Tapu Koko Discussion

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Tapu Koko
Electric/Fairy
Abilities: Electric Surge / Electric Surge / Telepathy
HP: 70
Atk: 115
Def: 85
SpAtk: 95
SpDef: 75
Spe: 130

Level Up

L1 - Electric Terrain
L1 - Brave Bird
L1 - Power Swap
L1 - Mean Look
L1 - Quick Attack
L1 - False Swipe
L1 - Withdraw
L1 - Thunder Shock
L8 - Spark
L14 - Shock Wave
L20 - Screech
L26 - Charge
L32 - Wild Charge
L38 - Mirror Move
L43 - Nature’s Madness
L48 - Discharge
L53 - Agility
L58 - Electro Ball

TMs

TM01 - Work Up
TM04 - Calm Mind
TM05 - Roar
TM06 - Toxic
TM10 - Hidden Power
TM12 - Taunt
TM15 - Hyper Beam
TM16 - Light Screen
TM17 - Protect
TM18 - Rain Dance
TM19 - Roost
TM20 - Safeguard
TM21 - Frustration
TM24 - Thunderbolt
TM25 - Thunder
TM27 - Return
TM32 - Double Team
TM33 - Reflect
TM40 - Aerial Ace
TM41 - Torment
TM42 - Facade
TM46 - Thief
TM48 - Round
TM49 - Echoed Voice
TM51 - Steel Wing
TM54 - False Swipe
TM58 - Sky Drop
TM62 - Acrobatics
TM68 - Giga Impact
TM72 - Volt Switch
TM73 - Thunder Wave
TM76 - Fly
TM77 - Psych Up
TM86 - Grass Knot
TM87 - Swagger
TM88 - Sleep Talk
TM89 - U-turn
TM90 - Substitute
TM93 - Wild Charge
TM96 - Nature Power
TM99 - Dazzling Gleam
TM100 - Confide
 
Interestingly has higher attack than SpA, but didn't get play rough (or moonblast for that matter). Koko did get roost for stable recovery though, which is something the other tapus lack.

Amazing speed and typing will probably make him some sort of pivot with terrain boosted vswitch. A mixed or physical set with stuff like wild charge and BB could be a thing, as could roost/cm. Also has a lot of utility with fast twave/taunt/toxic/sub. I could definitely see some sort of stallbreaker set using taunt and his great typing/speed.
 
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>Physically oriented Electric-type
>Still stuck with Wild Charge at best



Although with a free effective +1 on Electric STAB by switching in I suppose 95 is acceptable. Still has the same lackluster coverage, although those Flying attacks give it some use for that high Attack stat. It's also fast enough to challenge Darkrai in Ubers, but with the Dark Void nerf that's not going to have the same potency as in the past; nor does Tapu Koko want to switch in on an attack.
 
Good stat spread, but no physical Fairy STAB kills its OU viability. Random Brave Bird is cool I guess and it could make for a decent mixed attacker in UU.
It does have a few options, and even with lack of a good fairy STAB it gets the defensive perks of the typing.

Tapu Koko@Life Orb
Naive; Atk / SpA / Spe
Electric Surge

Wild Charge
Dazzling Gleam
Grass Knot / HP Ice
Calm Mind / Brave Bird

I think this is the way to go. Wild Charge is the move of choice given STAB, ability, and stat spread, while DGleam is viable fairy STAB for coverage assist dragons and others. Grass knot hits Ground Pokemon and is also boosted by CM, which patches up otherwise average SpA.

Alternately, HP Ice can be used to pick up a quick KO on 4x weaknesses like Lando-T and Gliscor. Brave Bird nails defensive grasses like Amoonguss. Don't forget Volt Switch.

Finally, there may be room for Nature's Madness on one of the sets to shave off a cool 50% from an otherwise solid check.
 
Naive is definitely the nature I'm going to go for, in anticipation future tutors can save it from what is currently a rather dismal movepool. That being said, the speed tier is fantastic, and the design is just too good for me to not use this thing.

STABS + BB seems pretty hard to wall and it gets reliable recovery in roost which is also really nice. A fantastic defensive typing means it will definitely see use as a pivot.
 
Good stat spread, but no physical Fairy STAB kills its OU viability. Random Brave Bird is cool I guess and it could make for a decent mixed attacker in UU.
His totem is bird-themed.

He has the same move pool drought as water pony so he could still work
 
Very messy move pool. Ugh, he is my fave from the Tapus and I was hoping he'd be good, but the lack of good STABs from either attacking side expect T-bolt/V Switch is a mess.
If you want to use T-Bolt, you'd actually be better off using Nature Power instead. It's the same thing but with more PPs.
 
While I was hoping for a higher Sp. Attack stat, and am disappointed by the lack of Moonblast/Play Rough, I think Tapu Koko still has the potential to be a dangerous attacker. Base 130 speed is amazing and even with only 95 Sp. Attack, double STAB Thunderbolt is going to hurt. 95 is not awful; it's only slightly weaker than Starmie for example. Dazzling Gleam, Grass Knot and HP Fire are decent coverage options which let Tapu Koko threaten most potential switch-ins with some prediction. Mixed with Wild Charge + Brave Bird could also be a pretty cool way to mess up what would-be counters such as Amoonguss and Mega Venusaur.

Nature's Madness is also a neat option on any set, as getting a guaranteed 50% damage on the opponent could be very crippling to anything without reliable recovery. It also gets both Volt Switch and U-turn which are good pivot options, and let you switch out to something else which may be able to abuse Electric Terrain. Could Electric spam become a thing again?

I'd be very surprised if Tapu Koko doesn't end up in OU. Maybe not a staple but definitely something to prepare for.
 
I think Tapu Koko will be somewhat of a nice counter pick to the other Tapus. I'm almost certain that Terrain Wars will be a thing, and Electric Terrain isn't that useful to Pokemon besides Tapu Koko since it only gives an electric buff and a sleep immunity. Furthermore, it can hit Fini with SE STAB and Bulu with Brave Bird.

I think Tapu Koko will be nice, although maybe not as a straight up sweeper.
 
This guy could be a good speedy support. Screens, Taunt, etc. Nature's Madness means you don't have to invest much into damage to 2 hit KO someone. Pachurisu style.
 
Tapu Koko even with 115/95 Offensive stats is still going to be pretty powerful as its Electric moves with hit like a truck with LO. Very cool typing and one if the fastest pokemon in game with prove this pokemon to be quite ferocious.
 
Mixed LO is definitely going to be a thing with this mon, Wild Charge is actually more powerful than Volt Tackle alone if we take Electric Terrain into account, now coupled with that speed and being Immune to Spore,Sleep Powder alongside Paralysis this could be a good pivot.
 
Thought I should bring this up: Took a peek into the new items pastebin and it looks like we have a universa Terrain Extender as well as "Seed" items that boost a stat once it lands on a terrain. May be wise to consider these when building a team up, especially if you want to combo with a Mega or Ultra beast like Mega Mnectric or Xurcitree.

Grassy and Electric seeds boost Defense, while Misty and Psychic Seeds boost Sp.D
 

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252 SpA Life Orb Starmie Hydro Pump vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Mew: 196-231 (57.4 - 67.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Life Orb Tapu Koko Thunderbolt vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Mew in Electric Terrain: 231-274 (67.7 - 80.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+1 252 SpA Life Orb Tapu Koko Thunderbolt vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Mew in Electric Terrain: 347-409 (101.7 - 119.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Dunno where people are getting the idea that Tapu Koko is weak from. Starmie certainly goes quite far with just 100 SpA, and it doesn't have Drizzle helping it.

This thing looks like it'll be a pretty good Calm Mind sweeper or just fast attacker with Volt Switch. I don't really see pure physical sets catching on since Wild Charge kinda blows and it lacks physical Fairy STAB, but Electric Terrain alone lets it get a lot out of its modest base SpA.
 

Theorymon

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So I was just doing some battle spot calcs for this thing. Lets take a look at two sets: A mixed attacker and a special attacker. The Dedenne is Tapu Koko, and the +1 assumes Electric Terrain (which since this is 3v3, it will be fine).

+1 252 Atk Life Orb Dedenne Wild Charge vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Suicune: 182-218 (87.9 - 105.3%) -- 25% chance to OHKO

That's pretty impressive for a physical attacker to nearly OHKO Suicune of all things, even with an SE hit!

+1 252 Atk Life Orb Dedenne Wild Charge vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Mega Gengar: 165-195 (98.8 - 116.7%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO

I know OHKOing Mega Gengar may not seem like a big accomplishment, but since they often go bulky, its nice to almost always avoid getting smashed by Sludge Bomb.

4 SpA Life Orb Dedenne Dazzling Gleam vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Mega Salamence: 127-151 (74.2 - 88.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Not gonna lie, this calc annoys me, since Mega Salamence OHKOs with Earthquake. This might be one of those cases where using a mon on a Stealth Rock team might not be a bad idea!

+1 252 Atk Life Orb Dedenne Wild Charge vs. 244 HP / 168+ Def Thundurus: 136-161 (73.5 - 87%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Note that while this isn't a OHKO, Thundurus isn't going to 2HKO back nor can it paralyze. Also, as a bonus, Tapu Koko does actually OHKO offensive variants!

+1 252 Atk Life Orb Dedenne Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Mega Venusaur: 153-182 (81.8 - 97.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

That is Mega Venusaur's best shot at Tapu Koko, since offensive variants actually get OHKOed by Brave Bird! Yeah Im cheating a bit since this is after Work Up, but the idea of destroying Mega Venusaur sounds rad imo!

Now lets look at another set: a Special Attacker. That may sounds crazy with only 95 base Attack, but there is something important to note: Under Electric Terrain, Tapu Koko's Thuderbolt does almost as much damage as Xurcitree! So its no slouch here actually.

+1 252 SpA Life Orb Dedenne Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Suicune: 218-257 (105.3 - 124.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Ah, now Suicune can't try a clutch Sheer Cold unless its those freaking Assault Vest sets!

252 SpA Life Orb Dedenne Dazzling Gleam vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Mega Salamence: 159-190 (92.9 - 111.1%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO

The chance is still a bit iffy, but Mega Salamence is gonna be iffy on this especially with a bit of prior damage.

I could do more calcs, but I just wanted to illustrate how powerful Tapu Koko was BEFORE it got a boost. Note that Tapu Koko gets Calm Mind for a special attacking set that lets it OHKO the likes of Garchomp, and it also gets Grass Knot for Hippowdon. I might even try Work Up after seeing that Mega Venusaur calc! It would also let Tapu Koko smash through Garchomp and Mega Salamence.

Overall, while Tapu Koko does start showing some problems when it can't use its Electric-STAB, it hits like a truck when it can, and it even stops sleep while the Terrain is up, which sounds boss against Breloom leads. Can't wait to try this thing in Battle Spot singles! It might be cool in Doubles too, but that's a different story.
 
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