[OVERVIEW]
* Tapu Fini is one of the premier Water-types in the format that can fit comfortably on most teams.
* Misty Terrain is a godsend, as it prevents Tapu Fini and its partners from being inflicted by status effects. It also activates the Special Defense boost from Misty Seed instantly.
* Tapu Fini possesses impressive 70 / 115 / 130 bulk, which can allow it to sponge off hits relatively well.
* Without a Calm Mind or Choice Specs boost, Tapu Fini's offensive capabilities are rather mediocre.
* Water / Fairy is a pretty significant defensive and offensive typing, as it comes with a ton of useful resistances and allows Tapu Fini to hit a good chunk of the format for super effective or neutral damage.
* Tapu Fini struggles against the other island guardians such as Tapu Koko and Tapu Bulu, which can not only remove its Misty Terrain, but also smack it pretty hard with their STAB moves.
[SET]
name: Calm Mind
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Muddy Water / Scald
move 3: Moonblast
move 4: Protect
item: Leftovers
ability: Misty Surge
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 116 Def / 140 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
* Calm Mind increases Tapu Fini's Special Attack and Special Defense by one stage, which can turn it into a potent wincon that is able to clean through teams with limited ways to break it.
* Muddy Water is Tapu Fini's Water-type STAB move and is preferred over Scald for its ability to threaten two Pokemon at once. It also has a small chance to reduce the foe's accuracy, which is nifty while Tapu Fini is setting up.
* Moonblast is a reliable Fairy-type STAB move that threatens Dragon-, Dark-, and Fighting-types. It can also cause Special Attack drops, which helps with setting up.
* Protect keeps Tapu Fini safe from potential double targets and gives it a free turn of Leftovers recovery.
* Scald can be used if Muddy Water's accuracy is a hindrance for you, but it should be noted that Tapu Fini can't burn grounded foes while Misty Terrain is active.
Set Details
========
* 252 HP EVs and 116 Defense EVs allows Tapu Fini to survive maximum Attack Jolly Kartana's Leaf Blade and makes Arcanine's maximum Attack Wild Charge a 3HKO.
* The 140 leftover EVs are placed into Special defense to enable Tapu Fini to stomach a Sludge Bomb from Life Orb Nihilego and Life Orb Thunder from Tapu Koko outside of Electric Terrain.
* If you desire a faster variant then an EV spread of 252 HP / 12 Def / 244 Spe is viable, as it enables Tapu Fini to outspeed Adamant maximum Speed Arcanine and Timid maximum Speed Xurkitree. However, this gives Tapu Fini significantly less physical bulk and gives Kartana a strong chance to OHKO with Leaf Blade.
* Leftovers provides passive recovery to keep Tapu Fini healthy for the long haul.
* Aguav Berry can be used to heal 50% of Tapu Fini's health should it be brought below 25%.
Usage Tips
========
* This Tapu Fini set is designed to stay on the field and slowly win games, so you have to play very conservative with it.
* Tapu Fini's natural bulk and typing allows it to switch in on many threats, but try to avoid coming in on strong neutral attacks, as you'll want Tapu Fini's HP as high as possible.
* It's important that Tapu Fini stays as healthy as possible because it lacks a form of reliable recovery outside of Leftovers or a certain Z-Move.
* Tapu Fini should be sent out when its counters are either not on the field or are checked by one of Tapu Fini's partners.
* Tapu Fini often doesn't need too many Calm Mind boosts to win a game so just setting up one or two will be enough.
* Avoid setting up Calm Minds versus Pokemon that can deal a lot of damage to Tapu Fini and instead use that time to either get an attack off, use Protect, or even just switch out.
* Keep in mind that even with Special Attack boosts Tapu Fini still isn't dishing out too much damage until you have about four or five.
* Be wary of Toxic users if your opponent has ways of removing Misty Terrain.
Team Options
========
* Arcanine is a staple partner for Tapu Fini, as it provides much needed Intimidate support, which eases the stress from physical attackers. It's also one of the best answers to Kartana in the format because it can OHKO it with a Fire-type move, which is a huge blessing for Tapu Fini.
* Garchomp works well with Tapu Fini, as it is one of the few Pokemon in the format that can reliably counter Alolan Muk with Tectonic Rage.
* Kartana is a valuable partner, as it can reliably take on opposing Tapu Fini, which makes winning the mirror matchup a lot easier. Tapu Fini also keeps Arcanine in check, which Kartana very much appreciates.
* Eevee is an interesting partner, as Tapu Fini is a fantastic recipient of Extreme Evoboost because of its stellar bulk being boosted even further and its solid type coverage being complimented by the +2 Special Attack boost. Misty Terrain also prevents the opponent from slowing down the Extreme Evoboost strategy with status.
* While Tapu Koko can remove Tapu Fini's Misty Terrain, it is a good partner that can take on faster threats like Garchomp, Gengar, and Kartana before they can do any damage to Tapu Fini.
[SET]
name: Choice Specs
move 1: Hydro Pump / Scald
move 2: Muddy Water
move 3: Dazzling Gleam
move 4: Moonblast
item: Choice Specs
ability: Misty Surge
nature: Modest
evs: 252 HP / 252 SpAtk / 4 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
* Hydro Pump is Tapu Fini's strongest STAB move and can plow through many opponents with its impressive power.
* Scald is a safer alternative to Hydro Pump for when you want perfect accuracy but comes at the cost of significantly less power.
* Muddy Water is Tapu Fini's secondary STAB move, which is good for doing decent damage to both foes at the same time along with having a chance to lower their accuracy.
* Moonblast is Tapu Fini's most consistent STAB option, which will always OHKO non-Assault Vest Garchomp.
* Dazzling Gleam is likely the move that Tapu Fini will use the least, as it is the weaker spread move but doesn't have the chance to miss and can hit Pokemon that resist Muddy Water.
* Ice Beam is an option if you want to do more damage to Tapu Bulu, and it also OHKOes non-Assault Vest Kartana.
Set Details
========
* Maximum Special Attack with a Modest nature is necessary to hit as hard as possible
* Maximum HP is used in order to stick around as long as possible to get off more attacks.
* Choice Specs amplifies Tapu Fini's damage output so that it can pick up KOs that it normally is unable to.
* This spread has no Speed investment because Tapu Fini can't outspeed much around its Speed tier without too much investment, which would cut away from its bulk and power.
* However, if you want a faster spread, then 156 HP / 252 SpA / 100 Spe is an option to outspeed maximum Speed Pelipper and Magnezone.
Usage Tips
========
* While this Tapu Fini set is meant to be played more aggressively, you should still avoid being too reckless.
* This Tapu Fini set has significantly less physical bulk, meaning that it's more threatened by the likes of Tectonic Rage Garchomp, Wild Charge Arcanine, and Kartana.
* Try to find an opening against two Pokemon that can't threaten Tapu Fini too much, so that Tapu Fini can come in and start firing off boosted attacks.
* Choice Specs Tapu Fini also works pretty well as a lead, since the lack of Speed means that it's more likely to activate Misty Terrain versus another island guardian.
* Try to avoid spamming Muddy Water against more offensively inclined teams, since a miss will be hugely detrimental. Dazzling Gleam and Hydro Pump are more helpful in these matchups.
* Muddy Water is more useful against defensive teams that can't handle Tapu Fini too well so that you can stick around longer and harass with accuracy drops.
Team Options
========
* Arcanine is a solid partner for Choice Specs Tapu Fini, as Intimidate support keeps it a bit safer against physical attackers. Arcanine also possesses Helping Hand to further increase Tapu Fini's damage output.
* Ninetales is a fine partner that can provide Aurora Veil to buff up Tapu Fini's bulk and Icy Wind to provide much-needed speed control.
* Kartana is again a solid partner, as it excels at eliminating most Water-type Pokemon, which makes it much easier for Tapu Fini to consistently fire off Muddy Water and Hydro Pump. It's also very good at beating down on Snorlax and Chansey, which Tapu Fini struggles against.
* Even with the Choice Specs boost, Tapu Fini still struggles against Alolan Muk, which makes Garchomp a good partner. Tectonic Rage + boosted Fairy-type attacks can also do incredible damage to opposing teams and is very difficult to switch into.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
* Wiki Berry is a viable alternative to Leftovers if you want large instantaneous healing instead of gradual healing over time. This works pretty well if you're not using Tapu Fini for the long haul, but still want it to have a bit of longevity.
* Tapu Fini can make great use of a bulky support set, as it has access to a number of solid support moves such as Haze, Heal Pulse, Taunt, Swagger, and Nature's Madness. It should be noted that if you're using Nature's Madness a spread of 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe with a Timid nature should be used in order to get Nature's Madness off as fast as possible so that one of Tapu Fini's partners can take advantage of it.
* Waterium Z with Muddy Water is a solid option for providing a powerful Hydro Vortex to pick up the OHKO on specially defensive Arcanine and Gigalith in sand easily. Waterium Z with Hydro Pump is also nice, but the Z-Crystal is better used on Muddy Water, as Tapu Fini can still fire off Muddy Waters for accuracy drops while having the strong Hydro Vortex option whenever.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Grass-types**: Tapu Fini really hates going up against Tapu Bulu and Kartana, which both have more than enough power behind them to eliminate Tapu Fini instantly, while it can only threaten to 2HKO in return at best. Tapu Bulu is especially troublesome, as it can remove Tapu Fini's Misty Terrain.
**Poison-types**: Being a Fairy-type, Tapu Fini doesn't enjoy going up against Poison-type Pokemon such as Salazzle, Gengar, and Muk. Each can 2HKO with their respective STAB moves and often avoid being OHKOed in return because of their Focus Sash or incredible bulk in Muk's case.
**Electric-types**: Electric-types such as Tapu Koko, Xurkitree, and Magnezone all threaten to deal massive damage to Tapu Fini with their powerful STAB moves.
**Z-Moves**: Because Tapu Fini is seen as such a potent defensive Pokemon in the format it is often the target of powerful Z-Moves from the likes of Tapu Bulu, Garchomp, Magnezone, Pheromosa. Of course, this can be mitigated by Tapu Fini simply using Protect on that same turn.
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