[OVERVIEW]
Manaphy is one of the undisputed strongest stallbreakers in the whole tier thanks to the combination of Tail Glow and Hydration, which makes it temporarily immune to Toxic in rain, so it naturally finds itself a place on several rain teams as their countermeasure to the stall matchup. Additionally, Manaphy is also a deadly wallbreaker with a rain-boosted +3 Hydro Vortex that makes it almost effortless to weaken typical rain checks for the likes of Mega Swampert, Ash-Greninja, and Kingdra to clean up. With Psychic as coverage, Manaphy can also break past notable threats to rain, such as Toxapex and Mega Venusaur. Manaphy's great bulk all-around also gives it a plethora of opportunities to set up, and a Water-type resistance helps with the Ash-Greninja matchup in rain. However, Manaphy's relative lack of raw power makes it somewhat predictable and exploitable, as it needs to set up with Tail Glow to actually do damage, making easier to play around than most wallbreakers. This, accompanied by the fact that nearly all teams have something to outspeed it, also makes it a bit easy to play around, as it's not hard to pivot into a faster Water-resistant threat as it sets up Tail Glow, such as Serperior or Protean Greninja, and even when Manaphy does take down a Pokemon on the opposing team, it will be likely forced out by a faster threat such as Choice Specs Tapu Koko or Kartana. Manaphy is also a bit hard to fit on rain because, alongside the set-in-stone Pelipper and Mega Swampert, many builders may opt for Ash-Greninja or Kingdra over it, as they provide better Speed and a much better matchup against opposing offenses.
[SET]
name: Tail Glow
move 1: Tail Glow
move 2: Surf
move 3: Ice Beam
move 4: Psychic
item: Waterium Z
ability: Hydration
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Surf's added power makes it the preferred STAB move over Scald. Ice Beam is instrumental to break past Grass-types such as Tangrowth and Tapu Bulu and Dragon-types like Mega Latias, Mega Latios, Hydreigon, and Kommo-o. Psychic helps out against Toxapex and Mega Venusaur, both of which can be notable annoyances to rain teams.
Set Details
========
Waterium Z gives Manaphy a strong nuke in Hydro Vortex that can plow through Water-resistant Pokemon like Tapu Fini and Rotom-W at +3 in rain. Hydration helps Manaphy rid itself of Toxic from the likes of Chansey and Toxapex under rain. A Timid nature is preferred to outspeed the likes of Hydreigon, Tapu Lele, Kyurem, and Kyurem-B.
Usage Tips
========
An important aspect of using Manaphy is deciding whether to attack straight away or to set up. If your opponent has a healthy check to Manaphy, such as Gastrodon, specially defensive Tapu Bulu, Amoonguss, or Assault Vest Tangrowth, it might be smart to double switch instead of trying to set up. If your opponent has a faster threat that can knock out Manaphy, such as Tapu Koko or Kartana, don't let them in for free as you set up a Tail Glow; sometimes, it's better to just attack them on the switch, especially if your team doesn't have a dedicated switch-in. Keep Manaphy healthy if it can potentially break a team; it can stomach a hit from the likes of Tapu Fini, Mega Venusaur, and Tangrowth if it needs to, and it can check threats to rain such as Ash-Greninja, for example. Don't be scared of letting Manaphy get inflicted by status as long as your Pelipper is healthy; however, if you're using it outside of a rain team, be very wary of Toxic from Chansey and Gastrodon.
Team Options
========
Rain support from Pelipper is highly recommended, as Manaphy only excels as a stallbreaker thanks to Hydration, and the Water-type boost from rain is more than welcome, especially for breaking Chansey and opposing Water-types. Teammates such as Mega Swampert, Ash-Greninja, and Kingdra appreciate typical rain checks getting weakened by Manaphy and can make up for Manaphy's subpar Speed. Mega Swampert also provides a very useful Electric-type immunity. While Manaphy helps with Ash-Greninja, other checks such as Ferrothorn, Magearna, and the aforementioned Kingdra help solidify the matchup, as Ash-Greninja is a deadly threat to rain teams.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Rest is also an option exclusively on rain teams for a better matchup against stall, but giving up a coverage slot makes it harder for Manaphy to break some teams. Leftovers can be used over Waterium Z, especially on Rest variants, if Manaphy's team already packs a Z-Move user, but struggling to break past other Water-types like Tapu Fini and Rotom-W isn't quite ideal. Z-Rain Dance is an interesting option for some hyper offensive teams, but more often than not, there are far better sweepers to do the job. Energy Ball helps out with Gastrodon and lets Manaphy save its Z-Move against Tapu Fini and Rotom-W; however, Manaphy can't break past Toxapex and Mega Venusaur without Psychic.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Water-types**: Mantine is arguably Manaphy's greatest enemy, being able to wall Manaphy indefinitely and Haze any boosts off. Gastrodon is an excellent check, but Rest variants can beat non-Clear Smog Gastrodon one-on-one. Toxapex struggles with Psychic variants and Rest variants if it's not running Haze; however, it can still be a nuisance to Manaphy otherwise. Lastly, Tapu Fini and Rotom-W resist Manaphy's Water-type STAB moves but are vulnerable to a +3 Hydro Vortex in rain.
**Grass-types**: The likes of Assault Vest Amoonguss and Ferrothorn take very little damage from whatever Manaphy attemps to do and deal heavy damage with their Grass-type STAB moves. Non-Assault Vest Amoonguss, Tapu Bulu, and Tangrowth are in a similar boat, but they take considerably more from +3 Ice Beam. Mega Venusaur takes on the few variants that lack Psychic.
**Mega Latias**: Mega Latias switches in seamlessly against Manaphy, and variants packing Psyshock, the rarer Thunderbolt, or Energy Ball can 2HKO it.
**Revenge Killers**: Faster attackers that can OHKO Manaphy, such as Kartana and Tapu Koko, are threats to be careful of, especially if they manage to pivot in as Manaphy sets up. However, other faster attackers can pick it off after some damage, such as Garchomp, Flynium Z Tornadus-T, Mega Alakazam, and Mega Lopunny.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[lyd, 303291]]
- Quality checked by: [[DKM, 402001], [Jordy, 395754], [GMars, 273636]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Estronic, 240732], [The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216]]
Manaphy is one of the undisputed strongest stallbreakers in the whole tier thanks to the combination of Tail Glow and Hydration, which makes it temporarily immune to Toxic in rain, so it naturally finds itself a place on several rain teams as their countermeasure to the stall matchup. Additionally, Manaphy is also a deadly wallbreaker with a rain-boosted +3 Hydro Vortex that makes it almost effortless to weaken typical rain checks for the likes of Mega Swampert, Ash-Greninja, and Kingdra to clean up. With Psychic as coverage, Manaphy can also break past notable threats to rain, such as Toxapex and Mega Venusaur. Manaphy's great bulk all-around also gives it a plethora of opportunities to set up, and a Water-type resistance helps with the Ash-Greninja matchup in rain. However, Manaphy's relative lack of raw power makes it somewhat predictable and exploitable, as it needs to set up with Tail Glow to actually do damage, making easier to play around than most wallbreakers. This, accompanied by the fact that nearly all teams have something to outspeed it, also makes it a bit easy to play around, as it's not hard to pivot into a faster Water-resistant threat as it sets up Tail Glow, such as Serperior or Protean Greninja, and even when Manaphy does take down a Pokemon on the opposing team, it will be likely forced out by a faster threat such as Choice Specs Tapu Koko or Kartana. Manaphy is also a bit hard to fit on rain because, alongside the set-in-stone Pelipper and Mega Swampert, many builders may opt for Ash-Greninja or Kingdra over it, as they provide better Speed and a much better matchup against opposing offenses.
[SET]
name: Tail Glow
move 1: Tail Glow
move 2: Surf
move 3: Ice Beam
move 4: Psychic
item: Waterium Z
ability: Hydration
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Surf's added power makes it the preferred STAB move over Scald. Ice Beam is instrumental to break past Grass-types such as Tangrowth and Tapu Bulu and Dragon-types like Mega Latias, Mega Latios, Hydreigon, and Kommo-o. Psychic helps out against Toxapex and Mega Venusaur, both of which can be notable annoyances to rain teams.
Set Details
========
Waterium Z gives Manaphy a strong nuke in Hydro Vortex that can plow through Water-resistant Pokemon like Tapu Fini and Rotom-W at +3 in rain. Hydration helps Manaphy rid itself of Toxic from the likes of Chansey and Toxapex under rain. A Timid nature is preferred to outspeed the likes of Hydreigon, Tapu Lele, Kyurem, and Kyurem-B.
Usage Tips
========
An important aspect of using Manaphy is deciding whether to attack straight away or to set up. If your opponent has a healthy check to Manaphy, such as Gastrodon, specially defensive Tapu Bulu, Amoonguss, or Assault Vest Tangrowth, it might be smart to double switch instead of trying to set up. If your opponent has a faster threat that can knock out Manaphy, such as Tapu Koko or Kartana, don't let them in for free as you set up a Tail Glow; sometimes, it's better to just attack them on the switch, especially if your team doesn't have a dedicated switch-in. Keep Manaphy healthy if it can potentially break a team; it can stomach a hit from the likes of Tapu Fini, Mega Venusaur, and Tangrowth if it needs to, and it can check threats to rain such as Ash-Greninja, for example. Don't be scared of letting Manaphy get inflicted by status as long as your Pelipper is healthy; however, if you're using it outside of a rain team, be very wary of Toxic from Chansey and Gastrodon.
Team Options
========
Rain support from Pelipper is highly recommended, as Manaphy only excels as a stallbreaker thanks to Hydration, and the Water-type boost from rain is more than welcome, especially for breaking Chansey and opposing Water-types. Teammates such as Mega Swampert, Ash-Greninja, and Kingdra appreciate typical rain checks getting weakened by Manaphy and can make up for Manaphy's subpar Speed. Mega Swampert also provides a very useful Electric-type immunity. While Manaphy helps with Ash-Greninja, other checks such as Ferrothorn, Magearna, and the aforementioned Kingdra help solidify the matchup, as Ash-Greninja is a deadly threat to rain teams.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Rest is also an option exclusively on rain teams for a better matchup against stall, but giving up a coverage slot makes it harder for Manaphy to break some teams. Leftovers can be used over Waterium Z, especially on Rest variants, if Manaphy's team already packs a Z-Move user, but struggling to break past other Water-types like Tapu Fini and Rotom-W isn't quite ideal. Z-Rain Dance is an interesting option for some hyper offensive teams, but more often than not, there are far better sweepers to do the job. Energy Ball helps out with Gastrodon and lets Manaphy save its Z-Move against Tapu Fini and Rotom-W; however, Manaphy can't break past Toxapex and Mega Venusaur without Psychic.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Water-types**: Mantine is arguably Manaphy's greatest enemy, being able to wall Manaphy indefinitely and Haze any boosts off. Gastrodon is an excellent check, but Rest variants can beat non-Clear Smog Gastrodon one-on-one. Toxapex struggles with Psychic variants and Rest variants if it's not running Haze; however, it can still be a nuisance to Manaphy otherwise. Lastly, Tapu Fini and Rotom-W resist Manaphy's Water-type STAB moves but are vulnerable to a +3 Hydro Vortex in rain.
**Grass-types**: The likes of Assault Vest Amoonguss and Ferrothorn take very little damage from whatever Manaphy attemps to do and deal heavy damage with their Grass-type STAB moves. Non-Assault Vest Amoonguss, Tapu Bulu, and Tangrowth are in a similar boat, but they take considerably more from +3 Ice Beam. Mega Venusaur takes on the few variants that lack Psychic.
**Mega Latias**: Mega Latias switches in seamlessly against Manaphy, and variants packing Psyshock, the rarer Thunderbolt, or Energy Ball can 2HKO it.
**Revenge Killers**: Faster attackers that can OHKO Manaphy, such as Kartana and Tapu Koko, are threats to be careful of, especially if they manage to pivot in as Manaphy sets up. However, other faster attackers can pick it off after some damage, such as Garchomp, Flynium Z Tornadus-T, Mega Alakazam, and Mega Lopunny.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[lyd, 303291]]
- Quality checked by: [[DKM, 402001], [Jordy, 395754], [GMars, 273636]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Estronic, 240732], [The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216]]
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