[SET]
name: Magic Guard
move 1: Teleport
move 2: Soft-Boiled
move 3: Seismic Toss / Shadow Ball
move 4: Toxic / Thunder Wave / Stealth Rock / Counter
item: Leftovers / Shed Shell
ability: Magic Guard
nature: Sassy
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
ivs: 0 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Thanks to its massive Special Defense and HP, Blissey serves as one of the bulkiest special walls in the metagame, as well as a slow pivot with Teleport. Magic Guard ignores damage from both entry hazards and status effects, and Leftovers gives it passive recovery to increase its longevity against strong special attackers, differentiating it from Chansey by not being reliant on Eviolite. Shed Shell is an option to switch out of trappers like Heatran. Soft-Boiled serves to give Blissey an immediate option for recovery and allows it to comfortably switch into special attackers like Primordial Sea Zapdos. Seismic Toss is Blissey's main method of dealing direct damage, taking advantage of the move's fixed damage output. Shadow Ball can also be used to hit Substitute Chandelure, which would otherwise set up on Blissey, but is otherwise outclassed by Seismic Toss. Blissey's fourth slot can be filled with different status moves based on your team's needs. Toxic pressures other walls and setup sweepers. Thunder Wave can hinder attempts by opposing sweepers such as Volcarona to set up, as well as cripple other Magic Guard users who are unaffected by Toxic. While Blissey isn't an ideal Stealth Rock setter due to poor matchups against common entry hazard removers, it is able to run the move if needed. Counter is a niche pick that allows Blissey to catch physical attackers by surprise; even relatively weak hits like U-turn can do big damage thanks to Blissey's titanic HP and miniscule Defense. A Sassy nature further increases Blissey's already enormous special bulk, allowing it to avoid being 2HKOed by powerful special threats like Primordial Sea Inteleon, while reducing its Speed to make it a slower pivot.
Blissey fits well on bulky offense and balance teams thanks to its ability to switch into special attacking threats and pivot in its own team's strong attackers. It is appreciated as a teammate by more offensive Pokemon, such as Tapu Koko, Galarian Zapdos, and Garchomp, who have trouble switching into opposing specially offensive threats and make use of Blissey's utility as a pivot to get in safely. Blissey likes to be paired with other defensive Pokemon that can take strong physical attacks or absorb Psyshock from special attackers such as Azelf and Latios that Blissey would otherwise struggle with, like RegenVest Jirachi and Dauntless Shield Mew, to make up for its own lack of physical bulk. Magic Guard makes it a good pivot for teams without proper entry hazard removal or clerics thanks to ignoring all forms of passive damage. Magic Guard Blissey leaves both Regenerator slots free for its teammates, allowing greater flexibility in bringing offensive Regenerator users like Garchomp.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Blissey can choose to run a full support set of four status moves, replacing Seismic Toss with a move such as Heal Bell to provide cleric support for the rest of the team, Confide to directly counter special setup, or running both Toxic and Thunder Wave for flexibility. Teleport can also be replaced with a different status move on a bulkier team that doesn't benefit as much from Blissey's role as a slow pivot. Unaware can also be used in place of other abilities to catch setup sweepers by surprise, especially when used with Counter.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Physical Attackers**: Given Blissey's abysmal Defense stat, many physical attackers like Talonflame and Pixilate Tapu Koko can easily 2HKO Blissey, while Terrakion, Cinderace, and Barraskewda can OHKO it with a Fighting-type move. They cannot directly switch into Blissey however, as they might get crippled by Toxic or Thunder Wave.
**Knock Off and Trick**: Pokemon carrying Knock Off, such as Tapu Fini and Toxapex, can remove Blissey's item, which is vital to keeping Blissey healthy and avoiding 2HKOs from powerful attackers like Inteleon. Others carrying Trick, such as Azelf and Chandelure, can cripple Blissey by locking it into one move.
**Setup Sweepers**: Pokemon such as Tapu Koko and Volcarona that use Magic Guard with setup are able to take advantage of Blissey's natural passivity, making them much more difficult to deal with.
**Heatran**: With the combination of Magma Storm and Taunt, Heatran can trap Blissey on the switch and deny its recovery if it's not running Shed Shell.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Theia, 439018]]
- Quality checked by: [[Isaiah, 375662], [UT, 523866]]
- Grammar checked by: [[UT, 523866]]
name: Magic Guard
move 1: Teleport
move 2: Soft-Boiled
move 3: Seismic Toss / Shadow Ball
move 4: Toxic / Thunder Wave / Stealth Rock / Counter
item: Leftovers / Shed Shell
ability: Magic Guard
nature: Sassy
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
ivs: 0 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Thanks to its massive Special Defense and HP, Blissey serves as one of the bulkiest special walls in the metagame, as well as a slow pivot with Teleport. Magic Guard ignores damage from both entry hazards and status effects, and Leftovers gives it passive recovery to increase its longevity against strong special attackers, differentiating it from Chansey by not being reliant on Eviolite. Shed Shell is an option to switch out of trappers like Heatran. Soft-Boiled serves to give Blissey an immediate option for recovery and allows it to comfortably switch into special attackers like Primordial Sea Zapdos. Seismic Toss is Blissey's main method of dealing direct damage, taking advantage of the move's fixed damage output. Shadow Ball can also be used to hit Substitute Chandelure, which would otherwise set up on Blissey, but is otherwise outclassed by Seismic Toss. Blissey's fourth slot can be filled with different status moves based on your team's needs. Toxic pressures other walls and setup sweepers. Thunder Wave can hinder attempts by opposing sweepers such as Volcarona to set up, as well as cripple other Magic Guard users who are unaffected by Toxic. While Blissey isn't an ideal Stealth Rock setter due to poor matchups against common entry hazard removers, it is able to run the move if needed. Counter is a niche pick that allows Blissey to catch physical attackers by surprise; even relatively weak hits like U-turn can do big damage thanks to Blissey's titanic HP and miniscule Defense. A Sassy nature further increases Blissey's already enormous special bulk, allowing it to avoid being 2HKOed by powerful special threats like Primordial Sea Inteleon, while reducing its Speed to make it a slower pivot.
Blissey fits well on bulky offense and balance teams thanks to its ability to switch into special attacking threats and pivot in its own team's strong attackers. It is appreciated as a teammate by more offensive Pokemon, such as Tapu Koko, Galarian Zapdos, and Garchomp, who have trouble switching into opposing specially offensive threats and make use of Blissey's utility as a pivot to get in safely. Blissey likes to be paired with other defensive Pokemon that can take strong physical attacks or absorb Psyshock from special attackers such as Azelf and Latios that Blissey would otherwise struggle with, like RegenVest Jirachi and Dauntless Shield Mew, to make up for its own lack of physical bulk. Magic Guard makes it a good pivot for teams without proper entry hazard removal or clerics thanks to ignoring all forms of passive damage. Magic Guard Blissey leaves both Regenerator slots free for its teammates, allowing greater flexibility in bringing offensive Regenerator users like Garchomp.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Blissey can choose to run a full support set of four status moves, replacing Seismic Toss with a move such as Heal Bell to provide cleric support for the rest of the team, Confide to directly counter special setup, or running both Toxic and Thunder Wave for flexibility. Teleport can also be replaced with a different status move on a bulkier team that doesn't benefit as much from Blissey's role as a slow pivot. Unaware can also be used in place of other abilities to catch setup sweepers by surprise, especially when used with Counter.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Physical Attackers**: Given Blissey's abysmal Defense stat, many physical attackers like Talonflame and Pixilate Tapu Koko can easily 2HKO Blissey, while Terrakion, Cinderace, and Barraskewda can OHKO it with a Fighting-type move. They cannot directly switch into Blissey however, as they might get crippled by Toxic or Thunder Wave.
**Knock Off and Trick**: Pokemon carrying Knock Off, such as Tapu Fini and Toxapex, can remove Blissey's item, which is vital to keeping Blissey healthy and avoiding 2HKOs from powerful attackers like Inteleon. Others carrying Trick, such as Azelf and Chandelure, can cripple Blissey by locking it into one move.
**Setup Sweepers**: Pokemon such as Tapu Koko and Volcarona that use Magic Guard with setup are able to take advantage of Blissey's natural passivity, making them much more difficult to deal with.
**Heatran**: With the combination of Magma Storm and Taunt, Heatran can trap Blissey on the switch and deny its recovery if it's not running Shed Shell.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Theia, 439018]]
- Quality checked by: [[Isaiah, 375662], [UT, 523866]]
- Grammar checked by: [[UT, 523866]]
