Pokémon Morpeko

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:ss/morpeko: hampter
Morpeko
Type:
Electric/Dark
Stats: 58 HP / 95 Atk / 58 Def / 70 SpA / 58 SpD / 97 Spe (436 BST)
Ability: Hunger Switch

Noteworthy Moves:
Aura Wheel
Brick Break
Ice Fang
Knock Off
Parting Shot
Protect
Psychic Fangs
Rapid Spin
Seed Bomb
Stomping Tantrum
Super Fang
Taunt
Thunder Wave
Volt Switch

Pros:
  • Morpeko is a user of Rapid Spin that both outspeeds and threatens Gholdengo with supereffective STAB moves while also resisting its dual STAB, making it somewhat decent at clearing hazards when provided an opportunity.
  • Aura Wheel is a fantastic, albeit quirky, STAB move that boasts a massive 110 Base Power and always raises Morpeko's Speed, as well as being able to act as dual STAB in a single slot due to changing type every turn. STAB Knock off is also, obviously, great.
  • This is backed up by a solid, diverse movepool, full of coverage that hits almost any of its counters super-effectively, as well as utility options like Parting Shot, Taunt, and even Super Fang.
  • Morpeko's form changing can be stopped via Terastallization, which permanently locks it to whichever form it is currently in and enables it to spam a specific type of Aura Wheel. This can make counterplay more difficult.
Cons:
  • Morpeko's stats are bad. it is neither very fast nor very strong, and its bulk is downright awful; as an example, it is cleanly 2HKOd from full health by unboosted Gholdengo Make It Rain, a resisted move. This makes it quite hard to get Morpeko on the field, and its mediocre offenses can limit what it achieves once it makes it onto the field.
  • Great Tusk, one of the most prominent Pokemon, resists Dark and is immune to Electric, while taking very little damage from even supereffective coverage moves like Psychic Fangs or Seed Bomb. The best Morpeko can do to Great Tusk is Super Fang it.
  • Great Tusk is also generally superior as a removal option that threatens Gholdengo, as are the more niche Talonflame, Mandibuzz, and Conkeldurr.
Tera Potential:
As mentioned, Hunger Switch stops activating once Morpeko terastallizes, fixing it to whatever form it is currently in. This has a significant impact on what types it may prefer to terastallize into.
  • Dark is a potent option to choose once Morpeko is in Hangry Mode, giving it a 2x STAB boost on its 110BP Dark-type Aura Wheel for the rest of the battle. This can potentially turn Morpeko into a threat while preserving its resistance to Sucker Punch.
  • Electric can be used to similar effect when in Full Belly Mode, though the typing is far less spammable due to the presence of Ground-type Pokemon.
  • Flying can be used specifically to improve the Great Tusk matchup, making it immune to one STAB, resisting the other, and providing it a Tera Blast that has a roll to 2HKO offensive Tusk- however, Morpeko is so frail that any Tusk's Close Combat will still 2HKO it, and Ice Spinner can OHKO.
  • Ice with Tera Blast can be used to hit most Ground- and Grass-type Pokemon for supereffective damage and has strong synergy with Electric Aura Wheel, but comes at the expense of a Stealth Rock weakness.

Here are some very good sets for the hampter. Use them if you desire ELO.

:morpeko:Spinny Hampter :air_balloon:
Morpeko @ Air Balloon / Heavy Duty Boots
Ability: Hunger Switch
Tera Type: Flying
EVs: 8 HP / 252 Atk / 248 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Aura Wheel
- Tera Blast
- Rapid Spin
- Parting Shot
Simple set designed to threaten Gholdengo and remove hazards. Air Balloon gives Morpeko a few more opportunities to get on the field. Tera Flying is used for the aforementioned Great Tusk matchup. Enough Speed to outrun Mimikyu, you'll probably never see it but might as well. Could drop down to Lando-T Speed if you want.

:morpeko:Banded Hampter :choice_band:
Morpeko @ Choice Band
Ability: Hunger Switch
Tera Type: Dark / Electric
EVs: 8 HP / 252 Atk / 248 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Aura Wheel
- Knock Off
- Rapid Spin / Psychic Fangs / Brick Break
- Parting Shot
Makes use of the Tera-form-locking mechanic in order to provide consistently spammable STAB at all times. Tera Dark gives powerful Aura Wheels and Knock Offs to hinder would-be switchins, while Electric maintains your dual STAB. Parting Shot lets you keep up momentum in the face of healthy answers. Rapid Spin is the most obvious slot-in to give backup removal, but you could also run Psychic Fangs for Tusk or Brick Break for Kingambit. I dunno.

:morpeko:Cold Hampter :heavy_duty_boots:
Morpeko @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Hunger Switch
Tera Type: Ice
EVs: 8 HP / 252 Atk / 248 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Aura Wheel
- Tera Blast
- Knock Off
- Parting Shot
BoltBeam! Not much more to say, lock into Full Belly Mode and spam BoltBeam coverage after an Aura Wheel boost to try and clean lategame. You could even use it on those HailVeil teams for the bulk boost. It's sorta like if Arctozolt was terrible

Overall Thoughts?
I think Morpeko is gonna do a lot better in the lower tiers this gen, especially with the addition of Knock Off and the Tera mechanics letting it use Aura Wheel much more consistently. It's not a very serious pick in OU at all, but it'll probably at least do something if you do choose to use it!
 

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