[OVERVIEW]
Diancie's defensive typing and bulk make it a great wall in RU that checks common threats such as Togekiss, Noivern, and Chandelure. It is also a reliable Stealth Rock setter that pressures various Defoggers such as Crobat and Noivern with its powerful Diamond Storm, and it provides additional support with Heal Bell. Diamond Storm’s high chance of boosting Diancie’s Defense can make it difficult to revenge kill and strengthens its Body Press, making it less passive. However, Diancie's lack of reliable recovery and susceptibility to entry hazards and status moves make it easy to wear down over the course of the battle or at least force it to be more passive with Heal Bell. Its typing leaves it weak to common threats such as Cobalion, Metagross, Volcanion, and Roserade, as well as the common spinners Dhelmise and Starmie. In addition, Diancie often invites fearsome threats such as Nidoqueen and Golurk in, and setup sweepers such as Reuniclus, Celebi, and Toxicroak can turn it into setup fodder due to its mediocre offensive stats and movepool. Diancie faces competition from other specially defensive Stealth Rock setters such as Registeel, Bronzong, and Stakataka, which have more advantageous typings with important resistances to types like Fairy, Psychic, and Grass to better check threats like Gardevoir and Roserade.
[SET]
name: Defensive
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Diamond Storm
move 3: Body Press
move 4: Heal Bell / Toxic
item: Leftovers
ability: Clear Body
nature: Careful
evs: 252 HP / 20 Atk / 216 SpD / 20 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Diancie's good typing and bulk give it many opportunities to lay down Stealth Rock safely. Body Press deals with Steel-types such as Registeel, Lucario, and Cobalion that try to take advantage of Diancie and has good synergy with Diamond Storm's high chance to boost Defense. Heal Bell is also a great choice, since it makes Diancie less susceptible to status and can relieve a teammate from the cleric role. Toxic cripples bulky foes such as Gastrodon, Milotic, and Dhelmise and gives a better matchup against Togekiss, since bulky variants can stall out Diamond Storm with Roost. 20 Speed EVs allow Diancie to outspeed Sassy Incineroar. This investment also allows Diancie to outspeed standard Golisopod, and alongside 20 Attack EVs, always activate its Emergency Exit with Diamond Storm. The remaining EVs are invested into HP and Special Defense to better check threats such as Togekiss, Noivern, and Gardevoir. A more physically defensive spread can be run to better check physical threats such as Darmanitan, Entei, and Obstagoon with the nice additional effect of a strong Body Press.
Balance and bulky offense teams appreciate Diancie reliably setting Stealth Rock and checking common threats such as Togekiss, Noivern, and Darmanitan. Grass-types such as Roserade, Celebi, Rotom-C, and Dhelmise are great teammates for Diancie, as they take on Water-types such as Milotic, Starmie, and Gastrodon while also handling Raikou and Xurkitree. The first two mentioned also act as status absorbers, while the last two are reliable entry hazard removers. In return, Diancie checks Fire- and Flying-types like Darmanitan, Noivern, and Crobat. Electric-types such as Xurkitree and Raikou also deal with Water-types and beat Xatu and bulky Togekiss, which Diancie struggles with, especially if it lacks Toxic. Flying-types like Noivern, Crobat, and Talonflame check troublesome Grass-types like Roserade and Dhelmise, provide Defog support, and offer an important Ground immunity. Bulky Water- and Ground-types such as Milotic, Gastrodon, and defensive Flygon check offensive Steel-types like Cobalion, Metagross, and Lucario. Fighting-types such as Heracross, Pangoro, and Lucario, on the other hand, check defensive Steel-types like Bronzong and Steelix for Diancie. They appreciate its ability to check Flying-types for them and lay down Stealth Rock. Cobalion deserves a special mention, since it can switch into opposing Knock Off and appreciates Diancie taking over its role as a Stealth Rock setter. Umbreon and Vaporeon are great teammates for Diancie, since they provide Wish support and check various threats that Diancie cannot check such as Nidoqueen, Volcanion, and Starmie. In return, Diancie relieves them of the cleric role. Ghost- and Dark-types such as Chandelure, Incineroar, and Obstagoon check Calm Mind Reuniclus, Nasty Plot Celebi, and the common spinners Starmie and Dhelmise reliably, which take huge advantage of Diancie. The Spikes setters Roserade and Golisopod have good defensive synergy with Diancie and form a decent hazard-stacking core with it.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Power Gem has more PP then Diamond Storm, making it better in the long term and against threats such as Xatu and Togekiss. However, Diamond Storm's Defense boosts make it usually better. Moonblast enables Diancie to better deal with Pokemon such as Heracross and Flygon, and its high chance of lowering Special Attack comes in handy against common threats such as Nidoqueen and Calm Mind Reuniclus. Unfortunately, Moonblast is hard to fit over another move. Earth Power is an option for the last moveslot to hit Nidoqueen, Doublade, Toxtricity, and Toxicroak super effectively. However, it does little else and only 3HKOes Nidoqueen, while Doublade and Toxtricity are rather uncommon. Encore better handles Calm Mind Reuniclus but is hard to fit over another move, since it has low use outside of this. More offensive sets such as offensive Trick Room, bulky Calm Mind, Rock Polish sweeper, and Meteor Beam + Power Herb are quite conceivable. However, Pokemon such as Stakataka, Reuniclus, and Necrozma perform these roles much better due to their better offensive stats.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Steel-types**: Offensive Steel-types such as Cobalion, Lucario, and Metagross put Diancie under immense pressure with their super effective STAB attacks. However, the former two struggle to switch in, since they take good damage from Diancie's Body Press. Defensive Steel-types such as Steelix and Bronzong take less from Body Press and OHKO Diancie with either Heavy Slam or Gyro Ball. If Registeel lacks Heavy Slam, the best it can do is weaken Diancie with Toxic. Despite being able to OHKO Diancie with Gyro Ball, Stakataka is slower then it and takes a lot from Body Press, especially offensive variants. However, every mentioned Steel-type stumbles as soon as Diancie has a Defense increase from Diamond Storm, since they take more damage from Body Press and cause less damage to it. Doublade easily uses Diancie as setup fodder due its typing and high physical bulk, but Doublade is very uncommon and must watch out for Earth Power.
**Ground-types**: Nidoqueen and Golurk do heavy damage to Diancie with their powerful STAB moves and easily switch into it, since they take little from its attacks; only Golurk dislikes Toxic. Flygon can pressure Diancie with its strong Earthquake but can lose the matchup if Diancie's Defense is boosted through Diamond Storm. Diancie has also to watch out for Ground-type coverage from Pokemon such as Darmanitan.
**Grass-types**: Grass-types such as Roserade and Rotom-C threaten Diancie with their powerful Grass-type STAB attacks but fail to OHKO Diancie and take a lot from its Diamond Storm. Nasty Plot Celebi with Recover uses Diancie as setup fodder, but utility variants have a rather shaky matchup against it, since Grass Knot does not do much to it. Dhelmise has a high chance to OHKO Diancie and can remove Stealth Rock through Rapid Spin. Bulky Grass-types such as Vileplume have nothing to fear from Diancie.
**Water-types**: Bulky Water-types such as Gastrodon, Milotic, and Suicune have little to fear from Diancie's attacks and threaten it with either a burn through Scald or Toxic. However, Gastrodon and Milotic dislike Toxic, though Suicune can play around it with either Rest or Substitute. Offensive Water-types such as Starmie, Sharpedo, and Volcanion take a lot from Diancie's attacks, but once they get a safe switch in, they can either KO a weakened Diancie or force it out with their powerful STAB moves.
**Strong Wallbreakers**: Powerful wallbreakers such as Pangoro, Guts Heracross, and Choice Specs Chandelure easily overwhelm Diancie with their attacks. However, they all take a lot from Diancie's attacks.
**Setup Sweepers**: Setup sweepers such as Calm Mind Reuniclus, Nasty Plot Celebi, and Toxicroak take little from Diancie's attacks and do not care about Toxic due to their abilities or typing, which enable them to use Diancie as setup fodder.
**Passive Damage and Trick**: Since Diancie lacks recovery besides Leftovers, it is easy to wear it down over time with chip damage from entry hazards and burn or poison. In addition, many Pokemon Diancie switches into can cripple it, such as Chandelure and Darmanitan with Toxic or Entei with Sacred Fire. Diancie can cure its status with Heal Bell, but this makes it more passive. Beyond that, Diancie is a team's main answer to Dark-types, meaning it will often lose its Leftovers quickly through Knock Off from Pokemon such as Incineroar and Obstagoon. Trick users such as Darmanitan, Chandelure, and Gardevoir limit Diancie by giving it a Choice item with Trick and stealing its only recovery in Leftovers.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Holy-Darky, 464737]]
- Quality checked by: [[Lunala, 409096], [phantom, 180300]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Finland, 517429], [Astra, 240732]]
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