OU Specially Based Protean Greninja

[Indigo Plateau]

[SET]
name: Specially Based Protean
move 1: Hydro Pump
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Hidden Power Fire
move 4: Spikes
item: Waterium Z
ability: Protean
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

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

Hydro Pump is Greninja's best move to hit Rock- and Fire-types, such as Tyranitar, Heatran, and Volcarona, for the greatest amount of damage on this set. Ice Beam is Greninja's most reliable way of hitting Ground- and Grass-types, such as Landorus-T, Zygarde, Tapu Bulu, and Tangrowth, for a significant amount of damage and also lets it beat Tornadus-T and Zapdos, two common Defog users. Additionally, Ice Beam allows Greninja to beat Mega Latias and Mega Latios, which comfortably wall any other special attacking move Greninja possesses outside of Dark Pulse. Hidden Power Fire allows Greninja to dent Steel-types like Ferrothorn and Assault Vest Magearna, two common Pokemon used to check Greninja. Hidden Power Fire also ensures that Greninja beats Mega Scizor without having to waste its Z-Move or rely on Hydro Pump's accuracy. Spikes is a great utility move due to the number of switches Greninja forces in addition to Greninja's ability to beat common Defog users; it also weakens some of its common switch-ins, such as Toxapex, Ferrothorn, and Assault Vest Magearna. Alternatively, Gunk Shot is useful for hitting Grass-types like Tapu Bulu and Tangrowth that commonly attempt to pivot into Greninja for a large chunk of damage and Fairy-types such as Clefable and Tapu Lele for the most amount of damage out of any move on this set if Greninja has already used its Waterium Z. U-turn can be used to ease prediction and gain momentum against anything that attempts to switch into Greninja. Extrasensory allows Greninja to beat Toxapex, one of this set's hardest counters, with the help of Metronome. Lastly, Dark Pulse pairs nicely with Metronome, allowing Greninja to muscle through Psychic-type Calm Mind users such as Reuniclus and Mega Latias.

Set Details
========

Waterium Z is used as a nuke to guarantee the OHKO on Pokemon such as Tornadus-T after Stealth Rock and Mega Mawile, and it also guarantees the KO on Clefable with Hydro Vortex + Hydro Pump. If running Gunk Shot, a Hasty nature should be used instead of a Naive nature to slightly improve Greninja's matchup against special attackers like Heatran. Metronome is an interesting option to gradually build up damage against Pokemon that try to wall Greninja, such as Magearna and Clefable, but it doesn't possess Waterium Z's attacking power.

Usage Tips
========

Take advantage of Greninja's ability to hit a vast amount of the metagame for super effective damage to weaken popular defensive cores consisting of Pokemon such as Heatran, Tapu Bulu, and Clefable. Attempt to set up Spikes as early as possible on expected switches to weaken Greninja's switch-ins throughout the game, giving them fewer opportunities to switch in. Try to save Greninja's Hydro Vortex for a scenario where an OHKO is guaranteed instead of prematurely wasting it early-game. Due to Greninja's vast movepool and flexibility, bluffing a Choice Scarf set can let you surprise opponents that think Greninja is Choice-locked with Hydro Vortex or a super effective coverage move. However, Greninja's subpar bulk means it struggles to come in even on resisted hits, so attempt to bring it in on predicted double switches or through VoltTurn support.

Team Options
========

Due to the number of switches Greninja forces, having a teammate to set up Stealth Rock is greatly beneficial to form a hazard-stacking core. Heatran, Clefable, and Landorus-T can all reliably set up Stealth Rock and fit on the offensive and balanced teams that Greninja finds itself on. Pokemon that can exert a lot of offensive pressure and appreciate Spikes support make for good partners. Mega Alakazam and Mega Mawile deserve special mentions, as they both appreciate residual damage from Spikes and possess good offensive synergy with Greninja. Similarly, powerful attackers like Choice Band Zygarde and Choice Specs Tapu Lele appreciate their checks being weakened by Spikes. Toxapex walls this set with ease if Greninja is not running Extrasensory, so having strong Psychic- and Ground-types like Mega Alakazam, Tapu Lele, and Zygarde that can threaten it is helpful. Mega Alakazam and Tapu Koko both outspeed and threaten to OHKO Greninja, so having a way to handle them is crucial. Choice Scarf Landorus-T can outspeed and threaten Mega Alakazam with U-turn and Tapu Koko with Earthquake. Mega Scizor, Landorus-T, and Tapu Koko can all pivot Greninja in safely, with Mega Scizor luring in Heatran, Landorus-T luring in opposing Landorus-T, and Tapu Koko luring in bulky Ground-types, all of which Greninja can take advantage of.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [Indigo Plateau, 216712]
- Quality checked by: [[Jordy, 395754], [Leo, 328915], [lyd, 303291]]
- Grammar checked by: [[martha, 384270], [lotiasite, 302985]]

 

[astroshagger]

What's going on with this set atm? Something I wanted to mention: the Physically Based Protean sets advocate a Hasty nature, while other Greninja sets prefer Naive. Although this is a small detail overall, a deliberate choice should be made between the two. Naive allows you to handle priority much better while Hasty can take hits from Zapdos and Heatran slightly better. Just something I think should be mentioned in the set somewhere.

 

[Jordy]

[Set]

SET]
name: Specially Based Protean
move 1: Hydro Pump
move 2: Gunk Shot
move 3: Hidden Power Fire
move 4: Spikes
item: Waterium Z
ability: Protean
nature: Naive
evs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

Replace Gunk Shot with Ice Beam. Also change the nature to Hasty and state why it's used instead of Naive.

[Moves]

• Hydro Pump is Greninja's strongest attack and hits Ground- and Fire-types, such as Landorus-T, Zygarde, and Heatran, for a significant amount of damage.

Don't mention Landorus-T and Zygarde here because we're adding Ice Beam; mention Tyranitar here instead.

• Hidden Power Fire allows Greninja to dent Steel-types like Ferrothorn and Assault Vest Magearna, two common Pokemon used to check Greninja.

Mention that it's a much better way of hitting Mega Scizor aswell.

• Spikes is used to weaken Greninja's switch-ins thanks to the number of switches that it produces and weakens common Greninja switch-ins, such as Toxapex, Ferrothorn, and Assault Vest Magearna.

You say it weakens Greninja's switch ins twice, remove one of the two times you mention it. Also mention that Greninja pressures common Defoggers which usually lets it keep up Spikes.

Drop Gunk Shot to a Moves mention and add U-turn and Extrasensory.

[Set Details]

• Maximum Speed investment alongside a Naive nature allows Greninja to be as fast as possible.

Mention a few Pokemon it lets Greninja outspeed, notably Tornadus-T and Serperior.

Add Metronome.

[Usage Tips]

• Attempt to set up Spikes as early as possible to weaken Greninja's switch-ins throughout the game, giving them less opportunities to switch in.

Mention you usually want to set up Spikes on forced switches.

• Due to Greninja's vast movepool and flexibility, bluffing a Choice Scarf set can pay off if the opponent predicts you to be Choice locked and switch into a resisted attack; use this opportunity to fire off Greninja's Hydro Vortex against Pokemon that don't resist it.

This isn't exclusive to Hydro Vortex.

[Team Options]

• Toxapex walls this set with ease, so having strong Psychic- and Ground-types like Mega Alakazam, Tapu Lele, and Zygarde that can threaten it out is helpful.

If not running Extrasensory.

Like this post before you even think about changing the title to 1/3.

1/3

 

[Leo]

Extrasensory allows Greninja to beat Toxapex, which is arguably one of the hardest counters to this set.

cant calc rn but I think it needs a psychium z or metronome in order to beat pex reliably so id mention that here

Waterium Z is used as a nuke to guarantee the OHKO on Pokemon such as Tornadus-T after Stealth Rock and Mega Mawile.

2hkoin clef is worth noting too

Metronome can be used to gradually build up damage against Pokemon that try to wall Greninja.

mention some examples here

2/3

 

[lydian]

If running Gunk Shot, a Hasty nature should be used to slightly improve Greninja's matchup against special attackers like Heatran.

I understand what you’re trying to say here, but most readers may not realize you’re comparing Hasty with Naive. Say something along the likes of “Hasty nature over Naive should be used...”.

That’s all, excellent job! QC 3/3

 

[dewtios]

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Grammar checked by: [[], []]

[SET]
name: Specially Based Protean
move 1: Hydro Pump
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Hidden Power Fire
move 4: Spikes
item: Waterium Z
ability: Protean
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

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

Hydro Pump is Greninja's best move to hit Rock- and Fire-types, such as Tyranitar, Heatran, and Volcarona, for the greatest amount of damage on this set. Hidden Power Fire allows Greninja to dent Steel-types like Ferrothorn and Assault Vest Magearna, two common Pokemon used to check Greninja. Hidden Power Fire also ensures that Greninja beats Mega Scizor without having to waste its Z-Move or rely on Hydro Pump's accuracy.
Ice Beam is Greninja's most reliable way of hitting Ground- and Grass-types, such as Landorus-T, Zygarde, Tapu Bulu, and Tangrowth, (RC) for a significant amount of damage, and also lets it beat common Defog users such as Tornadus-T and Zapdos,(RC) two common Defog users. Additionally, Ice Beam allows Greninja to beat Mega Latias and Mega Latios, which comfortably wall any other special attacking move Greninja possesses outside of the rare Dark Pulse. (switch the descriptions of ice beam and hp fire because you have ice beam as move 2 and hp fire as move 3.) Spikes is a great utility move due thanks to the number of switches Greninja produces in addition to its Greninja's ability to beat common Defog users; it also weakens some of its common switch-ins, such as Toxapex, Ferrothorn, and Assault Vest Magearna. Gunk Shot is useful for hitting Grass-types like Tapu Bulu and Tangrowth that commonly attempt to pivot into Greninja for a large chunk of damage and also hits Fairy-types such as Clefable and Tapu Lele for the most amount of damage out of any moves on this set if Greninja has already used its Waterium Z. U-turn can be used to ease prediction and gain momentum against anything that attempts to switch into Greninja. Lastly, Extrasensory allows Greninja to beat Toxapex with the help of Metronome or Psychium Z, which is arguably one of the hardest counters to this set (unclear, do you mean that Toxapex is one of the hardest counters to this set? in that case, write something like "Lastly, Extrasensory allows Greninja to beat Toxapex, one of this set's hardest counters, with the help of Metronome or Psychium Z.").

Set Details
========

A specially offensive set is used to outspeed Pokemon like Tornadus-T and Serperior and takes advantage of Greninja's expansive movepool. Waterium Z is used as a nuke to guarantee the OHKO on Pokemon such as Tornadus-T after Stealth Rock and Mega Mawile, (AC) and also guarantees the 2HKO on Clefable. If running Gunk Shot, a Hasty nature should be used instead of a Naive nature to slightly improve Greninja's matchup against special attackers like Heatran. Metronome is an interesting option to gradually build up damage against Pokemon that try to wall Greninja, such as Magearna and Clefable, but it doesn't possess Waterium Z's attacking power.

Usage Tips
========

Take advantage of Greninja's ability to hit a vast amount of the metagame for super effective damage to Greninja’s moves can hit a vast amount of the metagame for super effective damage, so take advantage of this to (imo this removes the ambiguity associated with a hanging "this") weaken popular defensive cores consisting of Pokemon such as Heatran, Tapu Bulu, and Clefable. Attempt to set up Spikes as early as possible on expected switches to weaken Greninja's switch-ins throughout the game, giving them less opportunities to switch in. Try to save Greninja's Hydro Vortex for a scenario where an OHKO is guaranteed instead of prematurely wasting in it early-game. Due to Greninja's vast movepool and flexibility, bluffing a Choice Scarf set can pay off if the opponent predicts you to be Choice locked and switch into a resisted attack; use this opportunity to fire off Greninja's Hydro Vortex or a super effective coverage move bluffing a Choice Scarf set can let you surprise opponents that think you're Choice-locked with Hydro Vortex or a super effective coverage move. However, Greninja's subpar bulk means it struggles to come in even on resisted hits, so attempt to bring it in on predicted doubles or through VoltTurn support.

Team Options
========

Due to the amount of switches Greninja produces, having a teammate to set up Stealth Rock is greatly beneficial to form a hazard stacking core. Heatran, Clefable, and Landorus-T can all reliably set up Stealth Rock and fit on the offensive and balanced teams that Greninja finds itself on. Pokemon that can exert a lot of offensive pressure and appreciate Spikes support make for good partners. Mega Alakazam and Mega Mawile deserve special mentions, as they both appreciate residual damage from Spikes and possess good offensive synergy with Greninja. Similarly, powerful attackers like Choice Band Zygarde and Choice Specs Tapu Lele appreciate their checks being weakened down by Spikes. Toxapex walls this set with ease if not running Extrasensory, so having strong Psychic- and Ground-types like Mega Alakazam, Tapu Lele, and Zygarde that can threaten it out is helpful. Mega Alakazam and Tapu Koko both outspeed and threaten to OHKO Greninja, so having a way to handle them is crucial. Choice Scarf Landorus-T can outspeed and threaten Mega Alakazam with U-turn and Tapu Koko with Earthquake. Mega Scizor, Landorus-T, and Tapu Koko can all pivot Greninja in safely, with Mega Scizor luring in Heatran, Landorus-T luring in opposing Landorus-T, and Tapu Koko luring in bulky Ground-types, all of which Greninja can take advantage of.

 

[Jordy]

A bit late, but add Dark Pulse to Moves, because it sees usage on Metronome sets often enough.

 

[autumn]

stamping the above add remove comments
GP 1/2

Hide

[SET]
name: Specially Based Protean
move 1: Hydro Pump
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Hidden Power Fire
move 4: Spikes
item: Waterium Z
ability: Protean
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe (do you really need 4 attack when your whole set is special or spikes)

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

Hydro Pump is Greninja's best move to hit Rock- and Fire-types, such as Tyranitar, Heatran, and Volcarona, for the greatest amount of damage on this set. Hidden Power Fire allows Greninja to dent Steel-types like Ferrothorn and Assault Vest Magearna, two common Pokemon used to check Greninja. Hidden Power Fire also ensures that Greninja beats Mega Scizor without having to waste its Z-Move or rely on Hydro Pump's accuracy.
Ice Beam is Greninja's most reliable way of hitting Ground- and Grass-types, such as Landorus-T, Zygarde, Tapu Bulu, and Tangrowth, (RC) (keep that or remove the one before such as) for a significant amount of damage, (RC) and also lets it beat common Defog users such as Tornadus-T and Zapdos,(RC) two common Defog users. (keep original to avoid the content change unless it's accurate (it changes ice beam beats torn and zap which are defoggers to it beats all common defoggers like torn and zap)) Additionally, Ice Beam allows Greninja to beat Mega Latias and Mega Latios, which comfortably wall any other special attacking move Greninja possesses outside of the rare Dark Pulse. (don't call it rare because it's getting a moves mention) (switch the descriptions of ice beam and hp fire because you have ice beam as move 2 and hp fire as move 3.) Spikes is a great utility move due thanks to the number of switches Greninja produces in addition to its Greninja's ability to beat common Defog users; it also weakens some of its common switch-ins, such as Toxapex, Ferrothorn, and Assault Vest Magearna. Gunk Shot is useful for hitting Grass-types like Tapu Bulu and Tangrowth that commonly attempt to pivot into Greninja for a large chunk of damage and also hits Fairy-types such as Clefable and Tapu Lele for the most amount of damage out of any moves on this set if Greninja has already used its Waterium Z. U-turn can be used to ease prediction and gain momentum against anything that attempts to switch into Greninja. Lastly, Extrasensory allows Greninja to beat Toxapex with the help of Metronome or Psychium Z, which is arguably one of the hardest counters to this set (unclear, do you mean that Toxapex is one of the hardest counters to this set? in that case, write something like "Lastly, Extrasensory allows Greninja to beat Toxapex, one of this set's hardest counters, with the help of Metronome or Psychium Z."). (ye do that + add dark pulse as requested)

Set Details
========

A specially offensive set is used to outspeed Pokemon like Tornadus-T and Serperior and takes advantage of Greninja's expansive movepool. Waterium Z is used as a nuke to guarantee the OHKO on Pokemon such as Tornadus-T after Stealth Rock and Mega Mawile, (AC) and it also guarantees the 2HKO on Clefable. If running Gunk Shot, a Hasty nature should be used instead of a Naive nature to slightly improve Greninja's matchup against special attackers like Heatran. Metronome is an interesting option to gradually build up damage against Pokemon that try to wall Greninja, such as Magearna and Clefable, but it doesn't possess Waterium Z's attacking power. (add psychium because it was mentioned in moves)

Usage Tips
========

Take advantage of Greninja's ability to hit a vast amount of the metagame for super effective damage to Greninja’s moves can hit a vast amount of the metagame for super effective damage, so take advantage of this to (imo this removes the ambiguity associated with a hanging "this") weaken popular defensive cores consisting of Pokemon such as Heatran, Tapu Bulu, and Clefable. Attempt to set up Spikes as early as possible on expected switches to weaken Greninja's switch-ins throughout the game, giving them less fewer opportunities to switch in. Try to save Greninja's Hydro Vortex for a scenario where an OHKO is guaranteed instead of prematurely wasting in it early-game. Due to Greninja's vast movepool and flexibility, bluffing a Choice Scarf set can pay off if the opponent predicts you to be Choice locked and switch into a resisted attack; use this opportunity to fire off Greninja's Hydro Vortex or a super effective coverage move bluffing a Choice Scarf set can let you surprise opponents that think you're Greninja is Choice-locked with Hydro Vortex or a super effective coverage move. However, Greninja's subpar bulk means it struggles to come in even on resisted hits, so attempt to bring it in on predicted double switches or through VoltTurn support.

Team Options
========

Due to the amount number of switches Greninja produces, having a teammate to set up Stealth Rock is greatly beneficial to form a hazard-(AH)stacking core. Heatran, Clefable, and Landorus-T can all reliably set up Stealth Rock and fit on the offensive and balanced teams that Greninja finds itself on. Pokemon that can exert a lot of offensive pressure and appreciate Spikes support make for good partners. Mega Alakazam and Mega Mawile deserve special mentions, as they both appreciate residual damage from Spikes and possess good offensive synergy with Greninja. Similarly, powerful attackers like Choice Band Zygarde and Choice Specs Tapu Lele appreciate their checks being weakened down by Spikes. Toxapex walls this set with ease if Greninja is not running Extrasensory, so having strong Psychic- and Ground-types like Mega Alakazam, Tapu Lele, and Zygarde that can threaten it out is helpful. Mega Alakazam and Tapu Koko both outspeed and threaten to OHKO Greninja, so having a way to handle them is crucial. Choice Scarf Landorus-T can outspeed and threaten Mega Alakazam with U-turn and Tapu Koko with Earthquake. Mega Scizor, Landorus-T, and Tapu Koko can all pivot Greninja in safely, with Mega Scizor luring in Heatran, Landorus-T luring in opposing Landorus-T, and Tapu Koko luring in bulky Ground-types, all of which Greninja can take advantage of.

 

[lotiasite]

GP 2/2

check

Quality checked by: [[Jordy, 395754], [Leo, 328915], [lyd, 303291]]
Grammar checked by: [[martha, 384270], [[lotiasite, 302985]] just make sure to put this at the bottom and put yourself in

[SET]
name: Specially Based Protean
move 1: Hydro Pump
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Hidden Power Fire
move 4: Spikes
item: Waterium Z
ability: Protean
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

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

Hydro Pump is Greninja's best move to hit Rock- and Fire-types, such as Tyranitar, Heatran, and Volcarona, for the greatest amount of damage on this set. (id remove this for the new policy regarding obvious info; arguably the bolded part of the ice beam line) Ice Beam is Greninja's most reliable way of hitting Ground- and Grass-types, such as Landorus-T, Zygarde, Tapu Bulu, and Tangrowth, for a significant amount of damage and also lets it beat Tornadus-T and Zapdos, two common Defog users. Additionally, Ice Beam allows Greninja to beat Mega Latias and Mega Latios, which comfortably wall any other special attacking move Greninja possesses outside of Dark Pulse. Hidden Power Fire allows Greninja to dent Steel-types like Ferrothorn and Assault Vest Magearna, two common Pokemon used to check Greninja. Hidden Power Fire also ensures that Greninja beats Mega Scizor without having to waste its Z-Move or rely on Hydro Pump's accuracy. Spikes is a great utility move due to the number of switches Greninja produforces in addition to Greninja's ability to beat common Defog users; it also weakens some of its common switch-ins, such as Toxapex, Ferrothorn, and Assault Vest Magearna. Alternatively, Gunk Shot is useful for hitting Grass-types like Tapu Bulu and Tangrowth that commonly attempt to pivot into Greninja for a large chunk of damage and Fairy-types such as Clefable and Tapu Lele for the most amount of damage out of any move on this set if Greninja has already used its Waterium Z. U-turn can be used to ease prediction and gain momentum against anything that attempts to switch into Greninja. Lastly, Extrasensory allows Greninja to beat Toxapex, one of this set's hardest counters, with the help of Metronome. Lastly, Dark Pulse pairs nicely with Metronome, allowing Greninja to muscle through Psychic-type Calm Mind users such as Reuniclus and Mega Latias.

Set Details
========

A specially offensive set is used to outspeed Pokemon like Tornadus-T and Serperior and take advantage of Greninja's expansive movepool. Waterium Z is used as a nuke to guarantee the OHKO on Pokemon such as Tornadus-T after Stealth Rock and Mega Mawile, and it also guarantees the 2HKO on Clefable with Hydro Vortex + Hydro Pump. (im guessing at least? 2hko with a one-time move sounds very odd) If running Gunk Shot, a Hasty nature should be used instead of a Naive nature to slightly improve Greninja's matchup against special attackers like Heatran. Metronome is an interesting option to gradually build up damage against Pokemon that try to wall Greninja, such as Magearna and Clefable, but it doesn't possess Waterium Z's attacking power.

Usage Tips
========

Take advantage of Greninja's ability to hit a vast amount of the metagame for super effective damage to weaken popular defensive cores consisting of Pokemon such as Heatran, Tapu Bulu, and Clefable. Attempt to set up Spikes as early as possible on expected switches to weaken Greninja's switch-ins throughout the game, giving them fewer opportunities to switch in. Try to save Greninja's Hydro Vortex for a scenario where an OHKO is guaranteed instead of prematurely wasting it early-game. Due to Greninja's vast movepool and flexibility, bluffing a Choice Scarf set can let you surprise opponents that think Greninja is Choice-locked with Hydro Vortex or a super effective coverage move. However, Greninja's subpar bulk means it struggles to come in even on resisted hits, so attempt to bring it in on predicted double switches or through VoltTurn support.

Team Options
========

Due to the number of switches Greninja produforces, having a teammate to set up Stealth Rock is greatly beneficial to form a hazard-stacking core. Heatran, Clefable, and Landorus-T can all reliably set up Stealth Rock and fit on the offensive and balanced teams that Greninja finds itself on. Pokemon that can exert a lot of offensive pressure and appreciate Spikes support make for good partners. Mega Alakazam and Mega Mawile deserve special mentions, as they both appreciate residual damage from Spikes and possess good offensive synergy with Greninja. Similarly, powerful attackers like Choice Band Zygarde and Choice Specs Tapu Lele appreciate their checks being weakened by Spikes. Toxapex walls this set with ease if Greninja is not running Extrasensory, so having strong Psychic- and Ground-types like Mega Alakazam, Tapu Lele, and Zygarde that can threaten it is helpful. Mega Alakazam and Tapu Koko both outspeed and threaten to OHKO Greninja, so having a way to handle them is crucial. Choice Scarf Landorus-T can outspeed and threaten Mega Alakazam with U-turn and Tapu Koko with Earthquake. Mega Scizor, Landorus-T, and Tapu Koko can all pivot Greninja in safely, with Mega Scizor luring in Heatran, Landorus-T luring in opposing Landorus-T, and Tapu Koko luring in bulky Ground-types, all of which Greninja can take advantage of.

 

[Gary]

GP 2/2

check

Quality checked by: [[Jordy, 395754], [Leo, 328915], [lyd, 303291]]
Grammar checked by: [[martha, 384270], [[lotiasite, 302985]] just make sure to put this at the bottom and put yourself in

[SET]
name: Specially Based Protean
move 1: Hydro Pump
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Hidden Power Fire
move 4: Spikes
item: Waterium Z
ability: Protean
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

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

Hydro Pump is Greninja's best move to hit Rock- and Fire-types, such as Tyranitar, Heatran, and Volcarona, for the greatest amount of damage on this set. (id remove this for the new policy regarding obvious info; arguably the bolded part of the ice beam line) Ice Beam is Greninja's most reliable way of hitting Ground- and Grass-types, such as Landorus-T, Zygarde, Tapu Bulu, and Tangrowth, for a significant amount of damage and also lets it beat Tornadus-T and Zapdos, two common Defog users. Additionally, Ice Beam allows Greninja to beat Mega Latias and Mega Latios, which comfortably wall any other special attacking move Greninja possesses outside of Dark Pulse. Hidden Power Fire allows Greninja to dent Steel-types like Ferrothorn and Assault Vest Magearna, two common Pokemon used to check Greninja. Hidden Power Fire also ensures that Greninja beats Mega Scizor without having to waste its Z-Move or rely on Hydro Pump's accuracy. Spikes is a great utility move due to the number of switches Greninja produforces in addition to Greninja's ability to beat common Defog users; it also weakens some of its common switch-ins, such as Toxapex, Ferrothorn, and Assault Vest Magearna. Alternatively, Gunk Shot is useful for hitting Grass-types like Tapu Bulu and Tangrowth that commonly attempt to pivot into Greninja for a large chunk of damage and Fairy-types such as Clefable and Tapu Lele for the most amount of damage out of any move on this set if Greninja has already used its Waterium Z. U-turn can be used to ease prediction and gain momentum against anything that attempts to switch into Greninja. Lastly, Extrasensory allows Greninja to beat Toxapex, one of this set's hardest counters, with the help of Metronome. Lastly, Dark Pulse pairs nicely with Metronome, allowing Greninja to muscle through Psychic-type Calm Mind users such as Reuniclus and Mega Latias.

Set Details
========

A specially offensive set is used to outspeed Pokemon like Tornadus-T and Serperior and take advantage of Greninja's expansive movepool. Waterium Z is used as a nuke to guarantee the OHKO on Pokemon such as Tornadus-T after Stealth Rock and Mega Mawile, and it also guarantees the 2HKO on Clefable with Hydro Vortex + Hydro Pump. (im guessing at least? 2hko with a one-time move sounds very odd) If running Gunk Shot, a Hasty nature should be used instead of a Naive nature to slightly improve Greninja's matchup against special attackers like Heatran. Metronome is an interesting option to gradually build up damage against Pokemon that try to wall Greninja, such as Magearna and Clefable, but it doesn't possess Waterium Z's attacking power.

Usage Tips
========

Take advantage of Greninja's ability to hit a vast amount of the metagame for super effective damage to weaken popular defensive cores consisting of Pokemon such as Heatran, Tapu Bulu, and Clefable. Attempt to set up Spikes as early as possible on expected switches to weaken Greninja's switch-ins throughout the game, giving them fewer opportunities to switch in. Try to save Greninja's Hydro Vortex for a scenario where an OHKO is guaranteed instead of prematurely wasting it early-game. Due to Greninja's vast movepool and flexibility, bluffing a Choice Scarf set can let you surprise opponents that think Greninja is Choice-locked with Hydro Vortex or a super effective coverage move. However, Greninja's subpar bulk means it struggles to come in even on resisted hits, so attempt to bring it in on predicted double switches or through VoltTurn support.

Team Options
========

Due to the number of switches Greninja produforces, having a teammate to set up Stealth Rock is greatly beneficial to form a hazard-stacking core. Heatran, Clefable, and Landorus-T can all reliably set up Stealth Rock and fit on the offensive and balanced teams that Greninja finds itself on. Pokemon that can exert a lot of offensive pressure and appreciate Spikes support make for good partners. Mega Alakazam and Mega Mawile deserve special mentions, as they both appreciate residual damage from Spikes and possess good offensive synergy with Greninja. Similarly, powerful attackers like Choice Band Zygarde and Choice Specs Tapu Lele appreciate their checks being weakened by Spikes. Toxapex walls this set with ease if Greninja is not running Extrasensory, so having strong Psychic- and Ground-types like Mega Alakazam, Tapu Lele, and Zygarde that can threaten it is helpful. Mega Alakazam and Tapu Koko both outspeed and threaten to OHKO Greninja, so having a way to handle them is crucial. Choice Scarf Landorus-T can outspeed and threaten Mega Alakazam with U-turn and Tapu Koko with Earthquake. Mega Scizor, Landorus-T, and Tapu Koko can all pivot Greninja in safely, with Mega Scizor luring in Heatran, Landorus-T luring in opposing Landorus-T, and Tapu Koko luring in bulky Ground-types, all of which Greninja can take advantage of.

Actually I personally think Greninja is a slight exception to the new policy rule in regards to move details because it essentially has STAB on every move, meaning that it doesn't technically have to run Water/Dark coverage unless there is a reason to do so. Each of the moves it runs is to hit specific Pokemon, not technically just for power or reliability. I think keeping what Hydro/Ice Beam hits is fine on this set as long as it just talks about what it's used for and not the part where it says "hits rocks and fires" because lol type chart is hard.

 

[Leo]

upman