[OVERVIEW]
Magneton is a powerful dual Electric-Steel type that is able to temporarily wall or check non Hidden Power Ground variants of Granbull and Scyther which dominate the tier, as well as Psychic types that don't have Fire Punch as coverage, such as Kadabra, Mr.Mime, and Hypno (but Scyther can always pass an attack boost to a teammate like Nidoqueen). Magneton uses its phenomenal STAB Thunder/Thunderbolt to threaten a good portion of the metagame. It does have a few drawbacks compared to other Electrics in the tier, namely, its limited movepool, its slow speed and poor HP and SpDef stats can make it inconsistent at checking certain pokemon, such as Blastoise, Slowking or Fire Punch variants Mr.Mime and Kadabra. Its quad-weakness to Ground typing and reliance on Hidden Power Ice to damage its checks means it will have a hard time stopping UU’s top threat in Nidoqueen from switching in. Magneton not only has a vast competition with other more popular Electrics, namely Ampharos, Electabuzz and Lanturn, but it finds itself having to compete as a Normal resistant pokemon with the likes of Haunter and Omastar, both of which appear to handle their own checks more effectively and which do not risk being OHKO'd by a Hidden Power Ground after Spikes.
[SET]
name: Sleep Talker
move 1: Thunder / Thunderbolt
move 2: Hidden Power Ice / Reflect
move 3: Rest
move 4: Sleep Talk
item: Leftovers
Set Description
=========
Thunder is without a doubt the most powerful move in Magneton's arsenal, allowing it to OHKO Slowbro, Omastar and Scyther, 2HKO Slowking and Granbull and even has a solid chance of 3HKOing Hypno at the start of a match, one of the most valuable feats of any special attacker. Thunder’s relatively high paralysis rate means that it can threaten to cripple many fast pokemon such as Mr.Mime, Electabuzz and Kadabra, as well as defensive pokemon, such as Bellossom. Thunderbolt is a slightly less potent but more accurate option. Unlike Omastar, Slowbro and Scyther no longer risk getting 2HKO'd by Thunderbolt. Its higher accuracy rate means it actually has a higher chance of OHKOing Gyarados, a near guaranteed chance of OHKOing Qwilfish and Dodrio, and a more consistent chance of beating Blastoise, Politoed and Slowking in the 1v1. Thunderbolt’s lower base power, however, means it is less consistent against Granbull, who is still slower, but survives a 2HKO and has a chance of OHKOing it back with Hidden Power Ground.
Hidden Power Ice is a decent coverage move granting Magneton the coveted pseudo Bolt-beam coverage, which can be helpful to chip Nidoqueen and Bellossom, although it only scratches the 3HKO mark, and has a chance to OHKO Gligar. This can be easily brushed off from both Nidoqueen and Bellossom, both of which have access to Moonlight. Reflect can be slashed over Hidden Power Ice, should the player decide to insert Magneton in a defensive core and use the support move before it invites an obvious switchin, such as Nidoqueen or Piloswine.
The third and fourth move are what make Magneton such a reliable tank: Rest and Sleep talk help grant the slow Magneton with the much needed longevity to continue packing a punch and keep opposing offence from taking advantage of its low health stat. This also lets it absorb status from the likes of Haunter, Mr. Mime, Hypno, Bellossom and Jumpluff, all of which tend to lose momentum when faced with it.
Sleep talk lets Magneton continue to keep non-Hidden Power Ground Granbull in check, even after a few Curses.
Team Options
=========
Since Magneton is the normal resist that has the hardest time dealing with its checks, it requires defensive support from its teammates as well as offensive synergy. Magneton’s Electric and Steel typing means it is highly susceptible to Earthquake and the common Hidden Power Ground and that it has a hard time handling the likes of Nidoqueen, Piloswine, Sandslash and Quagsire. Since it can’t do much to threaten them, it requires defensive support from its teammates as well as offensive synergy. Bulky Waters such as Blastoise, Slowking and Slowbro and Politoed are a convenient solution to the threat of Ground types. In return these pokemon benefit from Magneton’s presence, because it resists both of their weaknesses, namely Grass and Electric. Blastoise is faster than Nidoqueen, can threaten it with Surf and offers the benefit of Rapid Spin support to remove Spikes. Gyarados’s ground immunity complements Magneton very well, enabling a high amount of pivoting between the two. Although it fears Thunder from Nidoqueen, it is still quite powerful against the likes of Piloswine and Quagsire and can even switch in on HP ground variants of Scyther or Granbull. Slowbro and Slowking are defensively apt at handling threats like Granbull or opposing Psychic types without an Electric move and also Nidoqueen. For checks against other Ground types like Sandslash or Quagsire, there are Bellossom, Pinsir, and Gligar who resist or are immune to Earthquake. Bellossom offers support by threatening Magneton’s Ground-type checks with a status move or a STAB Razor leaf and Pinsir, who resists Earthquake can threaten Piloswine with Submission or Quagsire and Nidoqueen with a Double Edge or a Body Slam, but both of these pokemon fear Fire Blast. Magneton has a chance to threaten many of their checks such as Scyther, Qwilfish, Crobat and Haunter using Thunder.
Some of the pokemon that the Sleep Talk variants of Magneton seem to offer support to are Ground types themselves, like Piloswine, Sandslash, Nidoqueen and Quagsire, who offer physical or mixed offence to help cleave through the special walls that stand in Magneton’s way, such as Chansey and Ampharos, in exchange for protection against Grass and Water types. Piloswine, while being a valid check to non-Fire Blast versions of Nidoqueen, can depend on Magneton’s Thunder to OHKO Gyarados and Blastoise. Blastoise, Politoed and Qwilsifh can pose a threat to Quagsire and Sandslash as well, because they learn Haze which can nullify their attack boosts from Swords Dance and Belly Drum. Magneton also acts as a decent check against Bellossom, which it can threaten with Hidden Power Ice. Nidoqueen may struggle to get past Granbull and hates facing Psychic types, especially the Bulky Hypno and the powerful Mr.Mime and Kadabra. As already stated, Magneton is quite apt at handling these threats thanks to its Steel typing and STAB Thunders, allowing it to deal more damage to Psychics than they can back, but it does fear Fire Punch from Mr.Mime and Kadabra. Nidoqueen can effectively dispose of any Chansey, Ampharos or Electabuzz that wall and potentially threaten Magneton.
Lastly, there are pokemon that offer offensive support to Magneton, despite not having key resistances. Hypno and Granbull don't resist Nidoqueen's attacks but are fairly safe options against it if they can avoid paralysis or getting crit.
Granbull has a 77.% chance of surviving a 3HKO from Nidoqueen's Earthquake after Spikes damage, and can immediately threaten by setting up Curse or attacking her with Return. Hypno switches in better on special attacks and nearly 2HKOes her with its STAB Psychic or can even put her to sleep with Hypnosis. Magneton has a decently strong matchup against opposing Normal Resistant pokemon such as Omastar and Haunter, which it can OHKO and 2HKO respectively. Magneton is also one of the most consistent answers to Hidden Power Bug Scyther and can even survive an unboosted Hidden Power Ground while OHKOing it in Return with Thunder. Similarly, Kadabra and Mr.Mime also benefit from Magneton's ability to check HP Bug variants of Scyther. Mr.Mime can use Thief to weaken Hypno, Bellossom or Granbull, and make Magneton's time 3HKO or 2HKOing these pokemon a lot easier. It also offers Status in the form of Hypnosis to put Nidoqueen to sleep while both it and Kadabra are able to bait out any of the set up sweepers and use Encore to lock Magneton's checks like Quagsire or Sandslash out from clicking any attacking moves. Magneton also handles Dodrio, who can readily take advantage of these 3 Psychic types' frail defences.
Qwilfish offers Magneton with the much needed offensive support in Spikes, which makes its pseudo-bolt-beam coverage that much more menacing. Like Gyarados, Qwilfish can outspeed Nidoqueen and threaten to 2HKO her and other Ground-types with Hydro pump if healthy enough. Furthermore it learns Haze which can effectively slowdown any setup users that might be getting out of hand, such as Swords Dance Scyther or Kabutops, both of whom Magneton cannot switch in on if the opponent is running Hidden Power Ground.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Magneton has very limited options to run moves besides the commonly seen Rest and Sleep Talk set. There are other options for Hidden power Ice though not advisable in most cases: hidden power Grass can 2HKO Quagsire and 3HKO Piloswine, but Magneton loses valuable coverage against the powerful Nidoqueen, as well as Gligar and Grass types. Hidden Power Fire suffers from similar issues but at the very least allows Magneton to threaten opposing Magneton with a 2HKO, while still dealing super effective damage to Piloswine and Bellossom. Hidden Power Water is nearly identical in terms of coverage to Ice, but is less effective against Grass types as a whole. It should be noted, however, that each of these three options cut into Magneton's bulk by reducing its DVs. Tri-attack is a gimmicky albeit interesting option, since there is a 23% chance of crippling Nidoqueen by inflicting one of either Freeze, Burn or Paralysis to it.
Thunder Wave is an option worth considering, due to how crippling it can be against faster pokemon, or even slow and bulky ones that rely on their ability to click Rest unhindered just to wall Magneton. This set variation may be countered by stall teams which have support from the likes of Chansey to cure status ailments.
Agility has seen usage in conjunction with Substitute over Rest and Sleep Talk, offering it the fringe option of a setup sweeper by granting it the much needed speed boost to tear through teams. This does however put it in a tighter spot against specially defensive pokemon like Hypno, whom Magneton cannot reliably check without the ability to replenish its HP.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Ground types**: thanks to their STAB Earthquakes, all ground types are naturally nearly perfect counters to Magneton if it cannot fight back. Nidoqueen and Piloswine gain tons of momentum and can secure themselves kills with their excellent array of mixed offence. Furthermore, they can regain any health lost from Moonlight and Rest, respectively, while Quagsire can force the player into uncomfortable situations where it has to outplay a potential Belly Drum sweep. Piloswine and Quagsire are not deterred from Hidden Power Ice either but they do fear Hidden Power Grass and are slower than Magneton. Sandslash can be threatening by setting up a Substitute and Swords Dance to sweep, but is slower than Magneton and not bulky enough to survive a 2HKO from Hidden Power Ice, Grass or Water.
**Electric types**: Ampharos not only is bulkier but can also setup a Light Screen and make Magneton's time threatening Psychic types a lot harder. Electabuzz occasionally has Cross Chop, with the potential of crit OHKOing Mag. However, Electabuzz often lack the moveset to be threatening to Magneton's teammates and recover from a paralysis inflicted by Thunder. Both of Magneton's rivals can also run Fire Punch to deal super-effective damage. Opposing Magneton also create an awkward stalemate situation since they resist all of each other's moves unless one has Hidden Power Fire.
**Vileplume and Victreebell**: though probably the softest among Mag's checks, these have the potential to be very annoying matchups. Victreebell and the rare Vileplume are often seen running Hidden Power Ground, which compensates for Mag's immunity to STAB Sludgebomb. They can OHKO magneton after a single Swords Dance. The two don't, however ,like to take repeated hits from Hidden Power Ice and also lose their effectiveness from a well timed paralysis from Thunder.
**Chansey**: Chansey can seize the opportunity to use Heal bell and heal its teammates and wall Magneton, causing it to waste PP. That said, it should be noted that Chansey is unlikely to completely stall it out of its PP without Lighst Screen or other high PP supporting moves.
**Fire types**: Arcanine has that chance to use Fire Blast or Flamethrower to OHKO magneton (or nearly OHKO it) the same applies for the rare Flareon. Magneton does have a chance to 2HKO Arcanine with Thunder after Spikes. Flareon suffers from similar issues but is slower than Magneton.
**Any Hidden Power Ground User**: these include but aren't limited to Scyther, Kabutops, Granbull, Victreebell and occasionally Gyarados. Coincidentally, these pokemon all are users of a setup move or are common recipients of baton pass, hence it is not advisable to take risks from a Hidden Power (although Gyarados generally run Hidden power Flying).
- Written by: [[cherryb0ng, 421511]]
- Quality checked by: [[ Holly, 508601 ], [User, ], [User, ]]
- Grammar checked by: [[User, ]]
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