ParAttraConFlinch

[Amethyst]

What I'm about to detail is a move-set/strategy that those members more familiar with battling me know and fear, despite the fact that such a set, while violating no tiers, is almost completely unlisted on Smogon or other competitive sites. My question is- why? I've swept teams using this basic annoyer, and the lovely thing about it is that with just a little bit of luck, it can function as a sweeper or a wall, stalling out the end-game of a battle, or tearing through the the opponents' counters one by one.

Luck -is- the problem, mind you, so as is the case with anything, it can't be perfect. The fact is, though, the odds are far in your favor, when you go for the 4-move combo that makes Parafusion look like child's play.

Here's some numbers for you:

A Paralyzed Pokémon attacks 75% of the time
A Confused or Infatuated Pokémon attacks 50% of the time.
So:

Parafusion itself means 75% of a 50% rate, totalling a [b]37.5%[/b] chance of attack.
Add attraction into that, and it drops to a measly [b]18.75%[/b]
I'll be focusing on three Pokémon I know to use this set (though it is far from common- I've only seen it once besides myself) who's Flinching moves, come in a 20, 30 and 60% flinch rates, meaning, after factoring in their accuracies, their opposing Pokémon have an 80, 70, and 43% of attacking.
Add this into the 18.75% from the three stacked status ailments, and the opposing Pokémon's chance of successfully launching an attack becomes [b]15%, 13.125%, or a whopping 8.0625%.[/b]

Only eight out of every one hundred of your opponent's attacks work? I'll take it.

Let's meet the candidates though-
Now, most of you know my Mismagius. It runs:
-Thunder Wave
-Attract
-Confuse Ray
-Dark Pulse (20% flinch)

Also surprisingly viable is a Stantler-
-Thunder Wave
-Attract
-Confuse Ray
-Stop (30% flinch)

However, most appealing, dropping the attack rate to a single digit is the fearsome Serene Grace Togekiss-
-Thunder Wave
-Attract
-Sweet Kiss
-Air Slash (30% flinch, becoming 60% with Serene Grace ability)

Notice that all three Pokémon come with at least one immunity. Switch in on a predicted immunity attack, or send it out after a KO for best results. In the former case, you have the added benefit from a potential retreat, allowing you to get an early first status on the opponent. Understandably, defensive but speedy EVs and Leftovers support maximize these set's performance. Let's assume those are used for all three. So, which Pokémon is the best choice?

Mismagius comes with an impressive three resistances between its Levitate ability and Ghost typing, granting that advantage over its competition. Of the three, Mismagius also has a significantly higher speed, which means even if you fail to wall away the opponent's
team, you can still have badly crippled one or several of your enemies with Thunder Wave, as there are surprisingly few things that will out-speed a max-speed Mismagius. Dark Pulse is used in place of Astonish despite the lower PP and flinch rate due to Mismagius' noticably higher Special attack, and the simple fact that Dark attacks, while having the same strengths as ghost, cannot be shut down by a normal type. Dark Pulse, however, has its drawback in having a lower PP and flinch rate compared to Stomp or Air Slash.

Stantler, on the other hand, has better physical defenses, along with a bolstering Intimidate ability, further dropping the opponent's attack, meaning it does have that leg up over the comptetion (nevermind it's the only one of the three that really has legs...) It's Speed still beats Togekiss, however it has only one immunity, and overall average stats to back it up. Stomp's flinch rate is 33% higher than that of the preferred Mismagius, however, in the end, only a 2% difference is shown when the opponent is fully statused. Because of its average states, lacking immunities, and insignificant flinch rate advantage, Stantler is probably the least optimal of the three.

Based on the flinch rates alone, Togekiss is the definite top choice here. In addition, it has two immunities, the highest base stats of the three, easily functioning as a special wall with this set, but at the cost of having the lowest speed of the three. In addition, while the move Air Slash is the only attack of these three to recieve STAB, it is also the only attack that does not have 100% accuracy. Indeed, Accuracy is one of Togekiss's faults, as unlike Mismagius or Stantler, Sweet Kiss only has a 75% chance to confuse the opponents, making this set riskier in that regard.

In the end, however, the simple fact that its flinch rate doubles Stantler's and triples Mismagius may make Togekiss the highest preference between the three. Mismagius, however, may have more of a place on the average team, thanks to its multiple immunities, vastly superior speeds, and surefire accuracy

So let's look at this a different way then-
All statuses up and flinch moves are a-go, leaving you them with a 15% attack rate, or about 20% for the turns you have to renew Confusion (or 8 and 11% for Togekiss). This means that about four (two for Togekiss) out of twenty attacks will hit. With leftovers, you recover 1/16th of your health per turn. If the successful hits are evenly distributed throughout the attempts, this means about four out of every five turns (nine out of ten for Togekiss) will be free left-overs recovery, meaning 1/4th for Mismagius and Stantler, or 9/16ths for Togekiss. Togekiss will recover over half of its health before the next probably attack. Because of that simple fact alone, Togekiss is probably a much securer choice.

As far as using the set, supposing you and an opponent switch in on equal footing, full health, etc, there is sometimes doubt as to which attack to start with.
The number one rule is that you are not to use your Flinch attack until the opposing Pokémon has all three statuses already.
So, which of the three do you start with, assuming its vulnerable to any of them?
Consider that Confusion and Attract have higher attack-blocking rates. Your number one priority is to protect yourself. The difference between Confusion and Attraction, however, is that one hurts and fades away, while the other is permanent. If you're in a rush to KO the foe for some reason, Confusion is the way to go, but for your typical stall, Attraction is probably the most secure start, then followed by confusion.
There are two exceptions in which you should use Thunder Wave first. Firstly, as Attract and Confusion will be erased if the opposing Pokémon switches out, Thunder Wave is the only permanent option. It should be used if you suspect an immediate switch, as some opponents will attempt to stall out your PP by switching out of the statuses. In such cases, the best course of action is to predict their switches, and get their surviving Pokémon paralyzed, and then start chipping away with your flinch attacks as they switch, statusing to force their switches.
The second condition under which Thunder Wave should be used first is if the opposing Pokémon is speedy. Flinch does nothing if you can't strike first, and while at first it will only drop your opponent's attack rate from 100% to 75% it also means, with it's quartering of their speed, you're almost sure to go twice before their next attack, meaning after another Attract or Confuse Ray, their rate reaches 37.5% before they can do anything more.


I believe that's about all I have to say on the subject. What I am curious as to is why this often effective strategy isn't far more popular. Anyone got any ideas?

[Stars]

Attract probably isn't too popular because it depends on gender, which isn't consistently reliable. Confusion can be gotten rid of by switching (though it still costs the other person a turn, I suppose), and Ground types and certain other pokemon are immune to Thunder Wave. In response to that last point, some people will use Body Slam on a Serene Grace set. It hits Ground types and still has a reasonable chance to paralyze.