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[OVERVIEW]
Alolan Persian has quite a few niches that allow it to warrant use on a team. First off, it has access to the coveted Parting Shot, which provides momentum, lowers the foe's attacking stats, and, if used with Darkinium Z, can heal an incoming teammate to full HP and get rid of any status they may have. Another niche is access to the ability Fur Coat, doubling Alolan Persian's Defense and making it a decent check to physical attackers. This, in combination with a Dark typing, allows Alolan Persian to pivot into the likes of Skuntank, Alolan Raticate, and Absol. Alolan Persian's Speed makes it faster than important threats like Alolan Raichu and Archeops. It also has a vast array of support moves to help many different team archetypes, including Knock Off. Despite these qualities, Alolan Persian can find itself hard to stand out, as it doesn't have a large movepool for attacking, so offensive sets are generally outclassed by Nasty Plot Liepard. It struggles to damage foes that don't take much from Foul Play, and it also doesn't appreciate the Fighting-types in PU like Hitmonchan and Gurdurr. That being said, Z-Parting Shot is usually worthwhile enough to consider using Alolan Persian.
[SET]
name: Bulky Pivot
move 1: Parting Shot
move 2: Taunt
move 3: Foul Play
move 4: Toxic
item: Darkinium Z
ability: Fur Coat
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
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Parting Shot allows Alolan Persian to be an effective pivot, lowering the stats of the opposing Pokemon, and can be used with Darkinium Z to bring a teammate back to full HP. Taunt is used to stop setup sweepers like Swords Dance Zangoose and Calm Mind Mesprit, bulky Pokemon trying to recover like Gastrodon and Palossand, and entry hazard setters like Golurk and Archeops. Foul Play is used to damage physical attackers and is useful because it doesn't rely on Alolan Persian's far-below-average Attack stat. Toxic can further help wear down walls like Gastrodon, Lanturn, and Regirock.
Set Details
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252 Speed EVs and a Jolly nature maximize Alolan Persian's Speed, while the rest of the EVs are dumped into HP to make it as good of a pivot as possible. Fur Coat is Alolan Persian's most useful ability, doubling its Defense and letting it switch into Pokemon like Archeops, Absol, and Golurk. Darkinium Z can be used with Parting Shot to bring in a teammate to full HP or Foul Play to pick off something weakened with Black Hole Eclipse. A Jolly nature is used so the power of your Z-Move isn't weakened if you are in a position to use it. Leftovers can be used to provide passive recovery and make Alolan Persian harder to wear down, though Z-Parting Shot is Alolan Persian's main niche, so Leftovers should only be used if you already have another Z-Move user.
Usage Tips
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Alolan Persian is best used as a pivot to take a physical hit from Pokemon like Regirock, Golurk, and even Archeops to a degree and switch out with Parting Shot. Alolan Persian can make an excellent lead with its fast Taunt, stopping opposing leads from getting up entry hazards, and Parting Shot allows it to scout for the opponent's initial switch-in and gain momentum. Toxic should be used as a way of wearing down Pokemon that can switch into Alolan Persian and don't take much damage from Foul Play like Palossand and Gastrodon. If running Darkinium Z, it is helpful to save your Z-Parting Shot until a later part of the game so a worn down teammate can benefit from the full heal. Foul Play can be turned into Black Hole Eclipse in a pinch if Alolan Persian needs to hit a special attacker that wouldn't take much from Foul Play. Knock Off can also be used on Alolan Persian's switch-ins to help wear down checks and even prevent some from recovering with Leftovers.
Team Options
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Alolan Persian typically finds its home on more offensive teams as a way of gaining momentum and providing a setup opportunity for a teammate, though it can also be used on bulkier teams as a decent check to physical attackers. Setup sweepers like Nasty Plot Jynx, Lilligant, and Absol greatly appreciate Alolan Persian's access to Parting Shot, as it gives them a way of coming in on a weakened attack and being able to set up. Strong breakers like Drampa and Magmortar value Z-Parting Shot to have a second chance at breaking through a team. In particular, Archeops really appreciates being able to come back in at full HP so it remains out of Defeatist. Psychic-types like Mesprit and Musharna can check Fighting-types for Alolan Persian while benefiting from Alolan Persian's ability to check Dark- and Ghost-types. Mesprit is particularly notable as a partner because it can help Alolan Persian by forming a momentum core with Parting Shot and U-turn and set up Stealth Rock to get more damage on foes when forcing switches. Alolan Persian also likes a Fairy-type check like Alolan Dugtrio or Skuntank to help with Clefairy and Granbull. Users of Spikes and other entry hazards like Ferroseed and Qwilfish can partner with Alolan Persian to help rack up damage on foes from the switches that Parting Shot usually forces.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
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Knock Off is an option to cripple some Pokemon that rely on their items like Clefairy but has far less consistent damage output against physical attackers. Fake Out can be run over Toxic on a team that already has Toxic Spikes support to help rack up damage while the foe is unable to attack. A Nasty Plot set can be used with Alolan Persian's good Speed and decent coverage with Dark Pulse, Hidden Power Ground, and Thunderbolt to help deal with Pokemon such as Skuntank and Archeops and can also run Darkinium Z for a one-time nuke. Hypnosis can be run to leave a foe unable to attack, though its low accuracy can leave Alolan Persian vulnerable. Alolan Persian can function as a weather setter with Sunny Day or Rain Dance and then pivot out with Parting Shot, though Liepard generally performs this better with its access to Prankster.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Fighting-types**: Primeape in particular is a problem for Alolan Persian, as the common Choice Scarf set outspeeds Alolan Persian and does a huge chunk of damage with Close Combat. Parting Shot also boosts Primeape's Attack by three stages if used against it and makes it harder for the incoming Pokemon to handle it. Hitmonchan and Gurdurr can both pick off the offensive set with Mach Punch if Alolan Persian takes too much damage, and Foul Play doesn't do enough damage to threaten them.
**Fairy-types**: Clefairy is a hard counter to any Alolan Persian set, as it doesn't have a good way of damaging it. Togetic and Granbull can also do fairly well versus Alolan Persian but don't like taking too much damage from Toxic.
**Special Attackers**: Special attackers like Magmortar and Drampa can break through Alolan Persian quite easily while not taking much damage from Foul Play and can force it to pivot out, though Toxic and Parting Shot can be annoying to them.
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