug-type Coverage and Bug-types**: Any Pokemon with U-turn such as Passimian and Choice Scarf Togedemaru can all threaten Malamar out of battle because of its low defense Defense before boosting and its nasty weakness to Bug-type moves. Bug-type Pokemon such as Vikavolt and Accelgor fear very little from Malamar's moves, can outspeed it in Accelgor's case, and can OHKO Malamar before it has the chance to set up. Swords Dance Samurott is also notable because it can easily OHKO Malamar with Savage Spinout before setting up.

**Fairy-types**: Fairy-type Pokemon such as Comfey and Whimsicott can take any move Malamar goes for and retaliate with their own powerful STAB moves. Comfey can even set up Calm Mind in front of Malamar and recover damage it takes with a priority boosted Draining Kiss.

**Strong Wallbreakers**: Pokemon such as Medicham, Pangoro, Z-Sky Attack Aerodactyl, Poisonium-Z Garbodor, and Glalie-Mega Mega Glalie can overwhelm Malamar by outspeeding it and exploiting its weaker defense Defense before it has a chance to boost with Superpower. However, none of these Pokemon want to directly switch into Malamar.

**Unaware users**: Pokemon like Quagsire and Pyukumuku can hard wall Malamar since they ignore the stat boosts accumulated by Superpower.


[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[JustoonSmitts, 239732]]
- Quality checked by: [[quziel, 297859], [Rabia, 336073], [Eternally, 295647]]
- Grammar checked by: [[, ], [, ]]
 
Last edited:
deetah said:
Amcheck, feel free to use what you want from this. Add Remove Comments (AC) = Add Comma (RC) = Remove Comma (AS) = Add Space (AA) = Add Apostrophe
View attachment 184521
**art by me**​

[OVERVIEW]

Malamar is a distinctive setup sweeper that can dismantle passive teams by virtue of its unique ability Contrary in conjunction with Superpower. By utilizing Rest and Sleep Talk, it can check Pokemon such as Blastoise, Vaporeon, and Steelix that rely on status to shut down offensive Pokemon. However, Malamar is weak before boosting, slow, and although it has few weaknesses, its typing doesn't grant it many resistances either, offsetting some of the benefits its defensive utility provides. Strong wallbreakers such as Whimsicott, Medicham, Pangoro, and Accelgor can overwhelm it before it gets a chance to set up. Malamar needs a lot of team support to function, and it tends to be quite inconsistent because of the ubiquity of its checks. Therefore, it only fits on teams tailored to it.

[SET]
name: Rest Talk Sweeper
move 1: Superpower
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Rest
move 4: Sleep Talk
item: Leftovers
ability: Contrary
nature: Careful
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Superpower is Malamar's only boosting move, which acts as an offensive Bulk Up thanks to Contrary. It also hurts Dark-types such as Incineroar, Pangoro, and Sneasel for super effective damage. Knock Off is Malamar's best form of damage against Poison-types like Weezing, Garbodor, and Golbat, as well as Fighting-resistant Pokemon such as Slowking, Rotom, and Xatu. Rest enables Malamar to take advantage of certain defensive Pokemon such as Slowking, Weezing, and Vaporeon by healing itself of any status conditions that would normally shut down other offensive Pokemon. Sleep Talk prevents Malamar from being passive after it uses Rest, allowing it to potentially continue boosting with Superpower while bypassing the aforementioned move's low PP.

Set Details
========

The following EV spread with a Careful nature gives Malamar an easier time setting up against Pokemon like Slowking or Steelix. Contrary reverses stat drops, allowing Malamar to set up with Superpower and pressure Defog users by gaining an evasion boost.

Usage Tips
========

Malamar should be used late-game as a wincon once its checks and counters are gone. It can also spam Knock Off to cripple checks so that they're less effective at stopping it late-game. Malamar can be brought in against Pokemon like Slowking, Seismitoad, and Weezing and begin setting up. This is because Malamar can heal status conditions from Scald burns or Toxic and continue boosting its stats with Rest and Sleep Talk, so it can combat Pokemon like Blastoise, Vaporeon, and Slowking. If Malamar has sustained a lot of damage in battle, use Rest to bring it back to full health and so it can consistently check Pokemon like Rotom and Delphox.

Team Options
========

Malamar fits best on teams that are built specifically around it since it requires unique support to function consistently. Steelix is an ideal partner for Malamar as it can threaten the Fairy-, Bug-, and Poison-types that threaten Malamar and can pressure physically offensive Pokemon like Sneasel and Aerodactyl, giving Malamar an easier time setting up. In return, Malamar can check special attackers like Slowking and pressure Xatu, allowing Steelix more free rein to set Stealth Rock. Spikes setters such as Garbodor and Ferroseed also pair well with Malamar, since its Contrary does put pressure on Defog users, which can help keep Spikes on the field. Garbodor can also blanket check Fighting- and Fairy-types, as well as U-turn users such as Decidueye and Choice Scarf Togedemaru. Weezing is another Pokemon that works well with Malamar, as it can punish U-turn spam with its Rocky Helmet and Toxic Spikes wears down checks to Malamar like Whimsicott and Comfey.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Malamar can also use Z-Happy Hour to give it a boost to all of its stats, potentially making it more threatening. However, it is still outpaced and revenge killed by Choice Scarf users like Passimian and Togedemaru after a boost.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Bug-type Coverage and Bug-types**: Pokemon with U-turn such as Passimian and Choice Scarf Togedemaru can threaten Malamar out of battle because of its low Defense before boosting and its nasty weakness to Bug-type moves. Bug-type Pokemon such as Vikavolt and Accelgor fear very little from Malamar's moves, can outspeed it in Accelgor's case, and can OHKO Malamar before it has the chance to set up. Swords Dance Samurott is also notable because it can easily OHKO Malamar with Savage Spinout before setting up.

**Fairy-types**: Fairy-type Pokemon such as Comfey and Whimsicott can take any move Malamar goes for and retaliate with their own powerful STAB moves. Comfey can even set up Calm Mind in front of Malamar and recover damage it takes with a priority boosted Draining Kiss.

**Strong Wallbreakers**: Pokemon such as Medicham, Pangoro, Z-Sky Attack Aerodactyl, Poisonium-Z Garbodor, and Mega Glalie can overwhelm Malamar by outspeeding it and exploiting its weaker Defense before it has a chance to boost with Superpower. However, none of these Pokemon want to directly switch into Malamar.

**Unaware users**: Pokemon like Quagsire and Pyukumuku can hard wall Malamar since they ignore the stat boosts accumulated by Superpower.


[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[JustoonSmitts, 239732]]
- Quality checked by: [[quziel, 297859], [Rabia, 336073], [Eternally, 295647]]
- Grammar checked by: [[, ], [, ]]
Click to expand...
Did this. Thanks, my man.
 
add
remove
comments
[OVERVIEW]

Malamar is a distinctive setup sweeper that can dismantle passive teams by virtue of its unique ability Contrary in conjunction with Superpower. By utilizing Rest and Sleep Talk, it can check switch into and set up against (qc, feel like this better describes what Malamar is doing) Pokemon such as Blastoise, Vaporeon, and Steelix that rely on status to shut down offensive Pokemon. However, Malamar is weak before boosting,(RC) and slow, and although it has few weaknesses, its typing doesn't grant it many resistances either, offsetting some of the benefits its defensive utility provides. Strong Additionally, strong wallbreakers such as Whimsicott, Medicham, Pangoro, and Accelgor can overwhelm it before it gets a chance to set up. Malamar also needs a lot of team support to function, and it tends to be quite inconsistent because of the ubiquity of its checks. Therefore, it only fits on teams tailored to it. (added some transition words to make this read better. not really needed, but the changes help make this read less like bullet points put into paragraph form)

[SET]
name: Rest Talk Sweeper
move 1: Superpower
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Rest
move 4: Sleep Talk
item: Leftovers
ability: Contrary
nature: Careful
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Superpower is Malamar's only boosting move, which acts as an offensive Bulk Up thanks to Contrary. It also hurts Dark-types such as Incineroar, Pangoro, and Sneasel for super effective damage. Knock Off is Malamar's best form of damage against Poison-types like Weezing, Garbodor, and Golbat,(RC) as well as Fighting-resistant Pokemon such as Slowking, Rotom, and Xatu. Rest enables Malamar to take advantage of certain defensive Pokemon such as Slowking, Weezing, and Vaporeon by healing itself of any status conditions that would normally shut down other offensive Pokemon. Sleep Talk prevents Malamar from being passive after it uses Rest, allowing it to potentially continue boosting with Superpower while bypassing the aforementioned move's low PP.

Set Details
========

The following EV spread with a Careful nature gives Malamar an easier time setting up against Pokemon like Slowking or and Steelix (maybe note a special attacker instead of Steelix, people may question how special bulk helps Malamar set up against it). Contrary reverses stat drops, allowing Malamar to set up with Superpower and pressure Defog users by gaining an evasion boost.

Usage Tips
========

Malamar should be used late-game as a wincon once its checks and counters are gone. It However, it can also spam Knock Off early-game to cripple checks so that they're less effective at stopping it late-game. (again more qcish changes that help put into perspective what/when Malamar is doing this stuff) Malamar can be brought in against Pokemon like Slowking, Seismitoad, and Weezing and begin setting up. This is because Malamar can heal status conditions from such as Scald burns or and Toxic poison and continue boosting its stats with Rest and Sleep Talk,(RC) so it can combat Pokemon like Blastoise, Vaporeon, and Slowking. If Malamar has sustained a lot of damage in battle, use Rest to bring it back to full health and so it can consistently check Pokemon like Rotom and Delphox.

Team Options
========

Malamar fits best on teams that are built specifically around it,(AC) since it requires unique support to function consistently. Steelix is an ideal partner for Malamar,(AC) as it can threaten the Fairy-, Bug-, and Poison-types that threaten Malamar and can pressure physically offensive Pokemon like Sneasel and Aerodactyl, giving Malamar an easier time setting up. In return, Malamar can check special attackers like Slowking and pressure Xatu, allowing Steelix more free rein to set Stealth Rock. Spikes setters such as Garbodor and Ferroseed also pair well with Malamar, since its Contrary does put pressure on Defog users it pressures Defog users thanks to Contrary (the ability isn't what pressures them so much as the Pokemon itself), which can help keep Spikes on the field. Garbodor can also blanket check Fighting- and Fairy-types,(RC) as well as U-turn users such as Decidueye and Choice Scarf Togedemaru. Weezing is another Pokemon that works well with Malamar, as it can punish U-turn spam with its Rocky Helmet,(AC) and Toxic Spikes wears down checks to Malamar like Whimsicott and Comfey.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Malamar can also use Z-Happy Hour to give it a boost to all of its stats, potentially making it more immediately threatening. However, it is still outpaced and revenge killed by Choice Scarf users like Passimian and Togedemaru after a boost.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Bug-type Coverage and Bug-types**: Pokemon with U-turn such as Passimian and Choice Scarf Togedemaru can threaten Malamar out of battle because of its low Defense before boosting and its nasty weakness to Bug-type moves. Swords Dance Samurott is also notable because it can easily OHKO Malamar with Savage Spin-Out before setting up. Bug-type Pokemon such as Vikavolt and Accelgor fear very little from Malamar's moves, can outspeed it in Accelgor's case, and can OHKO Malamar before it has the chance to set up. Swords Dance Samurott is also notable because it can easily OHKO Malamar with Savage Spinout before setting up. (moved this to alongside the other Bug-type coverage points. also, clarify that it's OHKOing Malamar before that sets up if you mean to say that. right now it reads like Samurott is the one not having set up yet, and I can't tell which you mean)

**Fairy-types**: Fairy-type Pokemon such as Comfey and Whimsicott can take any move Malamar goes for and retaliate with their own powerful (50 BP Draining Kiss is powerful? :thinking: ) STAB moves. Comfey can even set up Calm Mind in front of Malamar and recover damage it takes with a priority boosted (Comfey outspeeds no matter what, so the priority point is irrelevant) Draining Kiss.

**Strong Wallbreakers**: Pokemon such as Medicham, Pangoro, Z-Sky Attack Aerodactyl, Poisonium Z(RH) Garbodor, and Mega Glalie can overwhelm Malamar by outspeeding it and exploiting its weaker Defense before it has a chance to boost with Superpower. However, none of these Pokemon want to directly switch into Malamar. (I mean, Garbodor can switch in pretty ok :blobshrug: )

**Unaware users**: Pokemon like Quagsire and Pyukumuku can hard wall Malamar,(AC) since they ignore the stat boosts accumulated by Superpower.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[JustoonSmitts, 239732]]
- Quality checked by: [[quziel, 297859], [Rabia, 336073], [Eternally, 295647]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Rabia, 336073], [, ]]
gp 1/2 once done
 
Rabia said:
add
remove
comments
[OVERVIEW]

Malamar is a distinctive setup sweeper that can dismantle passive teams by virtue of its unique ability Contrary in conjunction with Superpower. By utilizing Rest and Sleep Talk, it can switch into and set up against Pokemon such as Blastoise, Vaporeon, and Steelix that rely on status to shut down offensive Pokemon. However, Malamar is weak before boosting and slow, and although it has few weaknesses, its typing doesn't grant it many resistances either, offsetting some of the benefits its defensive utility provides. Additionally, strong wallbreakers such as Whimsicott, Medicham, Pangoro, and Accelgor can overwhelm it before it gets a chance to set up. Malamar also needs a lot of team support to function, and it tends to be quite inconsistent because of the ubiquity of its checks. Therefore, it only fits on teams tailored to it.

[SET]
Rabia said:
squidward... tennisballs???
Click to expand...

name: Rest Talk Sweeper
move 1: Superpower
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Rest
move 4: Sleep Talk
item: Leftovers
ability: Contrary
nature: Careful
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Superpower acts as an offensive Bulk Up thanks to Contrary. It also hurts Dark-types such as Incineroar, Pangoro, and Sneasel for super effective damage. Knock Off is Malamar's best form of damage against Poison-types like Weezing, Garbodor, and Golbat as well as Fighting-resistant Pokemon such as Slowking, Rotom, and Xatu. Rest enables Malamar to take advantage of certain defensive Pokemon such as Slowking, Weezing, and Vaporeon by healing itself of status conditions that would normally shut down other offensive Pokemon. Sleep Talk prevents Malamar from being passive after it uses Rest, allowing it to potentially continue boosting with Superpower while bypassing the aforementioned move's low PP.

Set Details
========

The following EV spread with a Careful nature gives Malamar an easier time setting up against Pokemon like Slowking and Delphox. Contrary reverses stat drops, allowing Malamar to set up with Superpower and pressure Defog users by gaining an evasion boost.

Usage Tips
========

Malamar should be used late-game as a wincon once its checks and counters are gone. However, it can also spam Knock Off early-game to cripple checks so that they're less effective at stopping it late-game. Malamar can be brought in against Pokemon like Slowking, Seismitoad, and Weezing and begin setting up. This is because Malamar can heal status conditions such as Scald burns and Toxic poison and continue boosting its stats with Rest and Sleep Talk so it can combat Pokemon like Blastoise, Vaporeon, and Slowking. If Malamar has sustained a lot of damage in battle, use Rest to bring it back to full health so it can consistently check Pokemon like Rotom and Delphox.

Team Options
========

Malamar fits best on teams that are built specifically around it,(AC) since it requires unique support to function consistently. Steelix is an ideal partner for Malamar,(AC) as it can threaten the Fairy-, Bug-, and Poison-types that threaten Malamar and can pressure physically offensive Pokemon like Sneasel and Aerodactyl, giving Malamar an easier time setting up. In return, Malamar can check special attackers like Slowking and pressure Xatu, allowing Steelix more free rein to set Stealth Rock. Spikes setters such as Garbodor and Ferroseed also pair well with Malamar, since it pressures Defog users thanks to Contrary, which can help keep Spikes on the field. Garbodor can also blanket check Fighting- and Fairy-types as well as U-turn users such as Decidueye and Choice Scarf Togedemaru. Weezing is another Pokemon that works well with Malamar, as it can punish U-turn spam with its Rocky Helmet, and Toxic Spikes wears down checks to Malamar like Whimsicott and Comfey.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Malamar can also use Z-Happy Hour to give it a boost to all of its stats, potentially making it more immediately threatening. However, it is still outpaced and revenge killed by Choice Scarf users like Passimian and Togedemaru after a boost.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Bug-type Coverage and Bug-types**: Pokemon with U-turn such as Passimian and Choice Scarf Togedemaru can threaten Malamar out of battle because of its low Defense before boosting and its nasty weakness to Bug-type moves. Swords Dance Samurott is also notable because it can easily OHKO Malamar with Savage Spin-Out before setting up. Bug-type Pokemon such as Vikavolt and Accelgor fear very little from Malamar's moves, can outspeed it in Accelgor's case, and can OHKO Malamar before it has the chance to set up.

**Fairy-types**: Fairy-type Pokemon such as Comfey and Whimsicott can take any move Malamar goes for and retaliate with their own STAB moves. Comfey can even set up Calm Mind in front of Malamar and recover damage it takes with Draining Kiss.

**Strong Wallbreakers**: Pokemon such as Medicham, Pangoro, Z-Sky Attack Aerodactyl, Poisonium Z(RH) Garbodor, and Mega Glalie can overwhelm Malamar by outspeeding it and exploiting its weaker Defense before it has a chance to boost with Superpower. However, most of these Pokemon want to directly switch into Malamar.

**Unaware users**: Pokemon like Quagsire and Pyukumuku can hard wall Malamar, since they ignore the stat boosts accumulated by Superpower.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[JustoonSmitts, 239732]]
- Quality checked by: [[quziel, 297859], [Rabia, 336073], [Eternally, 295647]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Rabia, 336073], [, ]]
gp 1/2 once done
Click to expand...
That's TENTACLES!
Thanks man. Implemented everything.
 
Remove Add Comments (AC)= add comma (RC)= remove comma (AH)= add hyphen (RH)= remove hyphen
[OVERVIEW]

Malamar is a distinctive setup sweeper that can dismantle passive teams by virtue of its unique ability Contrary in conjunction with Superpower. By utilizing Rest and Sleep Talk, it can switch into and set up against Pokemon such as Blastoise, Vaporeon, and Steelix that rely on status to shut down offensive Pokemon. However, Malamar is weak before boosting and slow, and although it has few weaknesses, its typing doesn't grant it many resistances either, offsetting some of the benefits its defensive utility provides. Additionally, strong wallbreakers such as Whimsicott, Medicham, Pangoro, and Accelgor can overwhelm it before it gets a chance to set up. Malamar also needs a lot of team support to function, and it tends to be quite inconsistent because of the ubiquity of its checks. Therefore, it only fits on teams tailored to it.

[SET]
name: Rest Talk Sweeper
move 1: Superpower
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Rest
move 4: Sleep Talk
item: Leftovers
ability: Contrary
nature: Careful
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Superpower acts as an offensive Bulk Up thanks to Contrary. It also hurts Dark-types such as Incineroar, Pangoro, and Sneasel for super effective damage. Knock Off is Malamar's best form of damage against Poison-types like Weezing, Garbodor, and Golbat as well as Fighting-resistant Pokemon such as Slowking, Rotom, and Xatu. Rest enables Malamar to take advantage of certain defensive Pokemon such as Slowking, Weezing, and Vaporeon by healing itself of status conditions that would normally shut down other offensive Pokemon. Sleep Talk prevents Malamar from being passive after it uses Rest, allowing it to potentially continue boosting with Superpower while bypassing the aforementioned move's low PP.

Set Details
========

The following EV spread with a Careful nature gives Malamar an easier time setting up against Pokemon like Slowking and Blastoise. Contrary reverses stat drops, allowing Malamar to set up with Superpower and pressure Defog users by gaining an evasion boost.

Usage Tips
========

Malamar should be used late-game as a wincon once its checks and counters are gone. However, it can also spam Knock Off early-game to cripple checks so that they're less effective at stopping it late-game. Malamar can be brought in against Pokemon like Slowking, Seismitoad, and Weezing and begin setting up. This is because Malamar can heal status conditions such as Scald burns and Toxic poison and continue boosting its stats with Rest and Sleep Talk so it can combat Pokemon like Blastoise, Vaporeon, and Slowking. If Malamar has sustained a lot of damage in battle, use Rest to bring it back to full health so it can consistently check Pokemon like Rotom and Delphox.

Team Options
========

Malamar fits best on teams that are built specifically around it,(AC) (keep comma remove comment) since it requires unique support to function consistently. Steelix is an ideal partner for Malamar,(AC) (keep comma remove comment) as it can threaten the Fairy-, Bug-, and Poison-types that threaten Malamar and can pressure physically offensive Pokemon like Sneasel and Aerodactyl, giving Malamar an easier time setting up. In return, Malamar can check special attackers like Slowking and pressure Xatu, allowing Steelix more free rein to set Stealth Rock. Spikes setters such as Garbodor and Ferroseed also pair well with Malamar, since it pressures Defog users thanks to Contrary, which can help keep Spikes on the field. Garbodor can also blanket check Fighting- and Fairy-types as well as U-turn users such as Decidueye and Choice Scarf Togedemaru. Weezing is another Pokemon that works well with Malamar, as it can punish U-turn spam with its Rocky Helmet, and Toxic Spikes wears down checks to Malamar like Whimsicott and Comfey.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Malamar can also use Z-Happy Hour to give it a boost to all of its stats, potentially making it more immediately threatening. However, it is still outpaced and revenge killed by Choice Scarf users like Passimian and Togedemaru after a boost.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Bug-type Coverage and Bug-types**: Pokemon with U-turn such as Passimian and Choice Scarf Togedemaru can threaten Malamar out of battle because of its low Defense before boosting and its nasty weakness to Bug-type moves. Swords Dance Samurott is also notable because it can easily OHKO Malamar with Savage Spin-Out before setting up. Bug-type Pokemon such as Vikavolt and Accelgor fear very little from Malamar's moves, can outspeed it in Accelgor's case, and can OHKO Malamar before it has the chance to set up.

**Fairy-types**: Fairy-type Pokemon such as Comfey and Whimsicott can take any move Malamar goes for and retaliate with their own STAB moves. Comfey can even set up Calm Mind in front of Malamar and recover damage it takes with Draining Kiss.

**Strong Wallbreakers**: Pokemon such as Medicham, Pangoro, Z-Sky Attack Flyinium Z Aerodactyl, Poisonium Z(RH) (remove comment) Garbodor, and Mega Glalie can overwhelm Malamar by outspeeding it and exploiting its weaker Defense before it has a chance to boost with Superpower. However, most of these Pokemon want to directly switch into Malamar.

**Unaware Users**: Pokemon like Quagsire and Pyukumuku can hard wall Malamar, since they ignore the stat boosts accumulated by Superpower.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[JustoonSmitts, 239732]]
- Quality checked by: [[quziel, 297859], [Rabia, 336073], [Eternally, 295647]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Rabia, 336073], [, ]]
GP 2/2
NnBScrq.gif
 
Fireflame479 said:
Remove Add Comments (AC)= add comma (RC)= remove comma (AH)= add hyphen (RH)= remove hyphen
[OVERVIEW]

Malamar is a distinctive setup sweeper that can dismantle passive teams by virtue of its unique ability Contrary in conjunction with Superpower. By utilizing Rest and Sleep Talk, it can switch into and set up against Pokemon such as Blastoise, Vaporeon, and Steelix that rely on status to shut down offensive Pokemon. However, Malamar is weak before boosting and slow, and although it has few weaknesses, its typing doesn't grant it many resistances either, offsetting some of the benefits its defensive utility provides. Additionally, strong wallbreakers such as Whimsicott, Medicham, Pangoro, and Accelgor can overwhelm it before it gets a chance to set up. Malamar also needs a lot of team support to function, and it tends to be quite inconsistent because of the ubiquity of its checks. Therefore, it only fits on teams tailored to it.

[SET]
name: Rest Talk Sweeper
move 1: Superpower
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Rest
move 4: Sleep Talk
item: Leftovers
ability: Contrary
nature: Careful
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Superpower acts as an offensive Bulk Up thanks to Contrary. It also hurts Dark-types such as Incineroar, Pangoro, and Sneasel for super effective damage. Knock Off is Malamar's best form of damage against Poison-types like Weezing, Garbodor, and Golbat as well as Fighting-resistant Pokemon such as Slowking, Rotom, and Xatu. Rest enables Malamar to take advantage of certain defensive Pokemon such as Slowking, Weezing, and Vaporeon by healing itself of status conditions that would normally shut down other offensive Pokemon. Sleep Talk prevents Malamar from being passive after it uses Rest, allowing it to potentially continue boosting with Superpower while bypassing the move's low PP.

Set Details
========

The following EV spread with a Careful nature gives Malamar an easier time setting up against Pokemon like Slowking and Blastoise. Contrary reverses stat drops, allowing Malamar to set up with Superpower and pressure Defog users by gaining an evasion boost.

Usage Tips
========

Malamar should be used late-game as a wincon once its checks and counters are gone. However, it can also spam Knock Off early-game to cripple checks so they're less effective at stopping it late-game. Malamar can be brought in against Pokemon like Slowking, Seismitoad, and Weezing and begin setting up. This is because Malamar can heal status conditions such as Scald burns and Toxic poison and continue boosting its stats with Rest and Sleep Talk so it can combat Pokemon like Blastoise, Vaporeon, and Slowking. If Malamar has sustained a lot of damage in battle, use Rest to bring it back to full health so it can consistently check Pokemon like Rotom and Delphox.

Team Options
========

Malamar fits best on teams that are built specifically around it, since it requires unique support to function consistently. Steelix is an ideal partner for Malamar, as it can threaten the Fairy-, Bug-, and Poison-types that threaten Malamar and pressure physically offensive Pokemon like Sneasel and Aerodactyl, giving Malamar an easier time setting up. In return, Malamar can check special attackers like Slowking and pressure Xatu, allowing Steelix more free rein to set Stealth Rock. Spikes setters such as Garbodor and Ferroseed also pair well with Malamar, since it pressures Defog users thanks to Contrary, which can help keep Spikes on the field. Garbodor can also blanket check Fighting- and Fairy-types as well as U-turn users such as Decidueye and Choice Scarf Togedemaru. Weezing is another Pokemon that works well with Malamar, as it can punish U-turn spam with its Rocky Helmet, and Toxic Spikes wears down checks to Malamar like Whimsicott and Comfey.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Malamar can use Z-Happy Hour to give it a boost to all of its stats, potentially making it more immediately threatening. However, it is still outpaced and revenge killed by Choice Scarf users like Passimian and Togedemaru after a boost.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Bug-type Coverage and Bug-types**: Pokemon with U-turn such as Passimian and Choice Scarf Togedemaru can threaten Malamar out of battle because of its low Defense before boosting and its nasty weakness to Bug-type moves. Swords Dance Samurott is also notable because it can easily OHKO Malamar with Savage Spin-Out before setting up. Bug-type Pokemon such as Vikavolt and Accelgor fear very little from Malamar's moves, can outspeed it in Accelgor's case, and can OHKO Malamar before it has the chance to set up.

**Fairy-types**: Fairy-type Pokemon such as Comfey and Whimsicott can take any move Malamar goes for and retaliate with their own STAB moves. Comfey can even set up Calm Mind in front of Malamar and recover damage it takes with Draining Kiss.

**Strong Wallbreakers**: Pokemon such as Medicham, Pangoro, Flyinium Z Aerodactyl, Poisonium Z Garbodor, and Mega Glalie can overwhelm Malamar by outspeeding it and exploiting its weaker Defense before it has a chance to boost with Superpower. However, most of these Pokemon want to directly switch into Malamar.

**Unaware Users**: Pokemon like Quagsire and Pyukumuku can hard wall Malamar, since they ignore the stat boosts accumulated by Superpower.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[JustoonSmitts, 239732]]
- Quality checked by: [[quziel, 297859], [Rabia, 336073], [Eternally, 295647]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Rabia, 336073], [Fireflame479, 231476]]
GP 2/2
NnBScrq.gif
Click to expand...
Thank you, Fireflame479 and everybody! This is ready to be uploaded.
 
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