So here's the rundown. I'm currently in the process of rebuilding my Pokemon team. One of them is an Electivire. I run him as a mixed sweeper in OU, and he's won me many a match. Here's his current moveset.
Bruce (Black Belt)
Jolly w. EVs maxing speed, and the rest split between special and physical.
- Thunderbolt
- Flamethrower
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch
Now if you're a competitive battler, this set probably looks weird to you, but I swear it works. Anyway, that's not what this is about.
Thunderbolt now only does 90 BP damage, and I'm starting to feel it. It was never a powerhouse move because of Bruce's base special, but it was always useful now its less so. It's made me consider an alternative. But let me clarify two things. First, I'm not giving him a physical electric move. Thunder Punch is two weak, and I have a thing against using moves with recoil, so Volt Tackle-for-babies is out of the question as well. Second, Along similar lines, I don't like using moves with less than 100% accuracy moves. Reliability > raw power in a heart beat, so Thunder is also out of the question.
So, as per the thread title, I'm considering Electro Ball.
If anyone is curious, the damage formula for Electra Ball is:
A) 150 base power, if target´s speed is lower or equal to 1/4 (25%) of user´s speed
B) 120 base power, if target´s speed is greater than 1/4 (25%) of user´s speed and lower or equal to 1/3 (33%) of user´s speed
C) 80 base power, if target´s speed is greater than 1/3 (33%) of user´s speed and lower or equal to 1/2 (50%) of user´s speed
D) 60 base power, if target´s speed is greater than 1/2 (50%) of user´s speed
Now Electivire's base speed is 95, which, when maxed out in EVs and a beneficial nature at level 100, will typically hover around 300 points depending on the IVs. Now here's the thing - I don't care if I never reach A, and I think Electivire is fast enough that it will rarely ever reach D. What I really care about are B and C. If I can, fairly regularly, pull off a 120BP Electroball that would be awesome and would clearly outclass Thunderbolt. On the other hand, if it hits C, even regularly, I'm only losing 10 bp to thunderbolt.
Another two things to consider is that, first, I have at least two other Pokemon on my current team with Thunderwave and I spam that shit, and second, Bruce obviously has Motordrive. Both up the usability of Electroball, so that may sway things more in Electroball's favor.
So my question to you all is this, to you think the trade off would be worth it, or should I stick with Thunderbolt?
