Emolga Movesets & Competitive Sets

Emolga aims to perform as a pivot with utility moves in Encore, Taunt, and Knock Off with its respectable Speed tier and ability to gain momentum by disrupting the foe. Even with its blend of offense and utility, Emolga's lackluster stats tend to fail it, so it struggles to do its job consistently. This makes Oricorio-E a better option for a Pokemon of its typing, and other utility pivots such as Alolan Persian are overall more effective.

Moves Taunt allows Emolga to stop sweepers such as Fraxure, Regice, and Raichu from setting up and prevents foes from using status moves such as Taunt and Toxic. U-turn lets Emolga pivot out in an unfavorable situation, while Roost allows Emolga to stay healthy during the match and perform as a reliable pivot. Encore can lock the foe into an Electric-type or setup move, giving one of Emolga's teammates a free turn to switch in. Thunderbolt is a strong alternative to Encore that allows Emolga to hit Water- and Flying-types such as Politoed and Dodrio, respectively. Set Details This EV spread and a Jolly nature allow Emolga to outspeed as many foes as possible and take minimal damage from Stealth Rock. However, if Emolga is running Thunderbolt, a Timid nature should be used. Motor Drive allows it to gain a Speed boost upon switching into an Electric-type move. Leftovers provides passive recovery, keeping Emolga healthy as a pivot. Usage Tips Emolga should not be switching into strong attacks because it is quite frail, so it should only be sent into attacks it resists or is immune to, such as a predicted Grass-, Electric-, or Ground-type attack from Pokemon such as Tangela, Raichu, and Stunfisk. Emolga should use Taunt on Pokemon that rely on their status moves, such as Roselia and Tangela, and on setup sweepers, such as Beheeyem, Fraxure, and Leafeon. Alternatively, Emolga can switch into a setup sweeper such as Ninetales, cripple it with Encore, and take advantage of the opponent's likely switch by using U-turn. Team Options Defoggers such as Vibrava and Pelipper keep Stealth Rock off the field, which is beneficial because Emolga will be switching in and out frequently and takes a lot of damage from Stealth Rock. Additionally, they can provide momentum with U-turn. Water-types such as Golduck and Simipour appreciate Emolga's ability to take Electric-type attacks, and they are able to take on Rock-type Pokemon such as Golem. Grass- and Fighting-types such as Gourgeist-XL and Monferno, respectively, are able to beat the likes of Golem. Ground-types such as Camerupt and Golem are able to handle Electric-type Pokemon such as Raichu and Rock-type Pokemon such as Probopass. Fire-types such as Rapidash and Simisear are able to take on Ice-types such as Regice and Rotom-F for Emolga, but note that using them stacks a weakness to Stealth Rock.

This is the only set Emolga can perform well, although it still isn't very good. Tailwind only requires one turn to set up, meaning that it is the best support option Emolga has. Tailwind gives slow but powerful teammates the chance to sweep due to their boosted Speed. Emolga's frailty allows it to die and bring in a teammate safely after setting up Tailwind. Encore gives Emolga setup opportunities against Electric-type, Ground-type, and status moves that can't touch it. U-turn lets Emolga get out after setting up Tailwind and is used over Volt Switch because nothing is immune to it. Air Slash is used mainly to avoid being Taunt bait, as well as allowing Emolga to deal some last minute damage before dying. Taunt can also be used over Air Slash to beat opposing Taunt users that are slower than Emolga. If Taunt is used, the EV spread should be changed to 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe with a Jolly nature. Roost can be used, but Emolga is usually meant to set up Tailwind and die, and Roost does not help with this. Baton Pass can be used over U-turn to avoid Pursuit and pass Speed boosts from Motor Drive to Emolga's teammates, but there is a risk of passing harmful things like Leech Seed, Perish Song, and Attack drops from Intimidate, as well as making Emolga more vulnerable to Taunt. A Focus Sash can be used, but Emolga is meant to faint in order to bring in a teammate safely. Good teammates for this set are ones that can take advantage of the Tailwind support that Emolga provides, so slow, hard-hitting Pokemon are great. Examples include Ursaring, Sawk, and Torterra. However, the best choice should also be able to take a hit due to a possibly having to switch in on Emolga's fast U-turn. For example, Samurott and Golurk can come in on Ice- and Rock-type moves respectively.