Taking over for Mattstah. I disagree. Deoxys-A forces a lot of switches, and can OHKO every Rapid Spinner and Magic Bounce user in the game. It can easily destroy common hazard leads such as Deo-S and Custap Forretress. The set would look something like this: Deoxys-A @ Focus Sash Trait: Pressure EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd Naive Nature (+Spd, -SDef) - Spikes / Stealth Rock - Psycho Boost - Hidden Power Fire / Superpower - Extremespeed / Ice Beam / Dark Pulse This is copied straight from Smogon, but you get the idea of how it works. If something tries to get hazards off the opponent's side of the field, just ram it in with the power. You can get at least one layer down, even two if you play your cards right. DeoS cannot do anything to Magic Bounce users, and can be easily beaten by Forretress and Skarmory. ==General== *Highest attacking stats in the game, at 180 each *Tied for third best Speed stat at 150 with Deoxys-N, behind Deoxys-S and Ninjask *Amazing movepool, including Extremespeed for priority *Extremely frail, the especially hard hits in Ubers will be OHKOs ==Focus Sash Attacker== Deoxys-A @ Focus Sash Trait: Pressure EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd Rash Nature (+SAtk, -Def) / Naive Nature (+Spd, -SDef) - ExtremeSpeed - Psycho Boost - Dark Pulse / Thunder - Superpower Set Comments *Focus Sash gives Deoxys-A an extra turn to inflict damage *Psycho Boost, Deoxys' signature move, has a base power of 140 and gets STAB *Superpower is also an extremely powerful move, and hits Dark or Steel types who are immune to or resist Psycho Boost *Dark Pulse nails the Psychic types, namely Deoxys-S and Mewtwo, but if you have rain on your side, you could use Thunder, which can destroy Kyogre and hit neutral on many things *Extremespeed takes out weakened Pokemon and can hit Choice Scarfed Pokemon or other priority users *Rapid Spin support is recommended so hazards don't break the sash *Rash nature can be used for more power, but opting for more Speed can prove to be life saving, as you can now speed tie with other Deoxys-A ==Life Orb== Deoxys-A @ Life Orb Trait: Pressure EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd Naive Nature (+Spd, -SDef) / Rash Nature (+SAtk, -SDef) - Thunder / Extremespeed - Psycho Boost - Superpower - Shadow Ball / Hidden Power [Fire] Set Comments *Life Orb gives a big increase in attack power *Moves are similar to the first set, Hidden Power [Fire] gives leverage against Ferrothorn; Superpower will not OHKO *If using Thunder, rain is recommended but not Hidden Power [Fire] *Extremespeed takes out weakened Pokemon and can hit Choice Scarfed Pokemon or other priority users *Substitute is a viable option to use on a predicted switch; this gives a buffer on Deoxys-A's horrible defenses, and if Sub+LO seems unappealing, you can opt for a coverage based item such as Expert Belt *With Deoxys-A's wide range of options, the moves can be altered to fit your team's needs *Priority is now extremely dangerous as it will automatically knock you out; you can get rid of those users beforehand with Giratina for Arceus, Dialga/Palkia for Giratina-O ==Other Options== *Choice items are not recommended, as Deoxys-A likes to switch between moves and not switch out; because of its defenses, it will have to come in to revenge kill and cannot switch in on an attack *Psyshock 2HKOes Chansey without using Superpower *Low Kick hits several Pokemon in Ubers hard *Focus Blast is strong, but the low accuracy is too risky on a Pokemon that cannot take any hit at all *Shadow Ball is Dark Pulse but with the ability to bring Extremekiller Arceus safely in on DeoA *Thunderbolt works outside of rain to hurt Ho-Oh *Fire Punch can be used over Hidden Power Fire so DeoA does not lose to other DeoA, but Fire Punch fails to guarantee an OHKO on Forretress, as well as a 2HKO on Skarmory. Even with a Life Orb, it still has issues with Skarmory. *Substitute can be used with DeoA's ability to force switches, and allows it to beat revenge killers much easier. ==Checks & Counters== *Psychic Arceus sounds like a bad idea on paper, but it can take most of DeoA's attacks, sans Dark Pulse, and ram away at the fragile fiend with Extremespeed *Deoxys-A does not have a hard counter, but many checks because of its frailty *As mentioned many times before, priority completely demolishes Deoxys-A *Giratina-O's Shadow Sneak will OHKO and can survive an Ice Beam to land two Shadow Sneaks (one to break Sash) *Similarly, Arceus' Extremespeed will beat Deoxys, while surviving Superpower *Choice Scarfers can beat Deoxys-A, such as Palkia, Jirachi, Darkrai, and Terrakion
Looks great, but I think it's worth noting that if Deoxys-A isn't running Extremespeed then Deoxys-S / Deoxys-A [barring a speed tie] can get up 2 layers vs you. Having Extremespeed also makes things simpler vs custap custap forretress, fire punch / hidden power fire them turn 1 then finished them off with extremespeed. Extremespeed is also generally useful for getting chip damage in on random scarfers, which can helpful in many situations. So in my opinion extremespeed should be a first slash somewhere, ice beam is very situation nowadays. Especially since lead rayquaza in particular is extremely rare and groudon isn't staying in on deoxys-a too often.
Could it be worth combining the 2 sets into one? All out attacker Nature: Naive (+Spd -SDef)/ Rash (+SAtk -SDef) Item: Focus Sash/Life Orb EV: 4 Atk, 252 SAtk, 252 Spd Psycho Boost Extremespeed Superpower Thunder/Fire Punch Apart from item, they look more or less the same to me.
What happened to the analysis I wikified in june on deoxys a lol. Would've posted sooner but on vacation
I wouldn't merge Focus Sash and Life Orb, nor would I add Fire Punch to those sets. Fire Punch is weaker than you might expect, for starters. Secondly, Focus Sash and Life Orb are a bit different; one aims to be able to take one hit and hit hard back, the other is incredibly suicidal and aims to destroy as much as it can before dying. So no, I will not merge the sets. As for Epikhairz, that was my fault. I probably should have double-checked the wiki first. Sorry about that. Can someone lock both DeoA threads please?