Moves
Shore Up keeps Mega Audino healthy, and can get an extra recovery boost because Mega Audino is a solid switch-in to the most common Sand Stream user, Mega Tyranitar. Spiky Shield allows Mega Audino to safely activate its Toxic Orb, as well as scout moves from Pokemon with Choice items and Z-Moves and safely gain another round of Poison Heal recovery. While it cannot recover health as quickly as Shore Up, it denies Imposter users any recovery at all. Spiky Shield also prevents Sturdy Shedinja from being able to KO Mega Audino. Spiky Shield is chosen over Baneful Bunker to prevent opposing Imposter to get poisoned, while King's Shield doesn't allow a safe Toxic Orb activation due to its inability to prevent status moves such as Will-O-Wisp and Trick. U-turn allows Mega Audino to pivot, and thanks to its low base 50 Speed it is able to underspeed most opposing Pokemon and bring in a teammate safely. U-turn has synergy with Spiky Shield to allow Mega Audino to pivot while being Imposter-proof. Spectral Thief deters setup and allows Mega Audino to check Poison Heal Xerneas. Knock Off can remove helpful defensive items like Leftovers, Rocky Helmet, Eviolite, and Safety Goggles, annoy offensive Pokemon, and scout for Z-Crystals. Core Enforcer is an option to suppress the opposing Pokemon’s ability thanks to Mega Audino’s low Speed, and it won't affect Mega Audino's Poison Heal when used by its Imposter thanks to its Fairy typing. However, it is unable to threaten Poison Heal Xerneas. Defog is a good choice for teams that lack entry hazard removal, as Poison Heal can mitigate some chip damage and Mega Audino has a good matchup against many setters like Giratina and Poison Heal Mega Mewtwo X. Stealth Rock is a solid option on Mega Audino thanks to its good matchup against most defensive Magic Bounce users such as Giratina. Will-O-Wisp allows Mega Audino to cripple otherwise dangerous physical attackers such as Mega Mewtwo X and Kartana while chipping defensive Pokemon like Registeel and Primal Kyogre. In addition, Mega Audino can burn its Imposter, helping physical wallbreakers on its team. Purify is an option to be used with Knock Off to check Poison Heal Pokemon by removing their Toxic Orb and curing their poison status. However, this does come at the cost of a utility move and requiring another Pokemon to Imposter-proof Mega Audino.
Set Details
A negative Speed nature and minimum Speed IVs allow Mega Audino to underspeed most defensive Pokemon to provide a slow pivot and gain momentum. A Relaxed nature lets Mega Audino always avoid the 2HKO from unboosted Poison Heal Regigigas's Facade while taking Anchor Shots from defensive Pokemon like Registeel better. On the other hand, a Sassy nature lets Mega Audino take special moves like Primal Kyogre's Revelation Dance and Poison Heal Xerneas's Moonblast better. Sassy also allows Mega Audino to stay in on -ate users better if required. A Toxic Orb in conjunction with Poison Heal gives Mega Audino status protection, sizable passive healing, and the ability to absorb Knock Off after Toxic Orb has been activated. This allows Mega Audino to counter some offensive Poison Heal Pokemon like Mega Mewtwo X, Primal Kyogre, and Xerneas and switch into defensive Pokemon better, with Poison Heal negating chip damage. In addition, Mega Audino's Fairy typing gives it an immunity to Core Enforcer, which normally forces out other Poison Heal Pokemon.
Usage Tips
Mega Audino can safely switch in against most defensive Pokemon such as Giratina, Zygarde-C, and Registeel thanks to its typing providing immunities and resistances against common utility moves and Poison Heal providing it with a status immunity and passive healing against chip damage. It can also safely switch into some offensive Pokemon such as Poison Heal Mega Mewtwo X, Xerneas, and Primal Kyogre. Due to its low Speed and ability to completely wall Pokemon such as Giratina, Yveltal, and the aforementioned offensive Poison Heal users, Mega Audino is an excellent pivot, and U-turn is generally a safe move to click to gain momentum. If the opposing Pokemon stays in, Mega Audino can easily switch back in and recover chip damage with Poison Heal. After Toxic Orb activation, Mega Audino is also a fantastic Knock Off absorber. If Mega Audino is carrying Stealth Rock, it can force in the opposing Magic Bounce Pokemon on it, which can be easily exploited by teammates that can pressure it effectively. It also allows Mega Audino to force out opposing Pokemon that it usually cannot threaten. Don’t attempt to stay in against powerful attackers such as Mega Mewtwo Y and Mega Diancie, as Mega Audino doesn’t have the defensive typing or exceptional bulk to take them on. If necessary, however, Mega Audino can avoid the OHKO from many attacks and pivot out to let in a teammate safely, as Poison Heal can allow it to recover the health quickly later on. This is risky, and should only be done if the defensive answer cannot safely switch in or the team lacks a safe switch-in. In addition, against Pokemon that have super effective STAB attacks, such as Kartana and non-Normalize Mega Gengar, Mega Audino risks getting OHKOed. Furthermore, Mega Audino can no longer reliably answer many Pokemon such as Zygarde-C and Poison Heal users until it is healthy enough. If Mega Audino is carrying Spiky Shield, leading with it and using Spiky Shield can guarantee a safe Toxic Orb activation. However, this could allow the opposing Pokemon to set up or activate its own Toxic Orb, so it should only be used if there are no Pokemon on the opposing team that can effectively threaten your team. Later on in the game, Spiky Shield can also scout for attacks from unknown movesets or Choice-locked Pokemon such as Choice Band Mega Mewtwo X. Mega Audino should also be played more aggressively with Spiky Shield and pivot frequently, since it lacks the immediate healing. Knock Off is a fairly spammable move, since most defensive Pokemon cannot threaten Mega Audino effectively, and with Mega Audino's low Speed preventing most opposing Pokemon from slowly pivoting out, Mega Audino can threaten to remove the switch-in's item. Thanks to the status immunity, it can switch into most RegenVest users, even if they carry Poison Fang, and threaten to remove their Assault Vest. If it carries Spiky Shield, it can even stay in on Sturdy Shedinja to remove its Protective Pads.
Team Options
Steel-type Pokemon like Registeel, Aegislash, and Celesteela are good partners because they can take on many strong wallbreakers such as Mega Mewtwo Y, Pixilate Mega Diancie, and Refrigerate Kyurem-W that can pressure Mega Audino. Flash Fire Celesteela can blanket check -ate users and Primal Groudon and isn't vulnerable to Spikes compared to other Steel-types, which allows Mega Audino to run a Relaxed nature, as it no longer needs to cover -ate users for the Steel-type Pokemon. Other Flash Fire Steel-type Pokemon can also check -ate users and other wallbreaker Pokemon. They also appreciate Mega Audino's ability to take a hit to scout the set if needed. Bulky physical walls such as Mega Slowbro and Prankster Giratina can answer Mega Mewtwo X, Kartana, and Primal Groudon, all of which easily force Mega Audino out. In return, Mega Audino provides status absorption and a slow pivot to gain momentum. Mega Audino is weak to Mega Gengar, so specially bulky Pokemon like RegenVest Yveltal, Dialga, and Primal Kyogre are useful to switch in against it. In return, Mega Audino acts as a good Knock Off absorber that could remove their Assault Vests. Mega Audino can give opportunities for opposing Pokemon such as Mega Mewtwo X, Mega Mewtwo Y, and Kartana to set up, so answers to setup sweepers are needed; examples include Unaware and Prankster Pokemon such as Zygarde-C, Giratina, Registeel, and Primal Kyogre. Other slow pivots like Registeel and Mega Slowbro can let Mega Audino in safely to activate its Toxic Orb should it not carry Spiky Shield. Strong but frail wallbreakers like Mega Mewtwo Y and Mega Gengar appreciate Mega Audino's ability to switch into checks such as Yveltal and Primal Kyogre and gain momentum. Imposter users can scout for opposing movesets and determine if Mega Audino can safely switch in. Imposter Chansey can also switch in to the dangerous attackers that Mega Audino struggles to deal with. In return, Mega Audino can bring Chansey in with U-turn to safely scout opposing Pokemon without fearing trapping moves as well as providing status absorption and a switch-in against Imposter-proof Poison Heal Pokemon like Xerneas and Mega Mewtwo X. Mega Audino can Imposter-proof many defensive Pokemon such as Giratina and Yveltal, which in return can check dangerous attackers that overwhelm Mega Audino; for example, Giratina can check Regigigas and Mega Mewtwo X, while Yveltal can check Mega Mewtwo Y and Mega Gengar. Since this Mega Audino set deters opposing Imposter Pokemon from switching in by being able to deny their recovery from it or cripple it with Will-O-Wisp or Knock Off, Pokemon such as Sheer Force Mega Mewtwo Y that appreciate opposing Imposter Pokemon being crippled or weakened are good partners. If Purify is run, a separate way to Imposter-proof Mega Audino is needed; this can be any Pokemon that doesn't mind having its item removed, such as Registeel, Ferrothorn, or Ho-Oh.