Assault Vest and Weakness Policy

I haven't seen this anywhere around these parts yet, so why not start it?

As you all (should) know, X and Y brought us two new items, the Assault Vest and Weakness Policy. The former raises the holder's SpD stat by 1.5x, but it prevents the use of non-damaging moves. The latter gives a 2x boost to the holder's Atk and SpA stat when hit by a super-effective move.

So, what do you think about these new toys? Tyranitar will definitely find use for the Assault Vest, giving it incredible SpD. Also, Weakness Policy works well with Dragonite, giving it free 2x boosts with Multiscale reducing damage on super-effective hits.

Discuss set recommendations, uses and other stuff. It's a discussion after all.

I bought the Assault Vest but I really haven't gotten the chance to use it that much, my Hitmonchan can take Special hits with it very well but Hitmonchan is usually dealt with by the use of Physical hits either way. For what I've seen in youtube wifi battles is that people like to use Assault Vest on Goodra to increase its already impressive Sp. Defense.

Regarding Weakness Policy I've played a lot against Weakness Policy Dragonite and it is quite scary after a Dragon Dance+WP boost.

Snorlax is another good user of Assault Vest. It's mainly an attacker and it could use the extra special bulk, considering last gen's power creep:
-Return/Body Slam
-Earthquake
-Pursuit
-Wild Charge/Crunch
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 252 Atk/52 Def/200 SDef/4 Spe
Item: Assault Vest
Ability: Thick Fat

I've been using the Assault Vest Goodra and it seems to work really well as a special wall.
With a 252 SpA investment it can hit back pretty hard too.

I am really intrigued by the Weakness Card Dragonite, I think I will give it a try.

indiana2solo said:

I've been using the Assault Vest Goodra and it seems to work really well as a special wall.
With a 252 SpA investment it can hit back pretty hard too.

I am really intrigued by the Weakness Card Dragonite, I think I will give it a try.

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I have to say I'm interested in a Multiscale Weakness Policy Dragonite as well. It sounds really powerful (assuming I can do it right). Too bad I'm gonna have to wait until after Christmas to bring my Dragonite up. I'm not raising another one with the right Nature, Multiscale, and Extreme Speed.

I think that Assault Vest will get a lot of use, particularly on Pokémon who wanna have monstrous Sp.Def or would like a Sp.Def boost but prefer the EVs to be elsewhere. Weakness Policy will only probably be useful on a few Pokémon, since you have to take a supereffective hit, which'll leave most Pokemon open to a 2HKO or priority attack.

While i have not yet used these items for myself, i have heard and seen some pokemon with these items and some have wrecked me. Tyranitar with either of these items is a monster that is tough to deal with. Weakness policy is very interesting on Tyranitar because of its already high defenses allowing it to take a hit, activating the weakness policy, then KOing your poke in response because it moves last.

Also, another common assault vest user that has already been stated is Goodra. It's a tank, specially.

Personally, i feel that these two items and strategies/sets with them haven't seen enough use yet, mainly because the items and X/Y are still fairly new.

I just made a thread about the possibility of Weakness Policy Dragonite...I thought I was being original, but I guess it's already been done though. Anyway, as stated above, I think Weakness Policy Dragonite can be very powerful.

I've been using an Assault Vest set with Conkeldurr that's been pretty effective. Unfortunately, it prevents use of the common Bulk-Up set, but I find that there's so much status going around that Conkeldurr ends up getting a Guts Attack boost anyways. On top of that, it's fun to be able to sponge special hits that Conk usually can't handle. Also, not using Bulk Up means you can run a 4th move, for which I've been running Poison Jab to hit the Fairys that resist Payback/Drain Punch/Mach Punch. Pretty strong set in my opinion

zygardian harbinger said:

Well, the Assault Vest is only useful when you use it on a Pokemon that doesn't use status moves. You should never use it if you're running a set on a Pokemon that uses status moves, as the limitation can severely restrict the user, i.e. the Substitute Dragon Dance tactic. Also, it wouldn't make too much sense to use it on a Pokemon where the Special Defense is already high and not a problem. So putting it on a Tyranitar with powerful Offensive moves, just blasting away while it doesn't take much damage by a Hydro Pump, could be quite useful.

Weakness Policy is a pretty interesting item. But that shouldn't be used on a Pokemon like Magnezone with Levitate where there are only two weakness. Using it on a Dragonite with Multiscale would be a pretty interesting move, since it does have a few weaknesses, such as Rock-, Dragon-, Ice-, and those annoying new Fairy-types. Also, it depends on what kind of Pokemon you would be using it on. There's no use using the Weakness Policy on a Dual Screener Meowstic. But it can definitely see some use with Sweepers, Tanks, and Leads.

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You forget a major weakness in most dragons which is Ice. Regardless of the fact that fairy is an added weakness. terrible Sp.Def and Ice moves are the bane of Dragon types

zygardian harbinger said:

Also, it wouldn't make too much sense to use it on a Pokemon where the Special Defense is already high and not a problem. So putting it on a Tyranitar with powerful Offensive moves, just blasting away while it doesn't take much damage by a Hydro Pump, could be quite useful.

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erm, im guessing you meant to say slapping an assault vest on a pokemon which has already high special defense will make it a premier special wall... lel :p

zygardian harbinger said:

Weakness Policy is a pretty interesting item. But that shouldn't be used on a Pokemon like Magnezone with Levitate where there are only two weakness. Using it on a Dragonite with Multiscale would be a pretty interesting move, since it does have a few weaknesses, such as Rock-, Dragon-, Ice-, and those annoying new Fairy-types. Also, it depends on what kind of Pokemon you would be using it on. There's no use using the Weakness Policy on a Dual Screener Meowstic. But it can definitely see some use with Sweepers, Tanks, and Leads.

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the weakness policy is an interesting item. i only know of Dragonite as an effective user for now, but we'll see in the future :p

Aegislash is cool for using Weakness Policy too. Also I really like Assault Vest Excavalier and Scizor (Especially since they don't resist Dark or Ghost anymore).

All-in-all Weakness Policy doesn't seem as useful to me, but still neat.

Sorry for bumping, however I just noticed this topic.

After seeing someone post a set using Golem + Sturdy and Weakness Policy, I went looking and found something (albeit gimmicky-ish.. ish) I thought was interesting:

Carracosta @ Weakness Policy
Nature: Naughty
EVs: ?
Ability: Solid Rock
- Shell Smash / Curse
- Waterfall / Aqua Jet
- Stone Edge
- Ice Beam

Something along those lines. Switch into something it threatens -> SS -> SS + WP -> ??? -> Profit.

Or what about a Rhyperior under Sandstorm? Or Camerupt under Sun? (Both Solid Rock users) Or Automize / Rock Polish Aggron?

Tbh i think Assault Vest is kind of noob. Yay you get more sp.def but you now cannot hold leftovers, use support/healing moves so get worn down quicker. see: hazards, switching in and ss/hail. Pointless and not enough of a pay off imo. :/

Weakness policy can be pretty awesome, especially on bulky ass set up pokemon.

As mentioned by Dark Azelf, Assault Vest users lack Leftovers recovery, which is why Wish support is appreciated, if not mandatory.

I think the lack of lefties differs depending on what ruleset you play in.
If you mainly do lv.50 flat 6-to-3 like the Battle Spot, vest is annoying as heck.

Tortured_Soul said:

Sorry for bumping, however I just noticed this topic.

After seeing someone post a set using Golem + Sturdy and Weakness Policy, I went looking and found something (albeit gimmicky-ish.. ish) I thought was interesting:

Carracosta @ Weakness Policy
Nature: Naughty
EVs: ?
Ability: Solid Rock
- Shell Smash / Curse
- Waterfall / Aqua Jet
- Stone Edge
- Ice Beam

Something along those lines. Switch into something it threatens -> SS -> SS + WP -> ??? -> Profit.

Or what about a Rhyperior under Sandstorm? Or Camerupt under Sun? (Both Solid Rock users) Or Automize / Rock Polish Aggron?

Click to expand...

Ya know, that's actually a bit interesting. Under the right conditions, Solid Rock users might make good users of Weakness Policy. Paticularly that Carracosta. Shell Smash+WP sounds pretty destructive.