[SET]
name: Offensive Pivot
move 1: Volt Switch
move 2: Thunderbolt
move 3: Focus Blast / Toxic
move 4: Hidden Power Ice / Hidden Power Grass / Toxic
item: Eviolite
ability: Static / Vital Spirit
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
With Speed like lightning, a solid Special Attack stat, and a wide movepool, Electabuzz is the metagame's premier all-out special attacker. Volt Switch lets Electabuzz keep up tempo against Grass-types like Servine, Gogoat, and Meganium and bulky special walls like Duosion and Swalot, which are common switch-ins. Focus Blast nails Steel-types like Klang and Lairon and threatens an OHKO on even offensive Eviolite Krokorok. Alternatively, Toxic can be used to wear down some foes that Electabuzz is unable to immediately break past such as Seaking and Chinchou. Hidden Power Ice nails both Grass- and Ground-types like Simisage, Sawsbuck, and Hippopotas and is particularly useful against Vibrava, whereas Hidden Power Grass is unable to deal with Grass-types but is much better against Whiscash and Marshtomp. Static is useful against fast attackers like Persian and Choice Scarf users such as Furfrou and Sawsbuck, while Vital Spirit is preferred to allow Electabuzz to reliably check Jumpluff.
As the premier Volt Switch user, Electabuzz is a staple of VoltTurn teams; some common partners include Persian, Frogadier, Vibrava, and Dustox. Entry hazard setters such as Gigalith, Quilladin, and Whirlipede can further amplify the effectiveness of the VoltTurn archetype. Grass-types like Simisage, Servine, and Gogoat can cover for Electabuzz's Ground weakness, and in return, Electabuzz can switch into and revenge kill most Flying-types. Electabuzz often forces Grass-types to switch in, so Fire- and Flying-types like Pignite, Magmar, and Jumpluff make for great partners, with Pignite and Magmar also benefitting from Electabuzz checking Flying- and Water-types, respectively. Strong physical attackers such as Choice Band Krokorok and Murkrow are also useful teammates, as they can Pursuit trap Duosion and Bronzor and break down other specially defensive walls such as Dustox and Swalot, which Electabuzz struggles with.
[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Volt Switch
move 2: Thunderbolt
move 3: Focus Blast
move 4: Hidden Power Ice / Hidden Power Grass / Psychic
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Static / Vital Spirit
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
With Choice Scarf, Electabuzz can outspeed the entire unboosted metagame as well as most other Choice Scarf users, making it a great revenge killer and solid cleaner. Volt Switch can gain momentum on several Choice Scarf users like Simipour and Frogadier. Focus Blast nails Choice Scarf Krokorok and +2 Speed Klang. Hidden Power Ice hits Grass-types, most notably Jumpluff, and Ground-types, while Hidden Power Grass can revenge kill +2 Speed Whiscash. Psychic is also an option for Poison-types like Swalot and Ivysaur and Fighting-types like Pignite.
Choice Scarf Electabuzz is even more dependent on removing Ground-types and other Electric-immune Pokemon, as this eases prediction and allows it to freely use Volt Switch. Some good options that can deal with Ground-types include Ivysaur, Sawsbuck, the Gourgeist formes, Simipour, Politoed, and Vanilluxe. Physical wallbreakers such as Pignite, Lairon, and Furfrou can take down specially defensive Pokemon that Electabuzz hates, increasing the likelihood of it cleaning games. Due to Electabuzz's lack of recovery and susceptibility to entry hazards, Wish and Healing Wish users like Wigglytuff, Chimecho, and Lopunny and hazard removers such as Dustox, Vibrava, and Sandshrew make for great teammates.
[SET]
name: Choice Specs
move 1: Volt Switch
move 2: Thunderbolt
move 3: Focus Blast
move 4: Hidden Power Ice / Hidden Power Grass / Psychic
item: Choice Specs
ability: Static / Vital Spirit
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Choice Specs Electabuzz is a deadly wallbreaker with a wide movepool to hit Electric-immune and -resistant Pokemon while still serving as a great pivot. The additional power Choice Specs provides lets Electabuzz more easily break past even bulky foes; Thunderbolt picks up an OHKO on Politoed and 2HKOs on neutral targets such as Carbink and Dustox after Stealth Rock. Focus Blast secures 2HKOs on Bulk Up Scraggy and specially defensive Klang. Hidden Power Ice is able to OHKO Vibrava and Jumpluff, while Hidden Power Grass can OHKO Whiscash and Marshtomp. Psychic lands a 2HKO on Dustox and most Swalot sets.
Physical attackers like Pignite, Swalot, and Persian greatly appreciate Electabuzz's ability to reliably weaken physically defensive walls such as Vibrava, Bronzor, and Gigalith. Knock Off users such as Servine, Simipour, and Simisage can remove Leftovers or Eviolite from Gogoat, Duosion, and Hippopotas, which helps bring them into Electabuzz's cleaning range. Similarly, entry hazard setters like Carbink, Trubbish, and Frogadier support Electabuzz's pivoting efforts greatly by further wearing down resistant Pokemon. Choice Scarf users and setup sweepers like Magmar, Krokorok, Klang, and Jumpluff make for ideal teammates, as they can best exploit the foes that Electabuzz weakens.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Thunder Wave is an option for teams that benefit from the speed control it provides. Discharge fulfills a similar idea of spreading paralysis, but generally Thunderbolt is much preferred due to its higher power.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Electric-immune Pokemon**: Lightning Rod and Volt Absorb users such as Seaking and Chinchou make for excellent Electabuzz answers, as they can shrug off any of its attacks. Ground-types such as Vibrava, Krokorok, Whiscash, and Hippopotas can block Electabuzz's Volt Switch, but only Hippopotas does not need to be mindful of its coverage.
**Grass-types**: Bulky Grass-types such as Servine, Gogoat, Ivysaur, and Meganium can handle Electabuzz relatively well, but the first two must be wary of switching into Toxic.
**Specially Defensive Pokemon**: Duosion, Bronzor, and Dustox do not mind switching into any of Electabuzz's attacks. Duosion in particular is a problem for Electabuzz, as it can shrug off Volt Switch damage without needing to heal thanks to Regenerator.
**Revenge Killers**: Despite Electabuzz being one of the fastest Pokemon in the metagame, it is still susceptible to being revenge killed by Choice Scarf users like Krokorok and Sawsbuck as well as naturally faster Pokemon such as Persian and Swoobat.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/jett.226429/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/5dots.543866/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sleid.601970/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/zinnias.569291/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/solarbeam.470115/
name: Offensive Pivot
move 1: Volt Switch
move 2: Thunderbolt
move 3: Focus Blast / Toxic
move 4: Hidden Power Ice / Hidden Power Grass / Toxic
item: Eviolite
ability: Static / Vital Spirit
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
With Speed like lightning, a solid Special Attack stat, and a wide movepool, Electabuzz is the metagame's premier all-out special attacker. Volt Switch lets Electabuzz keep up tempo against Grass-types like Servine, Gogoat, and Meganium and bulky special walls like Duosion and Swalot, which are common switch-ins. Focus Blast nails Steel-types like Klang and Lairon and threatens an OHKO on even offensive Eviolite Krokorok. Alternatively, Toxic can be used to wear down some foes that Electabuzz is unable to immediately break past such as Seaking and Chinchou. Hidden Power Ice nails both Grass- and Ground-types like Simisage, Sawsbuck, and Hippopotas and is particularly useful against Vibrava, whereas Hidden Power Grass is unable to deal with Grass-types but is much better against Whiscash and Marshtomp. Static is useful against fast attackers like Persian and Choice Scarf users such as Furfrou and Sawsbuck, while Vital Spirit is preferred to allow Electabuzz to reliably check Jumpluff.
As the premier Volt Switch user, Electabuzz is a staple of VoltTurn teams; some common partners include Persian, Frogadier, Vibrava, and Dustox. Entry hazard setters such as Gigalith, Quilladin, and Whirlipede can further amplify the effectiveness of the VoltTurn archetype. Grass-types like Simisage, Servine, and Gogoat can cover for Electabuzz's Ground weakness, and in return, Electabuzz can switch into and revenge kill most Flying-types. Electabuzz often forces Grass-types to switch in, so Fire- and Flying-types like Pignite, Magmar, and Jumpluff make for great partners, with Pignite and Magmar also benefitting from Electabuzz checking Flying- and Water-types, respectively. Strong physical attackers such as Choice Band Krokorok and Murkrow are also useful teammates, as they can Pursuit trap Duosion and Bronzor and break down other specially defensive walls such as Dustox and Swalot, which Electabuzz struggles with.
[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Volt Switch
move 2: Thunderbolt
move 3: Focus Blast
move 4: Hidden Power Ice / Hidden Power Grass / Psychic
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Static / Vital Spirit
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
With Choice Scarf, Electabuzz can outspeed the entire unboosted metagame as well as most other Choice Scarf users, making it a great revenge killer and solid cleaner. Volt Switch can gain momentum on several Choice Scarf users like Simipour and Frogadier. Focus Blast nails Choice Scarf Krokorok and +2 Speed Klang. Hidden Power Ice hits Grass-types, most notably Jumpluff, and Ground-types, while Hidden Power Grass can revenge kill +2 Speed Whiscash. Psychic is also an option for Poison-types like Swalot and Ivysaur and Fighting-types like Pignite.
Choice Scarf Electabuzz is even more dependent on removing Ground-types and other Electric-immune Pokemon, as this eases prediction and allows it to freely use Volt Switch. Some good options that can deal with Ground-types include Ivysaur, Sawsbuck, the Gourgeist formes, Simipour, Politoed, and Vanilluxe. Physical wallbreakers such as Pignite, Lairon, and Furfrou can take down specially defensive Pokemon that Electabuzz hates, increasing the likelihood of it cleaning games. Due to Electabuzz's lack of recovery and susceptibility to entry hazards, Wish and Healing Wish users like Wigglytuff, Chimecho, and Lopunny and hazard removers such as Dustox, Vibrava, and Sandshrew make for great teammates.
[SET]
name: Choice Specs
move 1: Volt Switch
move 2: Thunderbolt
move 3: Focus Blast
move 4: Hidden Power Ice / Hidden Power Grass / Psychic
item: Choice Specs
ability: Static / Vital Spirit
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Choice Specs Electabuzz is a deadly wallbreaker with a wide movepool to hit Electric-immune and -resistant Pokemon while still serving as a great pivot. The additional power Choice Specs provides lets Electabuzz more easily break past even bulky foes; Thunderbolt picks up an OHKO on Politoed and 2HKOs on neutral targets such as Carbink and Dustox after Stealth Rock. Focus Blast secures 2HKOs on Bulk Up Scraggy and specially defensive Klang. Hidden Power Ice is able to OHKO Vibrava and Jumpluff, while Hidden Power Grass can OHKO Whiscash and Marshtomp. Psychic lands a 2HKO on Dustox and most Swalot sets.
Physical attackers like Pignite, Swalot, and Persian greatly appreciate Electabuzz's ability to reliably weaken physically defensive walls such as Vibrava, Bronzor, and Gigalith. Knock Off users such as Servine, Simipour, and Simisage can remove Leftovers or Eviolite from Gogoat, Duosion, and Hippopotas, which helps bring them into Electabuzz's cleaning range. Similarly, entry hazard setters like Carbink, Trubbish, and Frogadier support Electabuzz's pivoting efforts greatly by further wearing down resistant Pokemon. Choice Scarf users and setup sweepers like Magmar, Krokorok, Klang, and Jumpluff make for ideal teammates, as they can best exploit the foes that Electabuzz weakens.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Thunder Wave is an option for teams that benefit from the speed control it provides. Discharge fulfills a similar idea of spreading paralysis, but generally Thunderbolt is much preferred due to its higher power.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Electric-immune Pokemon**: Lightning Rod and Volt Absorb users such as Seaking and Chinchou make for excellent Electabuzz answers, as they can shrug off any of its attacks. Ground-types such as Vibrava, Krokorok, Whiscash, and Hippopotas can block Electabuzz's Volt Switch, but only Hippopotas does not need to be mindful of its coverage.
**Grass-types**: Bulky Grass-types such as Servine, Gogoat, Ivysaur, and Meganium can handle Electabuzz relatively well, but the first two must be wary of switching into Toxic.
**Specially Defensive Pokemon**: Duosion, Bronzor, and Dustox do not mind switching into any of Electabuzz's attacks. Duosion in particular is a problem for Electabuzz, as it can shrug off Volt Switch damage without needing to heal thanks to Regenerator.
**Revenge Killers**: Despite Electabuzz being one of the fastest Pokemon in the metagame, it is still susceptible to being revenge killed by Choice Scarf users like Krokorok and Sawsbuck as well as naturally faster Pokemon such as Persian and Swoobat.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/jett.226429/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/5dots.543866/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sleid.601970/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/zinnias.569291/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/solarbeam.470115/
Last edited:
