[OVERVIEW]
Making use of its excellent bulk, powerful attacking options, and strong defensive type, Melmetal is a dangerous threat that demands the respect of every serious team, capable of trading hits with almost the entire tier and coming out on top. Its obscenely powerful Double Iron Bash and coverage options combined with its amazing bulk make Melmetal capable of checking and forcing out threats such as Tapu Lele and more softly Weavile and Kartana, while taking the opportunity generated by switching in on these threats to dismantlethe opposing defensive core cores with relative ease. Melmetal is also highly customizable, making great use of status moves like Toxic and Thunder Wave to facilitate not only itself but teammates as well. However, while it is does not outright crumble to any stray special attack, Melmetal is still quite vulnerable to many super effective special attacks coming from the likes of Heatran, Blacephalon, Volcanion, and Volcarona and even common coverage options like Tapu Lele's Focus Blast and Dragapult's Flamethrower. This problem is further compounded by Double Iron Bash's limited PP and the common Water- and Steel-types that resist it, as well as the constant Spikes and Knock Off found within the tier. Furthermore, Double Iron Bash's nature as a multi-hit contact move also makes Melmetal quite exploitable by things such as Ferrothorn's Iron Barbs, Zapdos's Static, and Heatran's Flame Body if it is not running Protective Pads. However, despite these flaws, Melmetal is still one of the most powerful forces in the tier, ready to drive anyone foolish enough to underestimate its presence, for a lack of a better term, nuts.
[SET]
Melmetal @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 20 HP / 252 Atk / 192 SpD / 44 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Double Iron Bash
- Protect
- Earthquake / Superpower
- Toxic / Thunder Punch
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Taking advantage of its natural bulk and the extended longevity provided by Leftovers and Protect, Melmetal receives some much desired staying power, consistently switching into the likes of Tapu Lele, non-Choice Scarf Tapu Fini, Dragapult, and Galarian Slowking, and with proper scouting, it even helps handle the likes of Weavile, Tyranitar, and Kartana. Protect allows Melmetal to gain extra recovery from Leftovers, scout moves, and turn the tables on opposing Choice item users such as Dragapult and Volcanion that may try to force Melmetal out with the threat of a move it cannot hope to take. Earthquake is great coverage in tandem with Double Iron Bash, demolishing common Steel-resistant foes like Heatran, Toxapex, and opposing Melmetal, while Superpower is an option to hit Ferrothorn significantly harder while maintaining good coverage against Heatran and opposing Melmetal. Toxic is used in the last slot to cripple Pokemon that withstand the combination of Melmetal's coverage such as Rotom-W, Slowbro, and Zapdos, while Thunder Punch is an alternative option that can allow Melmetal to hit Corviknight and Skarmory very hard and still put meaningful pressure on Slowbro. Thunder Wave may also be considered over Toxic or Thunder Punch to allow Melmetal to slow down many Pokemon that would otherwise be faster and capitalize on slower targets with the nauseating combo of full paralysis alongside Double Iron Bash's extremely high flinch chance. High Horsepower is an option over Earthquake on teams making use of Rillaboom or Tapu Bulu; however, the loss in power, contact properties, and imperfect accuracy make it suboptimal outside of such teams. The listed EV spread allows Melmetal to outspeed everything up to Gastrodon and maximizes recovery from Leftovers, dumping the rest of the EVs into Attack and Special Defense to help it check Dragapult, Tapu Lele, and Galarian Slowking while letting it hit back as hard as possible. It is preferred to invest in Special Defense because Melmetal's HP and Defense stats are already naturally high.
Team Options
========
Melmetal fits best on bulky offense teams that appreciate its ability to check many Psychic- and Fairy-types such as Tapu Lele, Galarian Slowking, Tapu Fini, and Clefable while not letting up as much offensive pressure as other Steel-types. As such, Pokemon that enjoy having something to fall back on against these Fairy-types such as Dragapult, Garchomp, Hydreigon, Urshifu-R, and Weavile make for excellent teammates; Garchomp in particular is a strong defensive teammate that can check Heatran and scout Tapu Lele with Protect to bring Melmetal in with much less fear, also setting Stealth Rock to put even more pressure on the opposing team. Because Melmetal is so easily pressured by Spikes, it is also important to bring a Defogger such as Tornadus-T, Zapdos, or Landorus-T that keeps these entry hazards off the field to promote Melmetal's ability to play the long game. Rillaboom is another great teammate that takes advantage of Melmetal's ability to pressure shared checks such as Zapdos and Ferrothorn, while in return, Rillaboom makes Melmetal even more difficult to remove from the game thanks to Grassy Terrain halving the power of Earthquake and providing it even more passive recovery. On such teams, however, it is much preferred to run Superpower over Earthquake to avoid suffering thesame power drop from Grassy Terrain. Swords Dance Weavile is notable as a deadly partner for Melmetal early- and late-game, absolutely loving Melmetal forcing massive damage on Ferrothorn and Toxapex so Weavile can sweep later on in the game. Melmetal's Protect can even help scout Shadow Ball from the likes of Dragapult and Blacephalon to allow Weavile to get a free switch opportunity to get a Swords Dance off. Urshifu-R and Dragapult both make for great offensive partners thanks to Melmetal reliably taking advantage of and breaking through shared checks like Slowbro and Toxapex in the case of Urshifu-R and Clefable and Blissey in the case of Dragapult, while in return, they put immense pressure on many of the Steel-types Melmetal struggles to make progress against. Magnezone is also a notable teammate, trapping troublesome Steel-types such as Ferrothorn, Skarmory, and Corviknight for Melmetal and making it even scarier to deal with.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Substitute is an option over Protect on teams that already have a Steel-type that covers most of Melmetal's roles defensively to ease prediction and make checks such as Toxapex and non-Body Press Ferrothorn unable to do anything to Melmetal, letting it continue ravaging the opponent's defensive core; this does, however, compound Melmetal's longevity issue even further as well as making it even more prone to entry hazards. Choice Band sets with Double Iron Bash, Thunder Punch, Ice Punch, Superpower, and 212 Speed EVs to outspeed uninvested Clefable may seem appealing to get the most out of Melmetal's sheer power; however, they require lots of prediction to pull off properly due to how common foes resistant to all of the moves they typically run are. Protective Pads is an option to allow Melmetal to bypass contact effects such as Flame Body, Static, Rocky Helmet, and Ferrothorn's Iron Barbs, which is especially synergistic with Thunder Wave to paraflinch otherwise sturdy checks such as Slowbro, Skarmory, and Corviknight into KO range of its coverage options. Lastly, faster spreads on Melmetal may be considered to reach certain benchmarks, one example being a spread of 20 HP / 252 Atk / 128 SpD / 108 Spe to outspeed Hippowdon.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Water-types**: Pokemon such as Slowbro, Rotom-W, and Toxapex quite safely come in on Melmetal and do not really mind any attack that Melmetal could reasonably throw at them, and while much more loose of a check, Urshifu-R is able to soak up a hit from Melmetal in a pinch and threaten it back with extremely powerful STAB moves. However, Toxapex very often finds itself 2HKOed by Earthquake, and all the others must be wary of Toxic or Thunder Wave.
**Steel-types**: Ferrothorn, Skarmory, and Corviknight all pose as massive roadblocks to Melmetal, taking basically any attack Melmetal has at its disposal and punishing it with heavy damage from Body Press. Ferrothorn can punish it even further with Iron Barbs and set entry hazards, cripple it with Knock Off, or use Leech Seed; it does have to be worried about taking repeated Superpowers, however.
**Residual Damage**: Melmetal, (AC) while quite sturdy, isn't completely impenetrable; Spikes in particular pose a huge threat to Melmetal, cutting into its HP every time it hits the field and forcing it to play much more carefully when they are around so as to not faint early on. Iron Barbs on Ferrothorn and Rocky Helmet users such as Buzzwole and Toxapex also prey on Double Iron Bash's double hit and contact-making nature to force massive damage on Melmetal by simply taking an attack.
**Volcarona**: Volcarona's mere existence is enough to make Melmetal think twice about using Double Iron Bash; not only does it threaten it with a burn with Flame Body, but if Melmetal is not running Toxic, Volcarona is able to use it as setup fodder, not fearing anything besides a very rare Rock Slide.
**Zapdos**: Zapdos very easily stuffs out Melmetal, only caring about the possibility of Toxic. Otherwise, it threatens Melmetal with paralysis from Static, uses it as an opportunity to remove entry hazards with Defog, or, in the case of offensive variants, uses it to start unleashing an onslaught of powerful Thunderbolts, Hurricanes, and Heat Waves onto Melmetal's team.
**Burn**: Pokemon such as Volcarona, Heatran, and Rotom-W all heavily threaten Melmetal with the possibility of getting burned, which puts it almost entirely out of commission. Not only is the negation of Leftovers recovery crippling, but halving the Base Power of Melmetal's moves makes it almost completely unable to make any meaningful progress besides inflicting Toxic.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/neonjolteonwasused.568778/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/pulsar512b.469728/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/slowpoke-fan.617219/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/solarbeam.470115/
Making use of its excellent bulk, powerful attacking options, and strong defensive type, Melmetal is a dangerous threat that demands the respect of every serious team, capable of trading hits with almost the entire tier and coming out on top. Its obscenely powerful Double Iron Bash and coverage options combined with its amazing bulk make Melmetal capable of checking and forcing out threats such as Tapu Lele and more softly Weavile and Kartana, while taking the opportunity generated by switching in on these threats to dismantle
[SET]
Melmetal @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 20 HP / 252 Atk / 192 SpD / 44 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Double Iron Bash
- Protect
- Earthquake / Superpower
- Toxic / Thunder Punch
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Taking advantage of its natural bulk and the extended longevity provided by Leftovers and Protect, Melmetal receives some much desired staying power, consistently switching into the likes of Tapu Lele, non-Choice Scarf Tapu Fini, Dragapult, and Galarian Slowking, and with proper scouting, it even helps handle the likes of Weavile, Tyranitar, and Kartana. Protect allows Melmetal to gain extra recovery from Leftovers, scout moves, and turn the tables on opposing Choice item users such as Dragapult and Volcanion that may try to force Melmetal out with the threat of a move it cannot hope to take. Earthquake is great coverage in tandem with Double Iron Bash, demolishing common Steel-resistant foes like Heatran, Toxapex, and opposing Melmetal, while Superpower is an option to hit Ferrothorn significantly harder while maintaining good coverage against Heatran and opposing Melmetal. Toxic is used in the last slot to cripple Pokemon that withstand the combination of Melmetal's coverage such as Rotom-W, Slowbro, and Zapdos, while Thunder Punch is an alternative option that can allow Melmetal to hit Corviknight and Skarmory very hard and still put meaningful pressure on Slowbro. Thunder Wave may also be considered over Toxic or Thunder Punch to allow Melmetal to slow down many Pokemon that would otherwise be faster and capitalize on slower targets with the nauseating combo of full paralysis alongside Double Iron Bash's extremely high flinch chance. High Horsepower is an option over Earthquake on teams making use of Rillaboom or Tapu Bulu; however, the loss in power, contact properties, and imperfect accuracy make it suboptimal outside of such teams. The listed EV spread allows Melmetal to outspeed everything up to Gastrodon and maximizes recovery from Leftovers, dumping the rest of the EVs into Attack and Special Defense to help it check Dragapult, Tapu Lele, and Galarian Slowking while letting it hit back as hard as possible. It is preferred to invest in Special Defense because Melmetal's HP and Defense stats are already naturally high.
Team Options
========
Melmetal fits best on bulky offense teams that appreciate its ability to check many Psychic- and Fairy-types such as Tapu Lele, Galarian Slowking, Tapu Fini, and Clefable while not letting up as much offensive pressure as other Steel-types. As such, Pokemon that enjoy having something to fall back on against these Fairy-types such as Dragapult, Garchomp, Hydreigon, Urshifu-R, and Weavile make for excellent teammates; Garchomp in particular is a strong defensive teammate that can check Heatran and scout Tapu Lele with Protect to bring Melmetal in with much less fear, also setting Stealth Rock to put even more pressure on the opposing team. Because Melmetal is so easily pressured by Spikes, it is also important to bring a Defogger such as Tornadus-T, Zapdos, or Landorus-T that keeps these entry hazards off the field to promote Melmetal's ability to play the long game. Rillaboom is another great teammate that takes advantage of Melmetal's ability to pressure shared checks such as Zapdos and Ferrothorn, while in return, Rillaboom makes Melmetal even more difficult to remove from the game thanks to Grassy Terrain halving the power of Earthquake and providing it even more passive recovery. On such teams, however, it is much preferred to run Superpower over Earthquake to avoid suffering the
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Substitute is an option over Protect on teams that already have a Steel-type that covers most of Melmetal's roles defensively to ease prediction and make checks such as Toxapex and non-Body Press Ferrothorn unable to do anything to Melmetal, letting it continue ravaging the opponent's defensive core; this does, however, compound Melmetal's longevity issue even further as well as making it even more prone to entry hazards. Choice Band sets with Double Iron Bash, Thunder Punch, Ice Punch, Superpower, and 212 Speed EVs to outspeed uninvested Clefable may seem appealing to get the most out of Melmetal's sheer power; however, they require lots of prediction to pull off properly due to how common foes resistant to all of the moves they typically run are. Protective Pads is an option to allow Melmetal to bypass contact effects such as Flame Body, Static, Rocky Helmet, and Ferrothorn's Iron Barbs, which is especially synergistic with Thunder Wave to paraflinch otherwise sturdy checks such as Slowbro, Skarmory, and Corviknight into KO range of its coverage options. Lastly, faster spreads on Melmetal may be considered to reach certain benchmarks, one example being a spread of 20 HP / 252 Atk / 128 SpD / 108 Spe to outspeed Hippowdon.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Water-types**: Pokemon such as Slowbro, Rotom-W, and Toxapex quite safely come in on Melmetal and do not really mind any attack that Melmetal could reasonably throw at them, and while much more loose of a check, Urshifu-R is able to soak up a hit from Melmetal in a pinch and threaten it back with extremely powerful STAB moves. However, Toxapex very often finds itself 2HKOed by Earthquake, and all the others must be wary of Toxic or Thunder Wave.
**Steel-types**: Ferrothorn, Skarmory, and Corviknight all pose as massive roadblocks to Melmetal, taking basically any attack Melmetal has at its disposal and punishing it with heavy damage from Body Press. Ferrothorn can punish it even further with Iron Barbs and set entry hazards, cripple it with Knock Off, or use Leech Seed; it does have to be worried about taking repeated Superpowers, however.
**Residual Damage**: Melmetal, (AC) while quite sturdy, isn't completely impenetrable; Spikes in particular pose a huge threat to Melmetal, cutting into its HP every time it hits the field and forcing it to play much more carefully when they are around so as to not faint early on. Iron Barbs on Ferrothorn and Rocky Helmet users such as Buzzwole and Toxapex also prey on Double Iron Bash's double hit and contact-making nature to force massive damage on Melmetal by simply taking an attack.
**Volcarona**: Volcarona's mere existence is enough to make Melmetal think twice about using Double Iron Bash; not only does it threaten it with a burn with Flame Body, but if Melmetal is not running Toxic, Volcarona is able to use it as setup fodder, not fearing anything besides a very rare Rock Slide.
**Zapdos**: Zapdos very easily stuffs out Melmetal, only caring about the possibility of Toxic. Otherwise, it threatens Melmetal with paralysis from Static, uses it as an opportunity to remove entry hazards with Defog, or, in the case of offensive variants, uses it to start unleashing an onslaught of powerful Thunderbolts, Hurricanes, and Heat Waves onto Melmetal's team.
**Burn**: Pokemon such as Volcarona, Heatran, and Rotom-W all heavily threaten Melmetal with the possibility of getting burned, which puts it almost entirely out of commission. Not only is the negation of Leftovers recovery crippling, but halving the Base Power of Melmetal's moves makes it almost completely unable to make any meaningful progress besides inflicting Toxic.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/neonjolteonwasused.568778/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/pulsar512b.469728/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/slowpoke-fan.617219/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/solarbeam.470115/
Last edited: