Welcome to the thirty-sixth issue of 6th Generation's Pokemon of the Week! This week we'll be discussing Hoenn's Electric wolf. This week we'll be discussing Manectric.
Electrike stores electricity in its fur for discharging. It also uses this electricity to stimulate its muscles, heightening its reaction speed. Its fur will give off sparks if a storm is approaching. Manectric rarely appears before people. but can be found in packs where lightning has struck the ground. It discharges electricity from its mane and creates thunderclouds overhead to drop lightning bolts.
Base Stats: 70 HP / 75 Attack / 60 Defense / 105 Sp. Attack / 60 Sp. Defense / 105 Speed
Mega Manectric: 70 HP / 75 Attack / 80 Defense / 135 Sp. Attack / 80 Sp. Defense / 135 Speed
Manectric has always been a very mediocre Pokemon. In the generation it was introduced, it learned only Electric moves and Bite as a special attack for coverage (remember that this was before the physical/special split). It has gained numerous movepool additions over the years, such as Flamethrower, Overheat, Signal Beam and even Switcheroo, but even so, there have always been much better options to use. This generation would be no different, but Manectric has received a Mega Evolution that has seen it rise to OU status.
Since Manectric itself isn't worth discussing in OU, and since both it and its mega function exactly the same in terms of the moveset, we'll only be discussing the Mega Evolution this week.
Manectric@ Manectite Lightningrod Timid nature (+Speed, -Attack) EVs: 252 Sp. Attack / 252 Speed / 4 Defense Thunderbolt Volt Switch Hidden Power Ice Overheat |
Mega Manectric was overlooked at first, given that Life Orb Manectric is more powerful, but there are many advantages that Mega Manectric possesses that are nearly unique to it. Gaining Intimidate along with STAB Volt Switch is something that only Mega Manectric and Luxray can claim, and Mega Manectric is by far the better of these two, especially with his incredible base 135 Speed.
In any case, Thunderbolt is your main STAB attack, sporting good base power and doesn't force Manectric out. Volt Switch works really well in tandem with Intimidate; Intimidate tends to force switches, and you can immediately punish those switches by dealing damage to them and switching to a Pokemon that threatens whatever they've brought out. If they haven't switched (assuming they're a physical attacker), whatever you bring in is taking a softened blow compared to what it would have without Manectric's Intimidate. Hidden Power Ice deals with Ground types that are immune to Volt Switch, as well as punishing Dragons with a 4x Ice weakness, while Overheat packs enough power to OHKO common Steel types such as Excadrill, Ferrothorn, and bulky Mega Scizor. The Sp. Attack drop is also mitigated by Volt Switch, dealing a bit of damage while switching out and restoring your stats.
Mega Manectric's fantastic base 135 Speed allows it to attack before nearly all common unboosted threats found in OU. The EVs allow it to outspeed neutral nature base 85 Speed Pokemon that have had a Speed boost (such as Dragon Dance Dragonite and Gyarados), which is handy since it can OHKO both of them (after Dragonite's Multiscale has been broken). Mega Manectric is a powerful special attacker, but should not be thought of a sweeper. Rather, it is a attacking supporter, netting great Super Effective coverage for many Pokemon that have a 4x weakness to his moves. Intimidate and Volt Switch on top of his Speed are what truely make Mega Manectric OU material.
Since Mega Manectric will be switching in and out so often, Defog or Rapid Spin support is vital for keeping it healthy. Latios makes a great offensive partner that can Defog, since Latios's Levitate allows it to come in on Earthquakes aimed at Manectric. Similarly, Latias makes a wonderful defensive Defog user for the same reasons, depending on your preference. Skarmory also has access to Defog and is immune to Ground, while the Electric weakness it has is mitigated by Manectric's resistance to it (or immunity, before Mega Evolving). Boosting Sweepers make great partners for Mega Manectric, taking advantage of Mega Manectric's Intimidate to allow safer boosting. Powerful and fast U-Turn Pokemon can form a great VoltTurn core. Some good Pokemon that can do this are Choice Scarf Landorus-Therian and Choice Band Talonflame. Scizor, while being terribly slow, has a very powerful STAB U-Turn that will help rack up damage quickly.
Electrike can be found on Route 10, but it is Y exclusive. Manectric can be found in some Friend Safaris if you've got the right friend, but if you've got X and don't have that, you'll need to find someone to trade you one, or transfer from a previous generation. Here is what I'd recommend for an in-game Manectric:
Manectric Thunderbolt Flamethrower Volt Switch Snarl / Ice Fang / Hidden Power Ice |
Using Manectric in-game isn't too different to how it operates in competitive, but assembling all the pieces is a bit harder. Thunderbolt is your main attack, dealing the most damage on average. Flamethrower is used for coverage against Grass types, as well as handling Steel types and Bug types. Volt Switch deals good damage while switching out, which ic occasionally useful in-game. The final slot... is because Manectric's special movepool is very sparse. Snarl is pretty much the only special attack left worth mentioning, and it's only very occasionally useful. Ice Fang is an egg move that has wonderful coverage alongside Electric and Fire, but operates off Manectric's much lesser Attack stat. Finally, if you can get it or just happen to have it, Hidden Power Ice is the best option for this slot, but is listed last because of the difficulty/luck factor in obtaining it.
Manectric has long been among my favorite Pokemon, and the shiny form is totally awesome. I like the Mega Evolution too, but not as much as the original form. I've got a perfect Hidden Power Ice Electrike bred and ready for OmegaRuby, along with my 5 other favorite Pokemon, and I can't wait to go back to Hoenn with all my Pokemon. I've never had a dog in real life, but I imagine they're loyal and reliable like Manectric. Maybe easier to pet.
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