Electivire Movesets & Competitive Sets

Moves Volt Switch allows Electivire to serve as an offensive pivot, switching out of bulkier foes such as Gurdurr and gaining momentum on the Pokemon it checks. Thunderbolt does noticeably more damage but fails to generate any sort of momentum. Flamethrower hits Grass-types like Tangela and Victreebel that resist Electivire's STAB move for super effective damage. Earthquake hits specially defensive tanks that would otherwise counter the set such as Lanturn and Probopass, 2HKOing the former and OHKOing the latter. It can OHKO Skuntank and 2HKO Hitmonchan with Earthquake after Stealth Rock, giving Electivire a slight niche over its nemesis Eelektross. Focus Blast will hit Normal-type tanks such as Audino and Type: Null for super effective damage, yet it is highly unreliable because of its bad accuracy. Alternatively, Ice Punch goes well with Electivire's STAB move, creating a variation of BoltBeam coverage that can hit the entire tier at least neutrally. It threatens offensive Ground-types like Golurk and can OHKO Altaria and offensive Torterra. Set Details A Naive nature is preferred over Hasty, as a Naive nature makes Electivire less vulnerable to priority moves like Mach Punch and Sucker Punch, and it doesn't decrease either of its attacking stats, permitting it to hit as hard as possible. Life Orb gives it a much-needed power boost to achieve certain KOs while still allowing it to switch between moves. With a Life Orb, Electivire can 2HKO Hitmonchan with Earthquake, OHKO Victreebel with Flamethrower, OHKO Aurorus with Earthquake, and 2HKO Audino with Focus Blast after Stealth Rock. Motor Drive makes Electivire immune to and enables it to benefit from Electric-type moves, giving it a +1 Speed boost and turning it into a much more imposing wallbreaker that can efficiently KO faster Pokemon like Floatzel. Vital Spirit is another viable option, as it prevents Electivire from being afflicted by sleep-inducing moves such as Jynx's Lovely Kiss and Tangela's Sleep Powder. Usage Tips Electivire should primarily be used as a revenge killer and wallbreaker. It can quickly dispose of slower threats such as Skuntank and Aurorus after a bit of prior damage while using super effective moves to get past bulkier Pokemon like Lanturn. Given its tendency to be worn down easily by Life Orb recoil and entry hazard damage, Electivire should be used rather sparingly. Try to bring it in freely after a teammate has fainted or on a free switch-in from U-turn or Volt Switch, as its lackluster overall bulk inhibits its ability to switch into neutral attacks. Electivire can be an effective offensive pivot if it is running Volt Switch, as it can pivot out of unfavorable matchups against tanks like Musharna. Since Electivire has varied super effective coverage, it can often force the opponent to switch, which is an ideal opportunity to create offensive momentum. When brought into a Pokemon that it checks, try to predict by going for the appropriate coverage move that could possibly OHKO or 2HKO the switch-in. For instance, if the opponent plans to bring in Golurk to absorb an Electric-type attack, go for Ice Punch instead to put into KO range. If running Motor Drive, anticipate and come in on Volt Switch from pivots such as Lanturn and Eelektross, disrupting the momentum and simultaneously boosting Electivire's Speed. In contrast, Vital Spirit can be utilized to protect a fellow team member from a Sleep Powder from Tangela and Lovely Kiss from Jynx. Team Options Because of its ample coverage choices, Electivire compresses its role and fits well on teams that require a wallbreaker to pressure the slower Pokemon that Electivire punishes, such as Lanturn & Oricorio-G. Stealth Rock greatly helps Electivire to net the OHKO on Pokemon that would normally be able to tank at least one hit. For example, after Stealth Rock damage, Electivire can guarantee the KO on Victreebel with Flamethrower and on Skuntank and Aurorus with Earthquake. Common setters include Torterra, Mudsdale, and Regirock, all of which enjoy Electivire's capacity to check offensive threats like Victreebel. Grass-types make great partners because of exceptional type synergy. Ludicolo and Lurantis can set up on or threaten the Ground-types that check Electivire including Torterra and Mudsdale. In return, Electivire can stomach a Supersonic Skystrike from Oricorio-G or Swanna and terrorize them with an Electric-type STAB move. Electivire appreciates the destructive potential of common physical wallbreakers like Kangaskhan and Stoutland. Strong physical attackers can deal with most special walls but are especially good at eliminating Electivire's counter and greatest enemy: Eelektross, as well as Clefairy since both can effectively wall Electivire. Other wallbreakers that benefit from Electivire's role as a pivot include Zangoose, Absol, and Oricorio-G, all of which can manage its counters. They in turn value Electivire's support to wear down bulkier Pokemon like Aggron and Lanturn. Entry hazard removal is necessary to preserve Electivire's health. Rapid Spin support is optimal, as it does not remove the user's hazards that Electivire so desperately needs to net KOs. On the other hand, since there are many more viable Defoggers in the tier such as Silvally-Fairy, Swanna, and Skuntank, Defog is a solid alternative. Electivire can create a VoltTurn core with Pokemon such as Scyther and Primeape to further pressure the opponent's team.

Moves A physically based set is easier to wall in this metagame, so this set relies mostly on Electivire's special movepool. Thunderbolt hits most Pokemon that do not resist it for decent damage, especially physically defensive targets such as Weezing, and it lacks Wild Charge's recoil, making it preferable in most situations. Flamethrower has good coverage alongside Thunderbolt, hitting Grass- and Steel-types such as Gourgeist-XL, Vileplume, Torterra, Steelix, and Ferroseed. Earthquake allows Electivire to deal significant damage to Electric-types such as Lanturn and Fire-types such as Camerupt and Assault Vest Magmortar, and is Electivire's main niche over its rival Manectric. It's also worth mentioning that Earthquake 2HKOes Assault Vest Hariyama with a bit of prior damage, which many teams rely on to deal with special attackers. Hidden Power Grass completes Electivire's coverage by hitting Gastrodon and Rhydon, which otherwise wall this set. Set Details Maximum Speed EVs plus a Speed-boosting nature make Electivire as fast as possible, letting it outspeed Pokemon such as Rotom, Kangaskhan, and Vivillon, while maximum Special Attack EVs are preferable because Pokemon that tend to switch into Electivire have a higher Defense stat. The rest is dumped into Attack to power up Earthquake and deal more damage to special walls with the move. A Hasty nature is chosen over a Naive nature as Electivire takes heavy damage from physical attacks regardless, whereas Electivire can switch more comfortably into Electric-types and sleep inducers, which are often special attackers such as Vivillon and Lilligant. Keep in mind that a Hasty nature makes Electivire even weaker to common priority such as Hitmonchan's Mach Punch and Shiftry's Sucker Punch, however, and a Naive nature is a completely viable option. Motor Drive gives Electivire an immunity to Electric-type moves and can be really useful against Pokemon such as Lanturn and Rotom, as getting a Speed boost allows Electivire to clean weakened teams late-game. Vital Spirit should be considered as well to avoid being put to sleep by Vivillon's Sleep Powder and Jynx's Lovely Kiss. Life Orb is used to give a needed boost to Electivire's attacks while allowing it to switch between its moves. Usage Tips Due to Electivire's poor bulk, it appreciates being brought in safely by Volt Switch and U-turn from pivoting teammates, or after a Pokemon has fainted. It can also be brought in on a predicted Electric-type move, such as Rotom's or Lanturn's Volt Switch, if it runs Motor Drive, and receive a free boost in Speed, preventing foes such as Tauros and Swellow from checking it effectively. Another way of getting Electivire in for free is on a predicted sleep-inducing move, such as Vivillon's Sleep Powder or Jynx's Lovely Kiss, if it runs Vital Spirit. Electivire should be used on offensive teams due to its lack of defensive merit outside of its immunities, and balanced teams are generally better off with Magmortar for a coverage-based wallbreaker due to its higher Special Attack and subsequent ability to make good use out of Assault Vest. Make sure to predict correctly between Electivire's coverage moves, as it can be worn down quickly by Life Orb recoil. Team Options Entry hazard support is crucial to ensure some KOs; for example, after three layers of Spikes, Flamethrower has a high chance to OHKO Steelix. The best Spiker Electivire can have as a teammate is Garbodor because it can deal with Mega Audino's attacks with relative ease and set up layers of Spikes or Toxic Spikes. Other good partners for Electivire with access to Stealth Rock are Mesprit and Torterra, as these Pokemon are able to switch into Ground-type moves, which threaten Electivire, and form a nice defensive synergy with Garbodor. Mesprit also has access to Healing Wish, which can be useful late-game if Electivire is needed but is too weakened. Lilligant has the ability to force out Ground-types, which creates a setup opportunity for Electivire to weaken bulky Pokemon, while Electivire can put pressure on Lilligant's checks such as Vileplume and Assault Vest Magmortar with its respective coverage option. Scyther and Swellow are great partners for Electivire, as they can U-turn out on a predicted check, such as Steelix, Regirock, Rotom, or Rhydon, and bring in Electivire, which threatens all of them with the appropriate coverage move. Scyther is also immune to Ground-types and can use the bulky Pokemon that Electivire struggles to break such as Musharna and Mega Audino as setup fodder. Other U-turn users are Primeape and Archeops, which form a VoltTurn core with Electivire if you choose Volt Switch in its last slot. Strong wallbreakers such as Aurorus and Samurott form a good offensive core with Electivire, as they deal with bulky Ground-types. Fast offensive Pokemon such as Swellow and Floatzel also benefit from Electivire's ability to block Thunder Wave.

Electivire's best traits are shown in this set—namely, a significant amount of coverage. As one of the few physically offensive Electric-types, it plays differently from other Electric-types in the tier. With that in mind, it's important to know that even though the listed moves can 2HKO most of the metagame, Electivire cannot OHKO very many Pokemon, and the opponent can predict around it while it wears itself out with recoil damage. As a result, it works best as a late-game attacker, letting its teammates weaken the opponent and lay entry hazards until it goes in for the KO. In DPP, Electivire lacked a strong STAB option, but BW gifted it with Wild Charge, somewhat fulfilling that wish. As a result, it's Electivire's preferred STAB move, as it comes off of Electivire's higher Attack stat and covers dangerous threats such as Slowking, Qwilfish, Moltres, and Kabutops. Flamethrower complements Wild Charge well, hitting common physical walls such as Steelix and Tangrowth hard, as both are immune to or resist Electric-type moves. Earthquake is mainly for opposing Electric-types, which it can typically get a free switch into thanks to Motor Drive, Fire-type Pokemon such as Typhlosion and Entei, and Aggron. Finally, Ice Punch is useful to get a strong hit on Druddigon and Ground-type Pokemon. The given EVs allow Electivire to OHKO Tangrowth with Flamethrower after Stealth Rock and one layer of Spikes, outspeed Rotom and everything slower, and provide extra power for its physical attacks. However, if eliminating Tangrowth from the match is extremely important, 188 Special Attack EVs can be used to land an OHKO on it after Stealth Rock damage, but this weakens Electivire's physical moves by quite a bit. Motor Drive is the best ability for Electivire, as it grants it a free switch into Electric-type moves, particularly the common Thunder Wave and Volt Switch. The Speed boost can also be helpful for cleaning up teams, but this will only come into play if the opponent is significantly weakened. While it might seem weird to suggest Life Orb over Expert Belt when Electivire's main draw is its coverage, Life Orb gives Wild Charge a notable boost against neutral targets. However, an Expert Belt gives Electivire more survivability and Electivire often hits most of its targets for super effective damage. Electivire has two other usable STAB moves in Thunderbolt and Thunder Punch, but they both are much weaker than Wild Charge. Regardless, Thunderbolt still has a high Base Power and can hit Alomomola and Qwilfish harder, although hitting Slowking's lower Defense tends to be more important, while Thunder Punch's lack of recoil means Electivire won't get worn down as quickly. As mentioned before, without entry hazard support, Electivire struggles to OHKO anything aside from non-defensive Pokemon that are weak to Wild Charge or opponents that are frail. In addition, Electivire forces a lot of switches with its coverage, so entry hazards can wear down the opponent's team as they try to predict around Electivire. As a result, Omastar and Qwilfish make good partners, as both of them can place Spikes (the former also gets Stealth Rock) on the field and attract Electric-type moves to activate Electivire's Motor Drive. Ferroseed also makes a good partner, as it also gets both forms of entry hazards while taking little damage from priority moves and Earthquake, which are often targeted at Electivire. Finally, because Electivire can wear down and possibly KO Pokemon such as Slowking, Rotom, Tangrowth, and Steelix, it can open up the way for a teammate to attack without getting easily walled. Because of this, Kabutops, Druddigon, and Aggron—which all struggle with one or more of the aforementioned Pokemon—make good teammates, as their STAB moves are far more threatening when the opponent lacks a bulky Pokemon that can resist it.