OU: Pokémon Serperior

Scattered mind

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Serperior: Grass

serperior.gif


stats:
HP: 75
Atk: 75
Def: 95
Sp.Atk: 75
Sp.Def: 95
Spe: 113


Viable Ability:
Contrary -The wielder's stat changes are reversed.


Viable moves:

Leaf storm
Dragon Pulse
Giga Drain
Hidden Power
Glare
Substitute
Taunt
Knock Off
Leech Seed

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Common set:

Serperior @ Life Orb
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Dragon Pulse
- Hidden Power Fire/ Hidden Power Ground
- Substitute/Taunt/Giga Drain/Glare

Less common options that are still viable includes the use of Leech Seed+Sub to wear down threats like Heatran and Chansey, Knock Off to break through Assault Vest and Eviolite users ( like Tornadus-T and Chansey), Miracle Seed which boosts Leaf Storm and Giga Drain without taking recoil damage, damage reducing berries (Coba and Occa) with HP Rock/Ground to lure Talonflame/Meag Charizard Y/Heatran, and finally Synthesis, for more consistent recovery if you really want to keep Serperior all the way from early to late game.

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Why using Serperior?
Serperior has Contrary. The ability to boost its Sp.Atk by 2 stages while attacking with a move that has the same power as Draco Meteor. This thing alone makes Serperior very nice special attacker but it could not be seen so much without other advantages.
Base 113 speed stat allows Serperior to outrun a nice amount of common fast threats in OU such as Latios, Keldeo and Mega Diancie, while Glare can slow down faster threats on the switch such as Talonflame and Tornadus-T.
75/95/95 defenses are not so bad for an offensive Pokemon, and its Grass typing gives him the immunity from Leech Seed.
The problems are as same as those advantages.
113 speed is good but there are so many threats which are much faster such as Mega Manectric Weavile Talonflame and Mega Lopunny. Not to mention scarf users. All can easily revenge kill Serperior or wear it down very quickly.
Talonflame, Heatran and MegaZard Y are all common fire types which resist/can handle most of its moves. Although Serperior has tools against them such as HP Ground against Heatran and Glare on the switch.
Its lack of coverage moves makes it easily walled by many defensive mons which resist its moves.
A Contrary boosted Leaf Storm is indeed powerful but before that with only 75 base special attack, many Pokemon can take that hit and fire back at him for greater damage.
Its Grass typing and low hp makes it extremely vulnerable especially with Life Orb damage.

Some question for discussion:

What other things makes Serperior a good Pokemon in the current metagame? what makes it bad?
What other sets you think are viable?
I also wonder what Pokemon can make with Serperior a great core and in general what are the best teammates for him.
 
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Professor Palutena

The Queen
Member
This is a really great offensive Pokemon and it's one of the best stallbreakers around. Chansey is setup fodder for it, and Talonflame is the only thing on a stall team that really threatens it (providing you carry HP Ground). The speed tier is awesome, as outspeeding base 110s is pretty much a requirement for OU teams. I like running it in offensive FWG cores with Talonflame and Starmie, and then with something to take on Electric types.

In terms of other sets, the offensive set is pretty much all Serperior has. You could try some kind of Dual Screens set, but Serperior doesn't like being restricted to 2-move coverage and its attacks are very weak without an offensive boosting item.

One thing I like using Serperior for is as a Defog "blocker". Yeah, evasion hax is dumb but its entirely up to the opponent with whether or not they give me the boost.
 

Chaos Jackal

Legend of the Past
Member
Serperior is pretty cool despite its problems, simply because a +2 boost while nuking with 140 power is too good. That being said, it still remains quite predictable; Leaf Storm and Dragon Pulse exist on more or less every Serperior, you can deduce whether it carries HP Fire or Ground from the team, so really all that matters is if it has Taunt or Substitute, both of which can be handled similarly anyway. And with its initial weakness as an attacker (even +2 often doesn't hurt enough), you need to be careful when using, as a wrong move can put it out of commission easily. It still remains a remarkably good stallbreaker and a decent cleaner thanks to its Speed tier.
 

Scattered mind

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What do you think about Glare ? Is it being used on Serperior mostly for luring threats like Talonflame Mega Pinsir and Mega Lopunny?
Is it worth running it over Taunt/Sub? I guess it is a nice option against Mega Altaria's bulky DD set.

FWG core is indeed the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about Serperior. It reminds me of Mega Sceptile's core with Heatran and Azumarill.
Heatran is great to stop Talonflame and Azumarill can handle Mega Altaria while Serperior can take care for Rotom-W which threats them both.

Leaf Storm does have a problem hitting some targets for a decent damage. I think that the big problem about Serperior is that low 75 Sp.Atk preventing him from running leftovers and instead forces the use of Life Orb which limits its sweeping abilities.

The evasion boost from Defog is random but very welcomed for using Leaf Storm without being afraid of missing both an attack and a boost in one turn.

There is also the option to run Giga Drain so Serperior can keep hitting after running out of LS's PP, or just when you have to ensure a hit and it is also a nice way of recovery for longevity.
 

Professor Palutena

The Queen
Member
Glare is cool but it's the one I prefer the least of the four options for the last move (Giga Drain, Taunt, Sub and Glare). Talon and Pinsir still have their priority moves to make the paralysis meaningless in terms of outspeeding. A lot of stuff faster than Serperior (the above, Mega Beedrill, Weavile, Tornadus-T) beat Serperior anyways. It's not great against Mega Altaria either due to having Heal Bell, Refresh or Facade to beat it.
 

Chaos Jackal

Legend of the Past
Member
Suppose that you do cast Glare on a Talonflame switch-in. What next?

252 SpA Life Orb Serperior Dragon Pulse vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Talonflame: 114-135 (38.3 - 45.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

Serperior can't even 2HKO the most fragile version of Talonflame without a boost, and can't OHKO at +2. This means that you'll need paralysis to strike at least twice in a row. Glare is a good way to cripple switch-ins, but it doesn't allow Serperior to stay in. It's still forced out, preventing it from sweeping, and possibly racking up more hazard damage, limiting its longevity.
 

Equinox

Stallwart Player
Member
I refer to Serperior as a "gimmick sweeper" because its easy to set up but not that overwhelming. It gets hard walled by Togekiss, HP Fire is a weak and only answer to the bulky Pokemon and Glare can't do anything with the Cleric set.
 

Scattered mind

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Forum Mod
Member
Yeah. Serperior must switch out a lot which is a problem for it to set up but the setting up itself is so easy then its still works.
It can sometimes shine and sometimes be more of a liability. It just depends on the opposing team. Since it is still quite new in OU it is still unclear for me if people are using him because he's good or because they just want to test him.
So Glare is not so much of a great move on Serperior isn't it?
 

PG24

<Pride> I'm my wildest fantasy
Advanced Member
Member
Serperior's other options are kind of shit, although they should probably be noted in the OP.

Substitute + Leech Seed does limit Serperior's ability to sweep, but it can wear down counters like Heatran and Chansey without having to resort to Taunt or gimmick Hidden Power types.
Knock Off is cool because a lot of Serperior's checks and counters need their items to actually handle Serperior. Biggest example of this is removing Chansey's Eviolite or Tornadus' Assault Vest.
Miracle Seed is neat if you want power but don't want to die quick.
Synthesis is more consistent recovery than Giga Drain and Leech Seed, but Serperior doesn't really have the bulk to get one in outside of switches. It's a cool option if you want to do damage in the early- to mid-game while still giving yourself the ability to sweep in the late-game.
Damage reducing berries, like Coba or Occa, + Hidden Power make Serperior more of a lure for threats like Talonflame and Heatran.
 

Deck Maker Xerneas

Deck Builder
Member
I actually used HP Rock on my serperior. It seems a bit odd, but I like the idea of being able to have at least a little coverage against it's weaknesses (Fire, Ice, Bug, and Flying).

I have managed to use Serperior to sweep an OU team with a Mega Charizard Y thanks to HP Rock.

Granted I'm not the greatest at competitive battling, so what do I know? =/
 
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Scattered mind

Competitive VG Forums Mod
Forum Mod
Member
Serperior's other options are kind of shiat, although they should probably be noted in the OP.

Substitute + Leech Seed does limit Serperior's ability to sweep, but it can wear down counters like Heatran and Chansey without having to resort to Taunt or gimmick Hidden Power types.
Knock Off is cool because a lot of Serperior's checks and counters need their items to actually handle Serperior. Biggest example of this is removing Chansey's Eviolite or Tornadus' Assault Vest.
Miracle Seed is neat if you want power but don't want to die quick.
Synthesis is more consistent recovery than Giga Drain and Leech Seed, but Serperior doesn't really have the bulk to get one in outside of switches. It's a cool option if you want to do damage in the early- to mid-game while still giving yourself the ability to sweep in the late-game.
Damage reducing berries, like Coba or Occa, + Hidden Power make Serperior more of a lure for threats like Talonflame and Heatran.

Added all of the information to the OP. Thanks :]

I actually used HP Rock on my serperior. It seems a bit odd, but I like the idea of being able to have at least a little coverage against it's weaknesses (Fire, Ice, and Flying).

I have managed to use Serperior to sweep an OU team with a Mega Charizard Y thanks to HP Rock.

Granted I'm not the greatest at competitive battling, so what do I know? =/

Added the option to run HP Rock in the lure options, since it is a great way if you want to use Serperior as a lure for Talonflame much like Talonflame has the Natural gift set to lure Rotom-W.
Please keep sharing your thoughts. This forum is not for competitive masters, it's for everyone :]
 
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