[overview]
**Draft Order**: Round 5 onwards
**Price Range**: 8-11 points
**Overview**: Reuniclus is a versatile defensive Pokemon with tools to threaten many different foes. It can be a setup sweeper or wallbreaker with Calm Mind, part of a Regenerator core, and a solid support Pokemon with moves like Thunder Wave, dual screens, and Trick Room. However, despite its versatility, decent HP, and solid Special Attack, Reuniclus's low defenses, abysmal Speed, and mediocre defensive typing make it difficult for it to perform in those roles.
[strategy comments]
Common Roles
========
**Wallbreaker**: Magic Guard and Life Orb make Reuniclus a threat to many teams, even without stat boosts. These sets can also utilize the solid support movepool it posesses to hinder checks that it forces in.
**Tank**: Thanks to its high HP and Regenerator, Reuniclus is great at absorbing hits, firing off strong hits of its own with moves like Future Sight and Focus Blast, and then switching out to heal back up.
**Setup Sweeper**: Reuniclus is a threatening Calm Mind sweeper. Whether it uses dual setup moves with Acid Armor, sets Trick Room for itself, or just relies on its high Special Attack with a damage-boosting item like Life Orb, it doesn't need many boosts to start ripping through teams.
Common Moves
========
**Primary STAB Moves**: Psychic, Psyshock, Psychic Noise, Future Sight
**Setup Moves**: Calm Mind, Acid Armor
**Utility Moves**: Substitute, Recover, Reflect, Light Screen, Thunder Wave, Trick, Trick Room, Encore, Knock Off
**Coverage**: Energy Ball, Flash Cannon, Focus Blast, Grass Knot, Shadow Ball, Thunder
Niche Moves
========
**Night Shade**: On defensive Reuniclus sets, Night Shade can be a solid catch-all choice for consistent damage, especially when trying to check Pokemon resistant to Psychic and Special Defense-boosting foes.
**Stored Power**: Stored Power can be a solid option on Reuniclus sets that utilize multiple setup moves, especially when the opponent lacks a Dark-type to negate Psychic-type damage.
Common Items
========
**Life Orb**: Magic Guard and Life Orb make Reuniclus a potent offensive threat by boosting its damage with no drawbacks.
**Leftovers**: On defensive sets running Magic Guard, Leftovers is a good item to help Reuniclus passively recover health.
**Heavy-Duty Boots**: On sets running Regenerator, Heavy-Duty Boots helps mitigate entry hazard damage, allowing Reuniclus to switch in more safely.
**Assault Vest**: With Regenerator, Reuniclus with an Assault Vest can function as a solid specially defensive pivot by using moves like Future Sight and Psychic Noise to keep pressure on foes while being difficult to break through.
Niche Items
========
**Eject Button**: Reuniclus can use Eject Button to scout a hit and pivot to a teammate while recovering with Regenerator. This is especially useful, as Reuniclus lacks any other ways to pivot.
**Resistance Berries**: Resistance Berries can allow Reuniclus to survive a hit and counterattack. Colbur Berry deserves a special mention, as it allows Reuniclus to switch into Knock Off much more safely.
**Choice Specs**: Choice Specs can be used to maximize Reuniclus's damage; however, it lacks easily spammable moves, making it a riskier item choice. Trick can also be used in combination with Choice Specs to disrupt foes.
**Detrimental Items**: Since Reuniclus isn't affected by them thanks to Magic Guard, items like Sticky Barb and Black Sludge can be used in combination with Trick to take useful items from foes and damage them over time. Toxic and Flame Orb can also be used if the status effect is more crippling to foes than passive damage.
**Light Clay**: Light Clay is a solid item on Reuniclus sets aiming to set dual screens to support its teammates.
**Weakness Policy**: With its reasonable defenses, Reuniclus can make use of Weakness Policy to take advantage of foes that can't OHKO it. It can be especially potent when using Trick Room, allowing Reuniclus to start attacking before the foe can use a second attack.
**Mental Herb**: Mental Herb can help Reuniclus get off a Calm Mind, Recover, or other utility move in the face of Taunt and Encore users.
Tera
========
Reuniclus, like many defensive Pokemon with a mediocre defensive typing, can make good use of Tera by using Tera Water and Fairy to give itself a much better defensive typing. It can also use Tera Fighting and Dark to resist super effective hits, allowing it to flip matchups and set up on foes that think they have it beat. However, Reuniclus is certainly not a primary Tera Captain and should be paired with other strong Tera Captains, as there are many matchups where even Terastallization isn't enough to make up for its shortcomings.
Draft Strategy
========
Reuniclus gains a lot by being able to tailor its sets to opposing teams, so having solid role compression helps it maximize its impact on games. Cleaners appreciate its wallbreaking sets that break through opposing walls and allow them to finish off teams late-game. It also benefits from other Regenerator users, allowing it to form a powerful defensive core with them.
**Regenerator Pivots**: Pokemon like Tornadus-T and Mienshao that can also take advantage of Regenerator as well as pivot help form a strong core with Reuniclus by regenerating health and dealing with each others' checks.
**Fast Cleaners**: Reuniclus can struggle to finish teams by itself, but it is great at taking foes with it or weakening them, allowing cleaners like Greninja and Ogerpon to come in and clean up the weakened team.
**Walls**: Reuniclus is a decent Pokemon defensively, but it is more effective when it can be the second defensive option on a team that is able to scout with Regenerator or set up while teammates like Ting-Lu, Gliscor, and Skarmory handle more primary defensive duties.
**Entry Hazard Setters**: Reuniclus can take good advantage of the extra damage that good entry hazard support can provide, especially from partners like Hisuian Samurott and Gliscor, which can both set hazards and pivot to Reuniclus.
Checks and Counters
========
**Dark- and Steel-Types**: While Reuniclus has coverage moves to hit Dark- and Steel-types, they tend to be unreliable, and it would much rather be using its STAB options, making Pokemon like Kingambit, Corviknight, and Archaludon difficult foes to deal with alone.
**Wallbreakers**: Reuniclus does not have the defensive stats to take on opposing wallbreakers like Chi-Yu and Gholdengo head on.
**Super Effective Attacks**: Since moves that hit Reuniclus super effectively, like Shadow Ball and Knock Off, are widely distributed, it can be easy for foes to fit them onto their sets, which can quickly overwhelm Reuniclus.
[credits]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/termnal.404799/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/scionicle.599989/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/vmnunes.613460/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/techno.527276/
**Draft Order**: Round 5 onwards
**Price Range**: 8-11 points
**Overview**: Reuniclus is a versatile defensive Pokemon with tools to threaten many different foes. It can be a setup sweeper or wallbreaker with Calm Mind, part of a Regenerator core, and a solid support Pokemon with moves like Thunder Wave, dual screens, and Trick Room. However, despite its versatility, decent HP, and solid Special Attack, Reuniclus's low defenses, abysmal Speed, and mediocre defensive typing make it difficult for it to perform in those roles.
[strategy comments]
Common Roles
========
**Wallbreaker**: Magic Guard and Life Orb make Reuniclus a threat to many teams, even without stat boosts. These sets can also utilize the solid support movepool it posesses to hinder checks that it forces in.
**Tank**: Thanks to its high HP and Regenerator, Reuniclus is great at absorbing hits, firing off strong hits of its own with moves like Future Sight and Focus Blast, and then switching out to heal back up.
**Setup Sweeper**: Reuniclus is a threatening Calm Mind sweeper. Whether it uses dual setup moves with Acid Armor, sets Trick Room for itself, or just relies on its high Special Attack with a damage-boosting item like Life Orb, it doesn't need many boosts to start ripping through teams.
Common Moves
========
**Primary STAB Moves**: Psychic, Psyshock, Psychic Noise, Future Sight
**Setup Moves**: Calm Mind, Acid Armor
**Utility Moves**: Substitute, Recover, Reflect, Light Screen, Thunder Wave, Trick, Trick Room, Encore, Knock Off
**Coverage**: Energy Ball, Flash Cannon, Focus Blast, Grass Knot, Shadow Ball, Thunder
Niche Moves
========
**Night Shade**: On defensive Reuniclus sets, Night Shade can be a solid catch-all choice for consistent damage, especially when trying to check Pokemon resistant to Psychic and Special Defense-boosting foes.
**Stored Power**: Stored Power can be a solid option on Reuniclus sets that utilize multiple setup moves, especially when the opponent lacks a Dark-type to negate Psychic-type damage.
Common Items
========
**Life Orb**: Magic Guard and Life Orb make Reuniclus a potent offensive threat by boosting its damage with no drawbacks.
**Leftovers**: On defensive sets running Magic Guard, Leftovers is a good item to help Reuniclus passively recover health.
**Heavy-Duty Boots**: On sets running Regenerator, Heavy-Duty Boots helps mitigate entry hazard damage, allowing Reuniclus to switch in more safely.
**Assault Vest**: With Regenerator, Reuniclus with an Assault Vest can function as a solid specially defensive pivot by using moves like Future Sight and Psychic Noise to keep pressure on foes while being difficult to break through.
Niche Items
========
**Eject Button**: Reuniclus can use Eject Button to scout a hit and pivot to a teammate while recovering with Regenerator. This is especially useful, as Reuniclus lacks any other ways to pivot.
**Resistance Berries**: Resistance Berries can allow Reuniclus to survive a hit and counterattack. Colbur Berry deserves a special mention, as it allows Reuniclus to switch into Knock Off much more safely.
**Choice Specs**: Choice Specs can be used to maximize Reuniclus's damage; however, it lacks easily spammable moves, making it a riskier item choice. Trick can also be used in combination with Choice Specs to disrupt foes.
**Detrimental Items**: Since Reuniclus isn't affected by them thanks to Magic Guard, items like Sticky Barb and Black Sludge can be used in combination with Trick to take useful items from foes and damage them over time. Toxic and Flame Orb can also be used if the status effect is more crippling to foes than passive damage.
**Light Clay**: Light Clay is a solid item on Reuniclus sets aiming to set dual screens to support its teammates.
**Weakness Policy**: With its reasonable defenses, Reuniclus can make use of Weakness Policy to take advantage of foes that can't OHKO it. It can be especially potent when using Trick Room, allowing Reuniclus to start attacking before the foe can use a second attack.
**Mental Herb**: Mental Herb can help Reuniclus get off a Calm Mind, Recover, or other utility move in the face of Taunt and Encore users.
Tera
========
Reuniclus, like many defensive Pokemon with a mediocre defensive typing, can make good use of Tera by using Tera Water and Fairy to give itself a much better defensive typing. It can also use Tera Fighting and Dark to resist super effective hits, allowing it to flip matchups and set up on foes that think they have it beat. However, Reuniclus is certainly not a primary Tera Captain and should be paired with other strong Tera Captains, as there are many matchups where even Terastallization isn't enough to make up for its shortcomings.
Draft Strategy
========
Reuniclus gains a lot by being able to tailor its sets to opposing teams, so having solid role compression helps it maximize its impact on games. Cleaners appreciate its wallbreaking sets that break through opposing walls and allow them to finish off teams late-game. It also benefits from other Regenerator users, allowing it to form a powerful defensive core with them.
**Regenerator Pivots**: Pokemon like Tornadus-T and Mienshao that can also take advantage of Regenerator as well as pivot help form a strong core with Reuniclus by regenerating health and dealing with each others' checks.
**Fast Cleaners**: Reuniclus can struggle to finish teams by itself, but it is great at taking foes with it or weakening them, allowing cleaners like Greninja and Ogerpon to come in and clean up the weakened team.
**Walls**: Reuniclus is a decent Pokemon defensively, but it is more effective when it can be the second defensive option on a team that is able to scout with Regenerator or set up while teammates like Ting-Lu, Gliscor, and Skarmory handle more primary defensive duties.
**Entry Hazard Setters**: Reuniclus can take good advantage of the extra damage that good entry hazard support can provide, especially from partners like Hisuian Samurott and Gliscor, which can both set hazards and pivot to Reuniclus.
Checks and Counters
========
**Dark- and Steel-Types**: While Reuniclus has coverage moves to hit Dark- and Steel-types, they tend to be unreliable, and it would much rather be using its STAB options, making Pokemon like Kingambit, Corviknight, and Archaludon difficult foes to deal with alone.
**Wallbreakers**: Reuniclus does not have the defensive stats to take on opposing wallbreakers like Chi-Yu and Gholdengo head on.
**Super Effective Attacks**: Since moves that hit Reuniclus super effectively, like Shadow Ball and Knock Off, are widely distributed, it can be easy for foes to fit them onto their sets, which can quickly overwhelm Reuniclus.
[credits]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/termnal.404799/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/scionicle.599989/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/vmnunes.613460/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/techno.527276/
Last edited:
