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Follow my Lead: A Guide to Redirection in VGC - Black117 - Oct 1, 2016 Follow My Lead: A Guide to Redirection in VGC
( Artist: norang94 ) Disclaimer: For this article, there will be little mention of "past" generational redirection users exclusive in certain game titles. Of course, the Pokemon who I referring to are Follow Me Magmar (XD), Electabuzz (XD), Mr. Mime (XD), Blastoise (Gen 5 Promotion), Jirachi (2013 Tanabata Event), and Pichu (Pokepark Egg). Though some of these exclusive event based Pokemon have seen use in VGC, the new "Generation", or Pentagon rule (for Gen 6) essentially prevents all players from participating Online / Events if they have any non-Pentagon Pokemon. This rules doesn't indicate whether Pokemon are "hacked", rather its was very likely implemented to prevent people from using such event only Pokemon without some kinda of "wide distribution". What is "Redirection" In the doubles format, players are open to a wide variety of strategies to integrate into their teams whether its basic speed control, weather-based strategies, particular archetypes like hyper offense, etc. How what those the word "redirection" mean to you? Terms of what "redirection" is, the premise is rather simple. The redirection user attracts any possible damage, or status using either the moves Follow Me, or Rage Powder, essentially act as a scapegoat for their ally. As the opposing two Pokemon target into the redirection user, their partner can use the turn either attack, or setup for the long-term, or "save" them from a threatening attack. Of course, the major "setback" of using redirection is the user will be taking damage for their ally and decreasing their longevity, though at the cost of possibly being at a better board position either through weaken the opposing Pokemon. Redirection has multiple uses in other scenarios, however its up to the player to decide when its time to "sacrifice", or possibly exchange their support Pokemon's HP for one of their own. Redirection is an exclusive strategy only found useful on both the Doubles and Triple battle format, though focus will be on Doubles for this article. The implications of using redirection-based support like Follow Me and Rage Powder allows players to have their main offense, or setup boosting Pokemon. Note that both Follow Me and Rage Powder are essentially "priority" support moves being at +2 respectively (currently as of Gen 6). This means aside a fast Pokemon with access to Extreme Speed ( Ex. Arcanine, Mega Rayquaza ), most of the +1 priority moves will always be "redirected" to the user. So the question remains, why do we still see redirection-based strategies pop up in most occasions? Some VGC / Double-oriented teams have Pokemon who can deal massive damage, or need such setup options to become threatening. With two Pokemon on each side of the field, chances are likely to get double target, or possibly knocked out before the other Pokemon can strike, or setup themselves into a better position. With redirection, now players can use a Dragon Dance Salamence / Tyranitar, Belly Drum Azumarill, Substitute users, or just go for heavy damage, without having to worry about taking as much punishment from the opposing side. As mentioned before, there are two types of redirection moves: Follow Me and Rage Powder. Of the two moves, Follow Me is the "superior" option as it allows the user to redirect any single-target attacks and status options without being "bypass". Rage Powder is almost the same as its Follow Me counterpart, except Pokemon who carry the item "Safety Goggles", or a part Grass-type can completely ignore the redirection user and target straight into their ally. It might seem "logical" at first to consider a "Follow Me" user over "Rage Powder", however its not as simple as that. Both these moves are extremely limited in distribution as there's a total of eleven possible Pokemon who can use "Follow Me" not counting events, and about twenty-one Pokemon who can use "Rage Powder" (counting Smeargle). Now remove all the non viable basic and first stage Pokemon, this list of possible redirection users becomes shrunk down. Note not all things are clear skies for any Follow Me / Redirection user. To date, the best way to counteract any redirection based strategies is to use spread attack damage, which fortunately for new players there's a plentiful supply of. Pokemon like Mega Gardevoir/Sylveon's Hyper Voice, Charizard Y's Heat Wave, Tyaranitar's Rock Slide, Landorus-T's Earthquake, etc can most most redirection users to the point they can't take another attack. Well the point of using "spread" damage is basically to hit both targets, sometimes either focusing on the redirection user, or the recipient ally. For redirection strategies centered around setup, Stat-Reducing spread damage like Snarl, Icy Wind, Electro Web, or even Intimidate can drop the stats of the recipient user to where they are forced out, or rendered useless. Finally, the move Taunt can be used to prevent the redirection Pokemon from spamming Follow Me / Rage Powder, or one of its support options. If any options isn't present, the best option is to target down the redirection user as best as possible, though keep in mind some can simply "protect" to block out the single, or double target. For the rest of this article, we'll be discussing four viable Follow Me users in Togekiss, Clefable, Clefairy, and Smeargle, as well two Rage Powders users in Amoonguss and Volcarona. Some "honorable" mentions will be included at the end, as well as all potential redirection users as of Generation 6 (XYORAS) via links. With that, here are some of the most common and best viable redirection-based Pokemon at the moment ...course Su/Mo can change this. "Common" Follow Me Users Togekiss
Togekiss @ Sitrus Berry / Safety Goggles / Rocky Helmet Ability: Serene Grace EVs: 252 HP / 164 Def / 4 SpA / 28 SpD / 60 Spe Bold Nature - Follow Me - Air Slash / Dazzling Gleam - Tailwind / Thunder Wave / Roost / Encore - Protect Togekiss is perhaps one of the commonly used Follow Me user in VGC and Doubles with access to a variety of support options, as well it Serene Grace Air Slashes to flinch down the opponent. During Generation 6, Togekiss got a type change from Normal/Flying-type, to the new combination in Fairy/Flying-type, some might say either helped, or worsen Togekiss's support value ( will comment later on ). With the Fairy / Flying-type, Togekiss is now immune to both Dragon-, and Ground-type moves, while being resistant to Bug-, Fighting-, Dark-, and Grass-types. In terms of stat allocation, Togekiss is among the highest from redirection users, with a strong 85 HP / 95 Def / 115 Sp Def with potential access to Roost to recover off damage. Even without investing into Togekiss's highest stat in SpA, it can still hit rather hard with STAB Air Slash and Dazzling Gleam if need be. Aside Follow Me support, Togekiss can provide the team with "speed control" with access to Tailwind ( doubles the speed of the team for 4 turns ), and Thunder Wave ( cuts the speed of a target to 25%, has a 25% chance of "full paralysis ). As "hinted", Togekiss can be rather "annoying" to deal with access to an Ability called Serene Grace. Essentially what this does for Togekiss is double the chance of secondary effects. With Serene Grace, Air Slash now has a 60% chance to potentially flinch a target Pokemon for a turn, provided it doesn't miss. Now pair this with the potential speed control options like Thunder Wave, or Tailwind, this can benefit Togekiss by allowing itself to ensure the target won't move for a turn though keep in mind there's always a decent chance the opposing Pokemon can break through. In terms of items, Sitrus Berry is common on Togekiss sets who need some recovery, but don't have access to Roost on their moveset. Safety Goggles is an interesting item choice as it allows Togekiss, and other Follow Me users to "redirect" powder-based moves like Spore, Sleep Powder, Stun Spore, etc without being afflicted with potential status. Finally Rocky Helmet is seen to deal 1/6th chip damage to physical contacting Pokemon whenever they strike at the Fairy/Flying-type. While Togekiss has a number of strengths to use, there are some clear negative, mostly regarding its typing. Remember what I said about Fairy / Flying-type being a double-edge-sword? Basically now Togekiss is weak to Steel, and Poison-type moves, which has seen usages with most Follow Me users being Fairy-type. Some of the more common offensive moves in VGC are Rock-, Ice-, and Electric-type attacks, again all of them super effective on Togekiss. With five total weaknesses, Togekiss likely going be targeted down with Super Effective hits, and might have to provide its redirection, speed control, or other support-based moves before it goes down....unless Serene Grace Air Slash has anything to say about it... Clefable
Clefable @ Sitrus Berry / Rocky Helmet / Leftovers
Ability: Unaware / Magic Guard EVs: 252 HP / 108 Def / 28 SpA / 116 SpD / 4 Spe Bold Nature - Follow Me - Moonblast / Ice Beam / Icy Wind - Helping Hand / Thunder Wave / Heal Pulse / Moonlight / Minimize (if you want) - Protect Some singles players might recognize this Pokemon, and yes you aren't done dealing with it...or the other one I'll get to. Like Togekiss, the Gen 1 Pokemon Clefable received a type change during Gen 6, with it now being pure "Fairy-type" instead of Normal-type. The difference between this change is Clefable probably benefited the most out of all the "new" Fairy-types as it gained better resistances to Bug-, Dark-, Fighting-, and an immunity to Dragon-types. Wait...but didn't every Fairy-type receive similar changes? Yes, but Clefable has far less weaknesses, moderate defenses stat distribution with potential recovery ( 95 HP / 73 Def / 90 Sp Def ), two great abilities in Magic Guard / Unaware, a strong support set similar to Togekiss, and can abuse Follow Me well as it only has to worry about Steel- and Poison-type hits, while everything else is neutral. In terms of offensive coverage, Clefables will likely use STAB Moonblast to hit any targets, notably Fighting-, Dark-, or Dragon-type hard. Other options might for an "attacking slot" might include Ice Beam to hit things like Landorus-T, Garchomp, Thundurus, etc hard, or maybe Icy Wind for speed control purposes.
Now we get to Clefable's main supportive options aside Follow Me. Clefable has access to one of the largest support moves in the game, and can utilize almost every one of these options to great lengths depending on the team composition (listed Clefable's Gen 6 Movepool). Some of these options include, but aren't limited to the following: Thunder Wave (speed control), Helping Hand (boost an ally attack by 50%), Heal Pulse (restores the ally's HP by 50%), Moonlight ( for 50% personal recovery), Encore ( lock a target into an unfavorable move, and Minimize (to be...that guy and Follow Me spam). For abilities, it basically up to the player to decide which one is better as both Unaware and Magic Guard have some clear differences in terms of some situations. Unaware allows the user to "ignore" stat boosts so Clefable will always take an attack as if its at neutral, or no stat boosts. Some implications with running Unaware is that sometimes Clefable might want "Intimidate" support, but given the mechanic of Unaware ignoring any stat boosts, this makes Clefable's longevity more or less always the same without any improvement. As a result, some players might opt for Magic Guard, which essentially ignores any residual damage from say weather, poison, burn, etc. Magic Guard Clefable won't be able to survive boosted hits, at least it can utilize any support options like Intimidate or Snarl to bolster its defensive / support value. Now problems with Clefable. Note Clefable is now vunerable to Poison- and Steel-type hits so things like Aegislash's Flash Cannon, Mega Mawile's Iron Head, or Mega Venusaur's Sludge Bomb will always deal heavy damage, if not potentially net the OHKO. Unlike Togekiss who's at least moderately slow, Clefable is far slower by 20 base points, meaning just about any fast, or mediocre Pokemon can be able to deal damage before Clefable can hit back. Aside using Taunt against Clefable, note it doesn't sport as many useful resistances to other offensive attacks, so spam the strongest STABs against Clefable. Clefairy Clefairy @ Eviolite Ability: Friend Guard EVs: 252 HP / 172 Def / 20 SpA / 60 SpD / 4 Spe Bold Nature - Follow Me - Helping Hand / Thunder Wave - Moonblast / Icy Wind - Protect Now we get to Clefairy... which honestly can do just about the same thing as mentioned about Clefable, but here's some notable differences aside Follow Me and other support moves. First off, Clefairy relies on its item, Eviolite to gain slight higher defense and special defense from Clefable by a 50% boost. Some players might use Clefairy due to Item Clause as they might want Sitrus Berry, Rocky Helmet, Leftovers, or Safety Goggles on another Pokemon and can use Eviolite to make up for this. Perhaps the biggest reason to even consider Clefairy in the first place is its Hidden Ability Friend Guard. Essentially what this abilities does is reduces the damage done to its allies by 25%, thus making potential setup Pokemon take any direct damage ( Single- or Spread-Target). Now pair this with a Power Up Punch Mega Kangaskhan, a Dragon Dance Mega Salamence, a Belly Drum Azumarill, or anything of that matter and they'll be able to tank hits easier, and live some fatal hits as Clefairy uses Follow Me.
While Friend Guard + Follow Me Clefairy is a alternate viable redirection strategy, note some consequences (aside what I've mentioned regarding Clefable). Notice Clefairy only has a base 65 Special Attack stat so its not an immediate offensive threat like Clefable, except against those who take Super Effective STAB Moonblast hits. As a result of this, Clefairy is prone to Taunt, and if targeted can't really do much. Though this won't OHKO Clefairy immediately, Knock Off can remove the Eviolite item, and thus make Clefairy far weaker to standard attacks. Finally, focus down Clefairy with strong STAB or Super effective hits, or mitigate the setup with stat drops. Smeargle Smeargle @ Focus Sash / Choice Scarf / Mental Herb Ability: Moody / Own Tempo EVs: 4 HP / 252 Def / 252 Spe Timid Nature - Dark Void - Follow Me - Spiky Shield / King's Shield - Fake Out / Wide Guard / Crafty Shield Finally we get to a rather unconventional Follow Me user: Smeargle. With access to nearly all moves in the games, Smeargle can make for an interesting wild card, however one move alone makes the beagle dog a threat: Dark Void. Smeargle allows the user to play opposing mind games with opponent as whether they'll use Dark Void to net both Pokemon to sleep, or possibly use Follow Me to setup something like Power-Up Punch Mega Kangaskhan, or recently Geomancy Xerneas to get its boosts. Moody is used to allow Smeargle to potentially get "useful" boosts to aid in its redirection efforts, though reduce one by one stage only. A +2 raise in defense might allow Smeargle to tank a neutral hit twice when using Follow Me. An even more grim scenario is a +2 evasion boost, which might result on a target or two missing when using Follow Me. An accuracy raise might result in Smeargle hitting Dark Voids better, or even a +2 Speed boost can allow Smeargle to hit the opposing targets first. Aside the moves listed, Smeargle can learn, or use just about any move in the game, so be vigilant when facing it.
In terms of countering Smeargle, it really depends on the set, and if Smeargle doesn't get any "beneficial" boosts from Moody. The best chance to beating Smeargle is to look at the team composition first, look for any Quick Guard users, any setup Pokemon, or anything out of the ordinary. If there's a Quick Guard user, chances are Smeargle is Choice Scarf, and might use its item to get a quick Dark Void, then later use Follow Me as a scapegoat. Double targeting Smeargle early one is the best way to deal with it, and make sure these two Pokemon have a base speed, or investment higher than 139 actual speed (76+ base speed). Taunt is a decent response to neutralize Smeargle, but keep in mind the potential for Mental Herb, as this can be used to get a Dark Void off. Common Rage Powder Users Amoonguss Amoonguss @ Rocky Helmet / Sitrus Berry / Mental Herb Ability: Regenerator EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD or 188 HP / 164 Def / 156 SpD Relaxed / Sassy Nature - Rage Powder - Spore - Giga Drain / Sludge Bomb - Protect Since its introduction in Black and White, Amoonguss has since become the de-facto "redirection" support user of VGC with access to Rage Powder, supportive coverage, typing, and high HP stat total. With its base 114 HP / 70 Def / 80 Sp Def, Amoonguss is able to tank most strong neutral, and some super effective hits at least once. The Grass / Poison typing allows Amoonguss to take most Water-, Grass-, Fairy-, Electric-, and Fighting-type hits making it check most special attackers and well as most physical Fighting-types like Terrakion or Conkeldurr. If Amoonguss has sustain heavy damage, the user can simply swap the mushroom Pokemon in and out of the battle to get Regenerator HP, or one-third of its HP back. As a special Grass-type, Amoonguss can use Giga Drain to replenish lost HP from its opponents, especially if those targets are Water-, Ground-, and Rock-types. Sludge Bomb is still a notable coverage move in case Amoonguss needs to hit Fairy-types, and potentially win opposing mirror matches. For item selection, Amoonguss might carry the following options: Rocky Helmet to inflict 1/6th residual damage to contacting targets, Sitrus Berry for 25% recovery, or Mental Herb to prevent Taunt / Encore (Disruption) users from letting it use either Rage Powder, or Spore. What makes Amoonguss stand out from the redirection crowd is its exclusive access to the status move Spore. To put it simple, Amoonguss is the best Spore-inducer in the game as its low base 30 Speed will almost guarantee the target to take one turn of sleep the following turn. With a "slow" Sleep-inducing option like Spore, Amoonguss can effectively threaten Trick Room-based teams by always moving first to inflict the the sleep status. The combination of Spore and Rage Powder enables Amoonguss to become one of the best support Pokemon in VGC via redirecting any attack, or possibly putting as many Pokemon to sleep to further aid its ally. Of course, there are some drawbacks in using Amoonguss as the recently introduced "Safety Goggles" prevents the holder from being affected by "Powder"-based attacks, essentially negating both moves. Given how "common" Amoonguss has become, players are better prepared for this Mushroom by using offensive Fire-, Ice-, Flying, or Psychic-type Pokemon or moves against mushroom, though it hasn't stopped it high usage and viability. For more information about Amoonguss, see Eckley's Amoonguss set guides, and my review of the mushroom in Chalk-based teams. Volcarona Volcarona @ Rocky Helmet / Sitrus Berry Ability: Flame Body EVs: 252 HP / 204 Def / 52 SpA Bold or Modest Nature - Overheat / Heat Wave / Firery Dance - Bug Buzz / Giga Drain - Rage Powder - Protect / Quiver Dance Though it might sound odd at first, the strong Bug-/Fire-type Pokemon Volcarona can function as a decent redirection support with the opponent's being unaware it can learn Rage Powder. Whenever most players see Volcarona in VGC (or in any format), they'll immediately think of the Quiver Dance set, which can be threatening itself if the opponents setup. This isn't about that set, rather regarding a surprise support variant. Volcarona has a total of six resistances ( Grass-, Bug-, Fairy-, Fighting-, Ice-, Steel-type ) and has a decent specially oriented bulk with 85 HP / 65 Def / 105 Sp Def. Though its physical defense is rather low, with its ability Flame Body can possible inflict any redirected target with the burn status 30% of the time. In terms of offensive capabilities, Volcarona can still utilize its high base 135 Sp. Atk and with both STAB options to great effect. For possible Fire-type moves, Volcarona can use Overheat to effectively OHKO most Steel-, Grass-, Bug-, and Ice-types, or heavy damage (Note the -2 Sp. Atk Drop). Heat Wave is an option in case players want to hit both targets for spread damage, though this leaves Volcarona vulnerable to Wide Guard.
The main issues using Volcarona as a redirection support is its "weakness" to rather common offensive types such as Flying-, Water-, and the ever present Rock-typ moves (aka Rock Slide). What hold Volcarona back from the likes of Amoonguss, or Togekiss is both of these Pokemon have rather high, or respective HP and Defense Stats it lacks. Remember that Rock Slide is quad super effective to Volcarona and potentially knock out the bug before it can even setup its partner. This doesn't necessarily make Volcarona a "bad" redirection user, rather it has to be used strategically. Most Volcarona sets are tailored to tank certain hits, but for one occasion. For more information about redirection Volcarona, here's a guide I've made a year ago featuring the redirection set.
Honorable Mentions
Well, guess we can't end this overview without going through some uncommon redirection-based Pokemon who offer decent viability and other support options aside spamming Follow Me / Rage Powder. Some of these Pokemon have seen some usage throughout the VGC years despite being as useful, or strong in terms of the other six Pokemon we've discussed / covered. This section is only to sorta"prove" how redirection has been influential in the respective format years, not to promote any form of trends. There was a reason why these Pokemon managed to "work" on their respective metagames, and adding them unto any team isn't going to make them successful. This guide will not cover all of the potential redirection Pokemon, so here I've where a guide to find out who can learn Follow Me or Rage Powder.
So there's you have it... an overview of what "redirection"-based strategy is in VGC as well as a quick review of some of the most common, and niche Pokemon who use this strategy. If there's anything I'm missing (aside "other" Pokemon that aren't obviously outclassed), or other concepts like optimal pairings when using these Pokemon (like which mons pair well when given redirection support), let me know. Obviously not going to cover everything, but at least give an good insight and review regarding of how influential and important to consider redirection when battling with, or against it. Might think of other ideas, or articles to pull from my hat, but for now I leave you adieu, and thanks for reading. |