[PREFIXES NEED TO BE UPDATED] Mega Luke

[Spatz]

So, yeah, just noticed the prefix thing hasn't been updated since HG/SS. Anyways, I know that Lucarionite is on the fence between banned and legal in OU, but...you know, whatever...

Mega Lucario @ Lucarionite
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4 HP
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Ice Punch
- Bullet Punch
- Swords Dance


No clue what I plan on doing with it as a NEVER battle competitively. Regardless, Close Combat is arguably the safest Fighting STAB, and base 240 is ridiculous. Ice Punch allows for coverage against Dragon, Flying, Ground, and Grass, which is good, and Bullet Punch is a base 80 damage priority that covers Rock, Ice, and the dreaded Fairy. Swords Dance for reasons.

Yeah, so...input?

 

[kyeugh]

Why give it Bullet Punch when you can give it Poison Jab?

 

[Equinoxe]

I'm assuming because Bullet Punch is a priority move and those are always nice to have in case of faster opponents.

(sorry for not having any actual suggestions or anything, I don't think I'm qualified to give advice on competitive stuff :D )

 

[kyeugh]

Oh, is it priority? Never mind, then; but wait, wouldn't Priority not be really that important when you give awesome Speed stats to an already-quick Pokémon?

 

[Autumn]

Oh, is it priority? Never mind, then; but wait, wouldn't Priority not be really that important when you give awesome Speed stats to an already-quick Pokémon?

Weavile runs Ice Shard!!

 

[kyeugh]

Weavile runs Ice Shard!!

That's true, but at the same time I think it would be much better with Icicle Crash! I think Mega Lucario is good with either Bullet Punch or Poison Jab, really. Up to the user's discretion, and which other Pokémon are included in their team.

 

[Spatz]

Poison Jab has redundant coverage on Grass (because Ice Punch), whereas Bullet Punch not only covers Fairy (and is priority), but also covers Rock and Ice should fighting not cover properly (or if speed is needed (see Aerodactyl and Weavile)).

 

[kyeugh]

Oh, I see your point. Hm, okay... I would recommend ExtremeSpeed, but that doesn't have any type coverage. I just feel as if Bullet Punch is a bit weak.

 

[Hiikaru]

@Mohacastle

Priority:

In a metagame where a sweeper can outspeed even the fastest users of Choice Scarf without any kind of setup, and where powerful setup moves such as Dragon Dance, Rock Polish, and Quiver Dance loom at every corner, priority attacks stand out as one of the most reliable checks to the many speedy threats present.

Poison Jab vs Bullet Punch:

The thing about Poison is, it's still only super effective against 2 things and you have the better (and priority) option of Steel anyways. And let's look at the most common Fairy type right now, Klefki. Steel/Fairy, immune to poison. That's not even a unique typing, as Mega/Mawile is also Steel/Fairy.

Bullet Punch vs Extremespeed:

With Adaptability, Bullet Punch is just as strong as Extreme Speed, and it's not Normal-type, so use Bullet Punch.

Extremespeed is +2 priority though, so you can use that to take out Talonflame

No comment on the Lucario besides that. It's fine the way it is on its own, and seems to use about the standard Mega Lucario moveset, so I don't think there are any important changes you can make without having a whole team.

 

[kyeugh]

Oh! I'd forgotten about Adaptability. What about Close Combat's effects on the user, though? (Mega) Lucario has less-than-remarkable Special Defence and Defence stats, so the stat reduction it suffers after every use of Close Combat could potentially be pretty devastating. Is Aura Sphere a terrible choice? It has perfect accuracy, and while it has lower Base Power, Lucario's Special Attack is not much lower than its Attack and Aura Sphere doesn't come with the same repercussions as Close Combat.

NOTE: If I'm coming off as rude, I apologise; I'm not critisising your choice or anything, I'm just kind of new to competitive battling and I'm curious about why you picked what you did. Also, thanks for pointing that out, Kiru! And I haven't been called Mohacastle in quite some time, wow.

 

[Hiikaru]

Oh! I'd forgotten about Adaptability. What about Close Combat's effects on the user, though? (Mega) Lucario has less-than-remarkable Special Defence and Defence stats, so the stat reduction it suffers after every use of Close Combat could potentially be pretty devastating. Is Aura Sphere a terrible choice? It has perfect accuracy, and while it has lower Base Power, Lucario's Special Attack is not much lower than its Attack and Aura Sphere doesn't come with the same repercussions as Close Combat.

NOTE: If I'm coming off as rude, I apologise; I'm not critisising your choice or anything, I'm just kind of new to competitive battling and I'm curious about why you picked what you did. Also, thanks for pointing that out, Kiru! And I haven't been called Mohacastle in quite some time, wow.

Aura Sphere is special! Special Lucarios are also good, but this Lucario is already a physical sweeper. Also, losing defense stats isn't actually that big of a deal, exactly because Lucario's defense stats are already bad. It isn't supposed to take hits, it's supposed to sweep. You could get lucky and have the small boost from not using Close Combat save you, but I think that's pretty unlikely. What's able and willing to survive Lucario's hits that can't knock it out regardless?

Close Combat is much stronger on a pure physical set (even though base attack and special are the same, the EVs are in attack), so it's worth it to be able to sweep more effectively. Remember that Aura Sphere is actually 60 BP lower than Close Combat with Adaptability! That's a huge loss.

Also Swords Dance plus Aura Sphere doesn't do anything useful.

(also oh, sorry! I didn't even notice I was auto-replacing your name. For a while you seemed to be both.)

 

[Spatz]

A further note;

The alternatives to CC as a high power Physical Fighting move are Cross Chop and Hi-Jump Kick.

Cross Chop has 100 BP and 80% Acc. The increased Critical Chance is a poor trade-off for the loss of damage and Accuracy.

Hi-Jump Kick has 130 BP and 90% Acc. The dangers of missing are quite present, and as Mega Lucario can't hold a Wide Lens as well as the Lucarionite, there is no way to improve the accuracy deficiency.