[overview]
**Draft Order**: Round 2 onwards
**Price Range**: 14 points
**Overview**: Serperior is an effective wallbreaker and late-game cleaner that uses Contrary along with Leaf Storm and its excellent Speed to quickly set up and break through teams. It can use Glare or Leech Seed to cripple common switch-ins, and Hidden Power gives it the necessary coverage to beat many foes that wall Leaf Storm. It often struggles to deal meaningful damage before it sets up due to its mediocre base Special Attack, and its defenses are not amazing, especially since its Grass typing is not great defensively. It also gets revenge killed relatively easily by faster foes, especially ones that can deal massive damage with U-turn.
[strategy comments]
Common Roles
========
**Sweeper**: Serperior mainly relies on Leaf Storm to boost its Special Attack while dealing increasingly large amounts of damage. This can often be effective with Substitute, since it forces many Grass-weak foes to swap out. Dragon Pulse and Hidden Power give it the necessary coverage to hit foes that wall Leaf Storm. It can either rely on teammates to weaken its checks beforehand so that it can sweep late-game, or it can wallbreak early-game to weaken specific foes, allowing teammates to win late-game. Serperior can often afford to run defensive EVs rather than offensive ones, since the boosts allow it to eventually deal massive damage regardless.
**Cleaner**: With a Choice Scarf, Serperior can outspeed other Choice Scarf users and faster foes to pick them off with Leaf Storm. It can also become a dangerous late-game sweeper once it has acquired enough boosts, especially when the opposing checks are weakened enough beforehand.
**Bulky Utility**: Serperior has a great utility moveset, allowing it to fit many roles as needed. While it often still uses Leaf Storm for damage, it can heal with Leech Seed or Synthesis, cripple foes with Knock Off or Glare, and remove entry hazards with Defog. SubSeed sets are also very effective, as it can easily use Substitute on anticipated switches and weaken its incoming check with Leech Seed.
Common Moves
========
**Primary STAB Moves**: Leaf Storm, Giga Drain
**Setup Moves**: Leaf Storm
**Utility Moves**: Glare, Knock Off, Defog, Leech Seed, Substitute, Synthesis, Aromatherapy, Taunt, Toxic, Reflect, Light Screen, Dragon Tail
**Coverage**: Dragon Pulse, Hidden Power
Niche Moves
========
**Mirror Coat**: Against specially defensive foes and Pokemon with Unaware, Mirror Coat can be used on bulkier sets to deal damage more reliably.
**Worry Seed / Gastro Acid**: Against foes with Unaware or other problematic abilities, Serperior can often fit Worry Seed or Gastro Acid on its moveset to break through them more effectively
Common Items
========
**Leftovers**: Serperior appreciates the passive recovery from Leftovers, especially on sets that use Substitute. SubSeed sets with Leftovers become incredibly difficult for foes to take down.
**Choice Scarf**: Serperior can become an effective late-game wincon with Choice Scarf, allowing it to outspeed opposing Choice Scarf users along with faster foes like Tapu Koko and Zeraora.
**Pinch Berries**: Pinch Berries, such as Iapapa Berry, allow Serperior to heal up after taking a large amount of chip damage. This can be especially effective with Substitute, since it allows Serperior to activate the Berry safely.
Niche Items
========
**Damage-boosting Items**: Serperior can sometimes benefit from items like Choice Specs, Miracle Seed, and Life Orb to do more initial damage with Leaf Storm. Life Orb is especially effective when +2 coverage attacks barely miss out on a KO on a specific foe.
**Light Clay**: While Serperior often prefers other moves, it can use dual screens with Light Clay so that it and its teammates can take hits and set up more easily.
**Resistance Berries**: Serperior can use resistance Berries to take hits from foes that wall its unboosted attacks, giving it a free turn to set up. This also allows it to KO revenge killers that threaten to KO it with super effective coverage.
Draft Strategy
========
Serperior is a great and unique sweeper that benefits many teams, especially with its ability to support teammates with Glare, but it requires lots of support to function properly. It can almost never win games on its own, especially with its awkward offensive and defensive typing and stats, but with the right teammates and support, it can be an incredibly valuable Pokemon.
**Entry Hazard Setters**: Serperior greatly appreciates teammates that can set entry hazards, since they weaken incoming foes and allow Serperior to KO foes more effectively. This is especially effective against the Flying- and Fire-types that would otherwise wall it. Good hazard setting teammates include Heatran, Landorus-T, and Krookodile.
**Ground-types**: Serperior struggles breaking through Steel-, Poison-, and Fire-types, so having a Ground-type teammate that can threaten then frees up more opportunities for it to become effective late-game. Good examples include Nidoking, Zygarde, and Garchomp.
**Pivots**: Serperior has a poor defensive typing and often struggles switching in on attacks, so it appreciates slow pivots like Rotom-W and Zapdos that can bring it in safely. It also appreciates foes being weakened so that it can safely KO them with its first Leaf Storm while remaining healthy.
**Physical Wallbreakers**: Serperior often forces specially defensive foes to go all out on Special Defense EVs, allowing physically offensive wallbreakers like Mega Gallade, Zeraora, and Mega Charizard X to break through them and form dangerous offensive cores.
Checks and Counters
========
**Grass-resistant Foes**: Serperior's main way of dealing damage is Leaf Storm, which many foes can resist, especially if it has yet to get multiple boosts. Poison-, Fire-, and Flying-types like Tornadus-T, Infernape, and Mega Charizard X can force it to bring Dragon Pulse or Leech Seed, and Steel-types like Ferrothorn, Mega Scizor, and Heatran often require very specific Hidden Power types.
**Faster Foes**: Faster Pokemon can easily revenge kill Serperior or force it out, and they can often come in relatively safely against an unboosted one. Tornadus-T, Weavile, and Tapu Koko make great revenge killers, and Pokemon like Hydreigon, Mienshao, and Victini can use a Choice Scarf to outspeed it.
**Status Effects**: Serperior gets heavily weakened by status effects, especially poison and paralysis. Although it has Aromatherapy, it often struggles fitting it on its moveset, and it gives the opponent an opportunity to gain momentum against it. Toxic Spikes are especially annoying for it to handle, since it makes Substitute sets much less viable and severely shortens its longevity.
**Lures**: In certain matchups where a specific Hidden Power type is necessary, it can be very easy for opponents to predict, allowing them to use resistance Berries to lure and KO Serperior.
[credits]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/techno.527276/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/jscurf.608304/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/odinrm.613514/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user4.400000
**Draft Order**: Round 2 onwards
**Price Range**: 14 points
**Overview**: Serperior is an effective wallbreaker and late-game cleaner that uses Contrary along with Leaf Storm and its excellent Speed to quickly set up and break through teams. It can use Glare or Leech Seed to cripple common switch-ins, and Hidden Power gives it the necessary coverage to beat many foes that wall Leaf Storm. It often struggles to deal meaningful damage before it sets up due to its mediocre base Special Attack, and its defenses are not amazing, especially since its Grass typing is not great defensively. It also gets revenge killed relatively easily by faster foes, especially ones that can deal massive damage with U-turn.
[strategy comments]
Common Roles
========
**Sweeper**: Serperior mainly relies on Leaf Storm to boost its Special Attack while dealing increasingly large amounts of damage. This can often be effective with Substitute, since it forces many Grass-weak foes to swap out. Dragon Pulse and Hidden Power give it the necessary coverage to hit foes that wall Leaf Storm. It can either rely on teammates to weaken its checks beforehand so that it can sweep late-game, or it can wallbreak early-game to weaken specific foes, allowing teammates to win late-game. Serperior can often afford to run defensive EVs rather than offensive ones, since the boosts allow it to eventually deal massive damage regardless.
**Cleaner**: With a Choice Scarf, Serperior can outspeed other Choice Scarf users and faster foes to pick them off with Leaf Storm. It can also become a dangerous late-game sweeper once it has acquired enough boosts, especially when the opposing checks are weakened enough beforehand.
**Bulky Utility**: Serperior has a great utility moveset, allowing it to fit many roles as needed. While it often still uses Leaf Storm for damage, it can heal with Leech Seed or Synthesis, cripple foes with Knock Off or Glare, and remove entry hazards with Defog. SubSeed sets are also very effective, as it can easily use Substitute on anticipated switches and weaken its incoming check with Leech Seed.
Common Moves
========
**Primary STAB Moves**: Leaf Storm, Giga Drain
**Setup Moves**: Leaf Storm
**Utility Moves**: Glare, Knock Off, Defog, Leech Seed, Substitute, Synthesis, Aromatherapy, Taunt, Toxic, Reflect, Light Screen, Dragon Tail
**Coverage**: Dragon Pulse, Hidden Power
Niche Moves
========
**Mirror Coat**: Against specially defensive foes and Pokemon with Unaware, Mirror Coat can be used on bulkier sets to deal damage more reliably.
**Worry Seed / Gastro Acid**: Against foes with Unaware or other problematic abilities, Serperior can often fit Worry Seed or Gastro Acid on its moveset to break through them more effectively
Common Items
========
**Leftovers**: Serperior appreciates the passive recovery from Leftovers, especially on sets that use Substitute. SubSeed sets with Leftovers become incredibly difficult for foes to take down.
**Choice Scarf**: Serperior can become an effective late-game wincon with Choice Scarf, allowing it to outspeed opposing Choice Scarf users along with faster foes like Tapu Koko and Zeraora.
**Pinch Berries**: Pinch Berries, such as Iapapa Berry, allow Serperior to heal up after taking a large amount of chip damage. This can be especially effective with Substitute, since it allows Serperior to activate the Berry safely.
Niche Items
========
**Damage-boosting Items**: Serperior can sometimes benefit from items like Choice Specs, Miracle Seed, and Life Orb to do more initial damage with Leaf Storm. Life Orb is especially effective when +2 coverage attacks barely miss out on a KO on a specific foe.
**Light Clay**: While Serperior often prefers other moves, it can use dual screens with Light Clay so that it and its teammates can take hits and set up more easily.
**Resistance Berries**: Serperior can use resistance Berries to take hits from foes that wall its unboosted attacks, giving it a free turn to set up. This also allows it to KO revenge killers that threaten to KO it with super effective coverage.
Draft Strategy
========
Serperior is a great and unique sweeper that benefits many teams, especially with its ability to support teammates with Glare, but it requires lots of support to function properly. It can almost never win games on its own, especially with its awkward offensive and defensive typing and stats, but with the right teammates and support, it can be an incredibly valuable Pokemon.
**Entry Hazard Setters**: Serperior greatly appreciates teammates that can set entry hazards, since they weaken incoming foes and allow Serperior to KO foes more effectively. This is especially effective against the Flying- and Fire-types that would otherwise wall it. Good hazard setting teammates include Heatran, Landorus-T, and Krookodile.
**Ground-types**: Serperior struggles breaking through Steel-, Poison-, and Fire-types, so having a Ground-type teammate that can threaten then frees up more opportunities for it to become effective late-game. Good examples include Nidoking, Zygarde, and Garchomp.
**Pivots**: Serperior has a poor defensive typing and often struggles switching in on attacks, so it appreciates slow pivots like Rotom-W and Zapdos that can bring it in safely. It also appreciates foes being weakened so that it can safely KO them with its first Leaf Storm while remaining healthy.
**Physical Wallbreakers**: Serperior often forces specially defensive foes to go all out on Special Defense EVs, allowing physically offensive wallbreakers like Mega Gallade, Zeraora, and Mega Charizard X to break through them and form dangerous offensive cores.
Checks and Counters
========
**Grass-resistant Foes**: Serperior's main way of dealing damage is Leaf Storm, which many foes can resist, especially if it has yet to get multiple boosts. Poison-, Fire-, and Flying-types like Tornadus-T, Infernape, and Mega Charizard X can force it to bring Dragon Pulse or Leech Seed, and Steel-types like Ferrothorn, Mega Scizor, and Heatran often require very specific Hidden Power types.
**Faster Foes**: Faster Pokemon can easily revenge kill Serperior or force it out, and they can often come in relatively safely against an unboosted one. Tornadus-T, Weavile, and Tapu Koko make great revenge killers, and Pokemon like Hydreigon, Mienshao, and Victini can use a Choice Scarf to outspeed it.
**Status Effects**: Serperior gets heavily weakened by status effects, especially poison and paralysis. Although it has Aromatherapy, it often struggles fitting it on its moveset, and it gives the opponent an opportunity to gain momentum against it. Toxic Spikes are especially annoying for it to handle, since it makes Substitute sets much less viable and severely shortens its longevity.
**Lures**: In certain matchups where a specific Hidden Power type is necessary, it can be very easy for opponents to predict, allowing them to use resistance Berries to lure and KO Serperior.
[credits]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/techno.527276/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/jscurf.608304/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/odinrm.613514/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user4.400000
Last edited:
