Eclipse
Like a chimp with a machine gun
QC: Eternally / Blast / Hootie
GP: Temperley & lotiasite / The Dutch Plumberjack
[OVERVIEW]
Sigilyph is a strong threat to defensive and offensive teams alike due to its great power and coverage allowing it to threaten the likes of Golbat, Garbodor, Machamp, Rhydon, Slowbro, and Steelix with the appropriate coverage option. It also has a phenomenal ability in Magic Guard, which means it is unaffected by all passive damage, in particular Stealth Rock damage and Life Orb recoil; this means that Sigilyph has great longevity for a wallbreaker. Its Stealth Rock immunity means that Sigilyph cannot get worn down easily and can switch into passive threats such as Hitmontop, Weezing, and Seismitoad. On the flipside, its defensive typing leaves it vulnerable to Dark- and Ghost-types such as Sneasel, Drapion, Houndoom, Incineroar, and Mismagius. In addition, its Speed stat, while decent, means it can be revenge killed by the likes of Sneasel, Delphox, and Mismagius, as well as Choice Scarf users such as Emboar and Drapion.
[SET]
name: All-out Attacker
move 1: Psychic
move 2: Air Slash
move 3: Heat Wave
move 4: Energy Ball / Roost
item: Life Orb
ability: Magic Guard
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
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Psychic is Sigilyph's most powerful attack and is used to take out defensive threats such as Golbat and Garbodor while netting good coverage overall in conjunction with the rest of its coverage options. Air Slash allows Sigilyph to hit the Dark-types that are immune to Psychic such as Scrafty, which is OHKOed, and Houndoom and Drapion, which are 2HKOed; it also OHKOes Grass-types such as Sceptile, Whimsicott, and Virizion. Heat Wave is used to hit Steel-types, which otherwise take the rest of Sigilyph's moves well, such as Steelix, Ferroseed, and Silvally-Steel; it also deals great damage to Rotom-C and Sneasel. Energy Ball allows Sigilyph to hit Rock-types such as Rhydon and Barbaracle while also hitting Piloswine, Jellicent, Slowking, and Slowbro super effectively. Roost may be used so that Sigilyph can heal back any damage it has taken throughout the match on a predicted switch so that it can continue switching into the threats that it checks, such as Whimsicott. Dark Pulse is an alternative option to Energy Ball that trades being able to hit Rhydon super effectively for the ability to hit Meloetta, Xatu, Delphox, and opposing Sigilyph super effectively while still netting coverage against Jellicent, Slowking, and Slowbro. Calm Mind may be used in place of a fourth coverage option so that Sigilyph can muscle through its checks better; Drapion, for example, is OHKOed by +1 Air Slash after Stealth Rock damage.
Set Details
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Maximum Special Attack and Speed EVs with a Timid nature give Sigilyph as much power as possible while allowing it to outspeed Houndoom, Drapion, and Meloetta. A Life Orb is the necessary item for this set, as it gives Sigilyph great power for its coverage options and does not incur recoil due to Magic Guard. Magic Guard also protects Sigilyph from other residual damage such as burn, poison, and Stealth Rock damage.
Usage Tips
========
Due to Magic Guard, Sigilyph can be brought in relatively safely on passive threats such as Golbat, which poses little threat to it outside of Brave Bird. Sigilyph may also be brought in on foes such as Seismitoad and Hitmontop, which pose little of a threat to it. Once Sigilyph is in the match, it is best to use the appropriate coverage move to hit the foe, but watch out for Dark-types such as Drapion and Houndoom; if the opponent carries one of these Pokemon, you can predict their switch by going for Air Slash, which 2HKOes them. Since Sigilyph can freely switch moves with no repercussion due to Magic Guard negating Life Orb recoil, predicting the foe's switch is not necessary aside from if they have a Dark-type. If running Roost, it may be used to heal off any damage Sigilyph has taken throughout the match on a predicted switch so that it finds more opportunities to switch in later on in the match.
Team Options
========
Stealth Rock users such as Rhydon, Steelix, and Piloswine allow Sigilyph to serve as a better threat towards opposing teams due to the assistance of Stealth Rock damage; all three of these users appreciate Sigilyph checking Fighting-types for them, while Sigilyph also handles Grass-types for Rhydon and Piloswine. Since Dark-types are easily able to check Sigilyph, partners that are able to deal with them are greatly appreciated; such partners include Choice Scarf Hitmonlee and Emboar, which are both able to outspeed Houndoom, Drapion, and Sneasel and proceed to threaten them out. Sigilyph can also take on Grass-types and weaken them for partners like Slowbro and Slowking while also being able to lure in and 2HKO Dark-types such as Houndoom and Drapion with Air Slash for them. Depending on the last coverage option, Sigilyph will need assistance in weakening threats such as Rhydon if it lacks Energy Ball; Drapion can weaken it with a Swords Dance set while also weakening opposing Psychic-types such as Delphox, Slowbro, and Slowking that Sigilyph can no longer hit by dropping Energy Ball. If Sigilyph is not running Dark Pulse, partners that can handle Meloetta and Delphox are useful; Sneasel and Choice Scarf Drapion can use Pursuit to eliminate these threats from the match so that Sigilyph has an easier time breaking through opposing teams.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
A set utilizing a Focus Sash + Thunder Wave is very useful so that Sigilyph can pose as a great revenge killer to faster threats such as Virizion and Sneasel; Sigilyph is exceptional at this role, since Magic Guard ensures that its Focus Sash will never be broken beforehand. Calm Mind may be used on this set to make up for the lack of a boosting item while being a threat to defensive and offensive teams alike. Ice Beam is an alternative coverage option that hits Rotom-C, Xatu, Braviary, and opposing Sigilyph in one slot. Substitute allows Sigilyph to ease prediction against potential switch-ins such as Drapion while also avoiding Sucker Punch from foes such as Absol. A set with Choice Specs + Tinted Lens may be used to break past normal Psychic-resistant Pokemon in the tier such as Steelix, although the freedom to switch coverage options makes the Life Orb set more appealing. Finally, the combination of Flame Orb + Psycho Shift allows Sigilyph to cripple physical attackers such as Drapion, Sneasel, and Spiritomb by burning them, although this comes at the cost of great power due to the loss of Life Orb.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Dark-types**: Sneasel, Drapion, Houndoom, and Scrafty are all immune to Sigilyph's Psychic-type STAB moves and can threaten it with a super effective STAB move of their own or Pursuit trap Sigilyph to remove it from the match; Sneasel must watch out for Heat Wave, while Scrafty, Houndoom, and Drapion must watch out for Air Slash, but otherwise the last two switch safely into Sigilyph's coverage options.
**Rock-types**: Rhydon and Barbaracle must watch out for Energy Ball, but in the event where Sigilyph is not running this move, Rhydon can force Sigilyph out with the threat of its Rock-type STAB moves while being able to set up Stealth Rock. Barbaracle can use non-Energy Ball variants of Sigilyph to set up a Shell Smash.
**Ghost-types**: Mismagius, Sableye, Spiritomb, and specially defensive Jellicent variants can take Sigilyph's attacks relatively well. Spiritomb can Pursuit trap Sigilyph, while Mismagius can set up a Nasty Plot on variants lacking Dark Pulse and respond with a STAB-boosted Shadow Ball.
**Faster Attackers**: Virizion can scare out Sigilyph with the threat of Continental Crush, while Sneasel can come in after a partner has been taken out and use Knock Off or Pursuit to eliminate Sigilyph from the match; faster Choice Scarf users such as Emboar and Hitmonlee can use their super effective coverage options to revenge kill it as well.
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