Community POTW #43

[The3DOstrich]

Cofagrigus is a very good bulky ghost, the only problem it faces is severe competition from eviolite Dusclops. Calm Mind does make it a pain to take down though.

Cofagrigus @ Leftovers
Nature: Bold (+Def, -Atk)
Evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
~ Calm Mind
~ Shadow Ball
~ Hidden Power [Fighting]
~ Rest

Set is very simple, but works great. Calm Mind raises your special stats, and after a couple of boosts, Cofagrigus can take hit on both sides of the spectrum fantastically. Shadow Ball is for STAB, while Hidden Power Fighting offers flawless coverage. Rest, despite its drawbacks, is Cofagrigus' only form of recovery, and after a few Calm Minds, it can sleepwithout fear of being OHKO'd.

Yamask also has a use, and makes a great suicide Trick Roomer.

Yamask @ Focus Sash
Nature: Any speed lowering nature
Ivs: 0 Spe
~ Trick Room
~ Destiny Bond / Grudge
~ Disable
~ Memento / Power Share / Will-O-Wisp / Toxic / Mean Look / Haze / Curse

This has to be level one to work, and is best being used as a lead. Any attack will get you to one HP, allowing you to get off a Trick Room. If the opponent is trying to set up, Disable it so they have to attack. Since they have to attack, Destiny Bon lets you take them down with you. Grudge also works well, as it allows for you to completely deplete the PP of the move that knocked you out. The last slot is very much filler. Memento is if they switched on your Destiny, and will force them to switch next turn. Power Share allows you to significantly cut an opposing sweeper's attack stats to very low levels. Will-O-Wisp can be used if your Focus Sash is still intact to cripple physical attackers, while Toxic cripples walls. Mean Look can prevent switches, and after Disabling the opponent's set up moves, you'll almost garuntee a Destiny Bond. Haze gets rid of any boosts they acquired beforehand, while Curse will force a switch. For this to work, you NEED Rapid Spin and anti- Hail and Sandstorm support.

 

[Blue Harvest]

Oh Reno there is literally two viable Tentacruel sets and you didn't accurately list either of them

 

[Vandslaux]

Really, only the first set is close to standard, except you NEVER run Ice Beam on a bulky Water that's neutral to Grass.

 

[Charizard Lizzy]

Ah yes, Cofagrigus, the bulky ghost that just makes me want to pull my hair out every time I see it. For such a defensive wall, Cofagrigus is surprisingly strong in its Special Attack stat. All it had to do to get that blessing was sacrifice a lot of Speed – Oh wait, Trick Room exists! Base 30 Speed makes you really, really fast in a Trick Room.

Abilities:
Mummy – Cofagrigus’ only trait, and a decent one at that. If an opponent makes contact with you, their ability turns into Mummy. This has the potential to cripple an opponent.


:563:
The set you’ll probably see the most
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Mummy
EVs: 252 Sp. Def / 252 Sp. Atk / 4 HP –OR—252 Sp. Def / 252 Def / 4 Sp. Atk –OR—68 Def / 240 Sp. Atk / 200 Sp. Def
Nature: Calm (+ Sp. Def, - Atk) / Quiet (+Sp. Atk, - Spd.)

- Calm Mind
- Will-o-wisp
- Shadow Ball / Hex
- Hidden Power [Fighting]

Although Cofagrigus has access to the awesome Nasty Plot via breeding, Calm Mind will not only increase its Special Attack, but also raise and patch up its lesser Special Defense. Will-o-wisp will further add to Cofagrigus’ bulk by burning the opponent and halving their Attack. Shadow Ball is a classic STAB Ghost move, although Hex will have much higher base power when the opponent is burned. Hidden Power [Fighting] pairs nicely with Shadow Ball.

Cofagrigus can also set up its own Trick Room. Which attack it replaces from the roster above is up to you.

Cofagrigus doesn’t have any healing moves (outside of Rest), so holding the Leftovers will give it back some health each turn.


:563:
CURSE YOU!!!
Item: Leftovers / Chesto Berry
Ability: Mummy
EVs: 252 Sp. Def / 252 Sp. Atk / 4 HP –OR—252 Sp. Def / 252 Def / 4 Sp. Atk –OR—68 Def / 240 Sp. Atk / 200 Sp. Def
Nature: Calm (+ Sp. Def, - Atk) / Quiet (+Sp. Atk, - Spd.)

- Mean Look
- Curse
- Rest
- Shadow Ball

Mean Look prevents the opponent from escaping, so Curse will effectively reduce their health by 1/8 each turn. Rest is Cofagrigus’ only way of regaining health. By doing so, it has the potential to set up another Curse and last even longer in battle by eliminating any status problems. Shadow Ball gets STAB and prevents you from being Taunt bait, although Normal-types won’t be affected by it.

Holding the Chesto Berry will wake you up after using Rest the first time. However, there’s always the reliable Leftovers to regain health outside of Rest (and especially if Taunt is used on you).

Other Options:
Haze resets all stat changes on the field. Useful in preventing your opponents from increasing their offensive stats and overcoming your ridiculous defenses.

Disable can prevent the opponent from using a crucial attack to their setup.

Substitute simply adds to Cofagrigus’ bulk as well as protects it from major statuses and stat reductions.

Nasty Plot doubles Cofagrigus’ Special Attack in one use.

Countering:
Cofagrigus is rather easy to overcome if you know how to strike it as quickly as possible. Firstly, unless Cofagrigus has Rest or a Substitute already set up, it is completely powerless against the damage of Toxic. Because it’s such a defensive-minded Pokémon, Taunt will really shut it down. These are two standard and very common attacks that Cofagrigus sadly can’t do much against.

In addition, keep in mind that its ability accomplishes absolutely nothing as long as you don’t strike it directly. Aim for its weaker Special Defense early in the battle to take out a larger chunk of its health quicker.

Cofagrigus is an excellent Pokémon, but like any defensive wall, it’s susceptible to the everyday status and Taunt regime.

Attack Index:
- Calm Mind - TM 04, Yamask/Cofagrigus
- Curse - Lvl. 29
- Disable - Lvl. 5
- Haze - Lvl. 1/Heart Scale
- Hex - Lvl. 17
- Hidden Power - TM 10, Yamask/Cofagrigus
- Mean Look - Lvl. 45, Yamask / Lvl. 51, Cofagrigus
- Nasty Plot - EGG- Rest – TM 44, Yamask/Cofagrigus
- Shadow Ball - Lvl. 37, Yamask / Lvl. 39, Cofagrigus / TM 30
- Substitute – TM 90, Yamask /Cofagrigus
- Trick Room – TM 92, Yamask/Cofagrigus
- Will-o-wisp - Lvl. 21 / TM 61

 

[wunderkind]

The one thing I always found weird about Cofagrigus is that it can learn both Dream Eater (through TM) and Nightmare (through breeding), but it never learns any move that can actually put something to sleep.

 

[ClefairyRox]

Ah yes, the typical Halloween Ghost-type for Pokemon of the Week. And its the Pokemon you can't trade over GTS without nicknaming it because it has a cuss word in its English name... Cofagrigus.

I really like this Pokemon. It has a crazy-high base 145 Defense stat, an above average base 105 Sp. Defense stat, and a decent base 95 Sp. Attack. On the downside, its defensive abilities are somewhat crippled by a rather low base 58 HP stat, and it sits at a sluggish base 30 Speed. However, that low Speed can work to great advantage to Cofagrigus if you use Trick Room, which it can set up itself. It also gets Nasty Plot and Calm Mind to enhance its Sp. Attack, increasing its sweeping possibilities. You can even run both Trick Room and a boosting move on the same set, because Cofagrigus gets perfect coverage with Shadow Ball and Hidden Power Fighting.

Even with low HP, those massive Defenses can let Cofagrigus take many hits before being taken down. Like many Ghost types, it also gets Will-O-Wisp, which cripples any physical attacker that isn't a Fire type or lacks Guts. However, it lacks any form of recovery outside of Rest. It can't even learn Pain Split, which is a great disappointment. A reliable cleric is a good thing to have if you run a defensive Cofagrigus.

The most unique thing about Cofagrigus, however is its ability: Mummy. The only Pokemon who get this ability are Cofagrigus and its pre-evolution, Yamask. If a Pokemon makes physical contact with Cofagrigus, their Ability becomes Mummy as well. The abilities are reset to normal if there is a switch of Pokemon, however. As Cofagrigus will usually be brought in against physical attackers (and nearly all physical attacks make physical contact), this ability is of great use. Getting rid of Darmanitan's Sheer Force, Conkledurr's Guts, or the infamous Iron Head Jirachi's Serene Grace will severely hinder the opponent and likely force many switches. This makes for great synergy with entry hazards. Mummy is also fantastic in Doubles and Triples, as you can have a Slaking, Regigigas, or Archeops attack Cofagrigus to get rid of their crippling abilities. On the other hand, if you come across any of those Pokemon in singles, you probably will want to switch Cofagrigus out.

Confagrigus also gets two thinly spread moves: Power Split and Guard Split. These moves work like Pain Split, but with the Pokemon's offensive and defensive stats, respectively. I'd say these moves are best utilized in Double and Triple Battles; sharing power and/or guard with an ally can be a very effective strategy (I actually have an entire team based off of those moves).

Countering Cofagrigus:

No matter how bulky a Pokemon is, it will hate Toxic if it lacks Rest. This holds true for Cofagrigus as well. It also detests Taunt unless it runs a Choice set, which you probably will never see because of a limited offensive movepool. As for actually taking it out, Sp. Attacks are recommended, as its Sp. Defense is much lower than its physical. LO Gengar Shadow Ball is a good example. If you come across the Trick Room set and lack a Trick Room user of your own, it becomes tricky, especially if Cofagrigus has gotten off a Sp. Attack boost or two. It is immune to four priority moves: Quick Attack, Mach Punch, Extremespeed, and Vacuum Wave. Sucker Punch and Shadow Sneak can work, but even then Cofagrigus can still take a number of hits before falling. Stalling out Trick Room is the best idea in that case.

I know Cofagrigus is considered RU, but I think it can compete with the bad boys of OU just as well because its positives are greater than its negatives. Underestimate this coffin at your own peril.

Little Cup

Yamask is one of my favorite Little Cup Pokemon. It's just so adorable. It can run just about anything Cofagrigus can run, and does it quite well thanks to its impressive defenses and good Sp. Attack. I recommend using it on a Trick Room team, as it is slow.

 

[DragonhandX]

Cofagrigus is a great pokemon. especially with it's ability.

Coffin Wall
Item: leftovers or chesto berry
Ability: Mummy
Nature: Modest
EVs: 252 Def/252 SpDef/4 HP

-Rest
-Hex
-Hidden Power Fighting/Will-o-wisp/Toxic
-Hidden Power Fighting/Will-o-wisp/Toxic

Rest to heal you up and Hex for damage when combined with a status. The last two is up to you; Hidden Power fighting if you want to worry about normal types, Will-o-wisp if you want the pp and lower your foe's attack or Toxic if you want accuracy and damage.

Taunt will hurt. A lot. Especially when you are up against a normal type. Pokemon that can get rid of their status will be annoying to take down. Really that's it. The main focus is to let the status take care of the work with the attacks to help it.

 

[Fast_shoesXx]

Support @Leftovers
Sassy/Relaxed
252 HP/252 Sp. D/6 Def/0 Spd

Trick Room
Destiny Bond
Will-o-wisp
Hex

Set up Trick Room, and proceed to Burn/hit as much as many as you can with Hex. When you see a K.O. coming your way, take advantage of your Trick Room priority and Destiny Bond.

 

[dragontamer98]

Cofragrigus @ Leftovers
Nature: Impish/ Bold
EVs: 252 HP/ 252 Def 4 SpDef
Trait: Mummy
-Will-O-Wisp
-Protect
-Power Split
-Hex/ Shadow Ball/ Night Shade
This set is fun to use and it counters Excadrill to a degree. Lets see... Will-O-Wisp is for obvious reasons, Protect is for stalling Wisp and Lefties recovery. Power Split helps a lot here. Its like a Pain Split for Attack and SpAtk, giving Cofragrigus an advantage against weak special threats. Hex is for STAB and is more powerful than Shadow Ball after burn, but Shadow Ball is more powerful otherwise, especially against Fire-types that laugh to Will-O-Wisp. Night Shade helps if you don't want to rely on Cof's mediocre SpAtk.

 

[BigKlingy]

Since I've actually used one, I thought I'd offer some of my thoughts.

Firstly, as for as partners are concerned, you may want to shy away from anything that both a: uses contact moves and b: NEEDS their ability. Case point, I've used it with BU Scrafty and accidently Mummifying myself hurts. (even worse it that, since Scrafty and Cofagrigus cover eachothers weaknesses, I find myself switching between them a lot.)

Remember Earthquake is not a contact move, neither is Stone Edge. For this reason Ground type sweepers need not worry about this. (I'm looking at you, Excadrill)

Secondly, lack of reliable recovery really hurts Cofagrigus' survivability. It does a good job of walling many things, but you can't really rely on it to wall multiple Pokes in a row. Against physical sweepers, burning them is of the highest priority, in the hope thst their now-pathetic Attack and your monstrous Defence leaves them doing less damage than Leftovers recovers. Though this tends not to work on non-choiced Fightings as nearly all of them have Payback, which WILL outdamage your leftovers.

Finally, here's a set I'd like to share. I haven't actually tried it so I don't know if it works, but anyway:

Ubreakable Coffin
Nature: Bold (+Def -Atk)
@Leftovers

-Substitute
-Calm Mind
-Shadow Ball
-HP Fighting/Toxic

The theory here is that, with 145/105 defences, Cofagrigus should be able to set up the "ubreakable sub" pattern. For those not in the know, it means that by the time your sub breaks, Lefties has recovered the HP used to make it. The goal is to get so many Calm Minds up that any special attacker is doomed to meet this fate, and any physical attacker will be OHKO'd before it can break the sub... except in this case it's highly unlikely physical attackers will be able to break it either, so you can just use them as CM bait. Of course, low speed makes putting up the initial sub a problem. But I could see this being pretty powerful if it gets going.
HP Fight is for coverage, though I hate suggesting HP without providing an alternative. Still, it is Coff's best coverage option. Toxic is because the ideal targets of this set are weak walls who have a very hard time breaking your subs even with no CMs, so Toxic can shut them down and slowly eat away their HP while you're busy buffing yourself.

As for EVs, max HP is a given. From there the most obvious route is to just max Def, as you'll be increasing your Sp Def anyway. There could be other options though, it may be worth putting a little into Sp. Def just so you can start stalling specials earlier. And besides, Coff's physical defence is so high that even without EVs it's impressive.

 

[pika250]

I hate to break it to you, but the mole is uber now, and it cannot even learn Stone Edge anyway. Plus you spelled "unbreakable" wrong.

 

[BigKlingy]

I hate to break it to you, but the mole is uber now, and it cannot even learn Stone Edge anyway. Plus you spelled "unbreakable" wrong.

Really? Why am I not surprised. I, however, tend to go by random WiFi, where it's still very common.

 

[BanetteFan]

TOMBED (offensive wall)
Nature: Bold
Will-o-Wisp
Calm Mind
Shadow Ball/Hex
Energy Ball/Rest
—This makes Cofagrigus both a near unbreakable wall and an offensive force (sort of). Will-o-Wisp and Calm Mind both boost your defenses while weakening the opposition's. Choosing between Shadow Ball and Hex is tricky—Shadow Ball provides you with immediate power but Hex becomes much more powerful against statused foes. The later can work well with Will-o-Wisp support or if you have something like Tentacruel, which can lay down Toxic Spikes, as a partner. Energy Ball is mentioned for type coverage as Cofagrigus doesn't have a large offensive movepool, but Rest can help make you last longer.

RESTFUL SPIRIT (the “Bulky Ghost”)
Nature: Bold/Calm
1. Will-o-Wisp/Toxic
2. Shadow Ball/Hex
3. Haze
4. Rest
—The “Bulky Ghost” that seems to be so popular. Will-o-Wisp offers the same support, chipping at the opposition's HP while also making Cofagrigus sturdier against physical attackers. Toxic saps more HP over time, however, and with Rest support Cofagrigus has the high potential to stick around for it. Haze screws up stat boosters, like Swords Dancers or Calm Minders/Nasty Ploters.

POLTERGEIST
Nature: Relaxed
1. Trick Room
2. Rest
3. Destiny Bond
4. Shadow Ball
—Cofagrigus would offer great support on a Trick Room team thanks to its natural bulkiness and low speed. When you're about to be killed, take the foe with you with D-Bond. Shadow Ball is there for offense, preventing you from becoming Taunt fodder. The main problem with this set is it faces competition from fellow phantoms Dusclops and Banette—Dusclops (with Eviolite) can attain higher defenses and has better recovery with Pain Split, and Banette is immune to sleep with Insomnia and can Taunt the opposition into attacking so it can kill them its own D-Bond, but Cofagrigus still has most of the right moves for it. . .as well a contact version of Mold Breaker.

WRATH OF THE MUMMY
Nature: Modest
1. Nasty Plot
2. Shadow Ball
3. Energy Ball
4. Hidden Power Fighting/Psychic
—It would be best to use this on a Trick Room team or when most things have been paralyzed. Nasty Plot powers you up, of course, Shadow Ball is for STAB, Energy Ball for coverage. HP Fighting would be preferable in the last slot because otherwise you'd be walled by Steel-types. If you don't want to work that hard, however, Psychic's always there. I'd highly advise bringing alone something that can reliably check those pesky Steels, though in which case.

 

[Blue Harvest]

Really, only the first set is close to standard, except you NEVER run Ice Beam on a bulky Water that's neutral to Grass.

1) 16 Speed EVs is useless. 32 outruns Tyranitar and is a good start. 44 Speed is best because it outruns most Gliscor. Also he didn't really post a real EV spread.. "EVs and Nature:
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 Spd or 252 HP / 240 SDef / 16 Spd
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk) or Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)".
So basically all he said was "run some speed for some reason and run max / max defenses."
2) Ice Beam is of no use against anything. What will you hit? Salamence / Haxorus? Both outrun and easily OHKO you.. they also survive an Ice Beam. Gliscor / Landorus? Both outrun you with those EVs and hit you with Earthquake. Also in the Rain (WHICH IS THE MAIN REASON TO USE TENTA) Scald hits with 94% the power. Also Ice Beam won't OHKO either one. Ice Beam to hit Celebi / Ferrothorn? Celebi is 3HKOed and Nasty Plot sweeps while Ferrothorn Spikes 3 layers. Lati@s / Hydreigon? Ice Beam doesn't OHKO (or even get close to 3HKO on Latias) while the offensive dragons OHKO you (and Latias CM sweeps). What else does Ice Beam hit? Tornadeus? Scald in Rain (if not your rain, their rain).
3) No mention of Protect AT ALL on the entire POTW. Protect is one of Tentacruel's most commonly used moves. How else would it live damn near forever in Rain?
4) No mention of Rain stall or Tenta's important role on it.

I don't care about the gimmick stuff but if I saw someone using the POTW Tenta in a RMT I would immediately suggest it be changed.

 

[Zachmac]

This pokemon was born for rotation battles, it has an interesting niche there. Because of it's massive defense, it can rotate in on a predicted physical move. Later, Slaking/Regigas, or even Archeops, can rotate in and use a physical attack to gain Mummy.

Might work well with Zoroark, people won't use Scizor at the very least like they will with Gengar.

It's also a good Trick Roomer, and can use Haze. It's also a nice check/counter for scizor, as it will remove technician and use will-o-wisp.

 

[menametlg]

Finally! Confagrigus is my favorite pure ghost type. Bulky, good movepool (especially in support) and "cool" ability.

Ability:
Mummy: An ability that turn whoever attacked him with mummy. I cannot say that this is the best ability but... well at least Darumaka cannot change its form.

Trick Coffin
@LeftOvers
Relaxed (252 Def, 200 SpDef, 56 HP)
-Trick Room
-Will-O-Wisp
-Hex
-Disable

This set is... kinda annoying. With Confagrigus terrible speed, Trick Room gives him a upper hand. Wiil-o-wisp + Great Bulk? Well, I believe this is cool! Combine with Hex, wasn't this coffin make an upper hand? Disable make this set more annoying. Spam it.

Other options:
Haze. Haze reset the stat change.
Night Shade. Night Shade always deal 100 damage.
Power Split. This is another cool move. Try it and it will ruin the sweepers.

Physical Wall
@Leftovers
Relaxed (252 Def, 240 HP, 16 SpAtk)
-Ominious Wind/Shadow Ball/Hex/Night Shade
-Will-o-Wisp
-Protect
-Embargo

Well, i love this set. If you have notice, this is the only set with no Trick Room. Well, who cares with Speed anyway? You're just bulking. Anyway, STAB moves for the first slot. Its a waste that Confagrigus don't have taunt. Will-o-wisp burn the opponent and lowered their attack by 50%. You remain healthy. Protect stalls burn. Embargo prevent them from using berries like Lum.

Other options...

Heal Block. Embargo might prevent them from using berries etc., they cannot prevent them from using Rest and Refresh. This is the purpose of Heal Block.

Offensive Coffin
@Life Orb
Modest (242 Def, 252 SpAtk, 14 HP)
-Trick Room
-Nasty Plot/Calm Mind
-Shadow Ball
-HP [Ice] / HP [Fighting]

This is the only offensive set of Confagriggus. Trick Room reversed the speed. Nasty Plot and Calm Mind boost your SpAtk. Shadow Ball as STAB moves. HP [Ice] don't have immunity while HP [Fighting] kick Prankster Liepard that will resist your Trick Room.

Partners:

Double Battle.
Snorlax, Absol and other offensive pokemon that will benefit your Trick Room. For the Physical Wall set, I suggest Special Sweeper like Gardevoir and Alakazam.

Triple Battle:
Physical>Offensive<Special
This is the set I suggest.

Countering:
Anything that will resist its STAB move AND Trick Room. Aside from that, Sucker Punch and Screech will also hurt Confagrigus a lot. Mawile is the best Choice, with Screech, Sucker Punch, terrible speed and can resist ghost type moves. Tricker can also ruins Confagrigus. Sableye is the best one with Choice Band, Trick and Terrible Speed. Just make sure to choose the boosting moves.. To resist the ability, use Worry Seed. Ferrothorn is the best pokemon that can use it while they will be benefit with Trick Room.

Pre-Evolution Corner:

Yamask, much like Confagrigus, is a bulky and have terrible speed. Thanks to Eviolite, Yamask can also battle. 443 Def and 376 SpDef make it more bulky than its evolution.

Relaxed (252 Def, 104 HP, 152 SpDef)
-Power Split
-Will-o-wisp
-Hex
-Disable

Power Split give the average of your and the target's atk and spatk. Although power split serves as annoyer, it can benefit your Hex. Will-o-wisp reduces the atk of the opponent by 50%. Disable disable the opponent.

 

[sbktdreed]

Item: Leftovers
Night Shade
Payback
Energy Ball
Will-o-wisp

Countering
Its ability and the fact that its sp defense is lower requires you to use special-type moves; especially dark or ghost, like Shadow Ball and Dark Pulse.
It's also important to have a move that changes its ability like Simple Beam.
Choose a pokemon that can't be burned, for likely possibly that it might use will-o-wisp. Particularly, one that has high sp defense and strong against Ghost-type attacks.

 

[Serebii]

Can I remind everyone to keep this thread to discussion of the PotW in question. Thank you.

 

[Kraleck]

Status Move Options
-Cof' has access to so many "offensive" Status Moves that you won't be too disappointed. The Ghost Type learn-standards (Toxic, Will-o-Wisp, and Mean Look) and Disable wreak absolute havoc on Physical and Mixed Attackers, let alone what Mummy Ability can do. Special Attackers will have an easier time, but not by much.
-"Defensive" Status Moves are also plentiful. Calm Mind works quite well at covering your lower Sp.Def, giving you an option over Nasty Plot. Rest may be weak, but if your opponent can't pound you back into the sandy grave you came from, you stall them out an incredible while longer.
-Trick Room is great because you can learn it AND use it quite well. Using Guard Split or Power Split after a few Calm Minds (or Nasty Plots with Power Split) can be quite interesting in Multi. Special-based Choice Item users will reap a ton of benefits with this support.
-Grudge and Memento. As far as a final attack option goes, these are quite useful. Grudge can help with the PP shortage if your opponent has to pound away at you to get a 4+ Hit KO on you. Memento helps support your replacement when it comes to defending (especially if they can't too well), but also requires you to soak damage for a long time.
-Safeguard. Like Grudge and Memento, you really only need this as a last resort. If you feel that you'll go down next turn, Safeguard and protect your allies from Status Effect Flingers like Tentacruel and Stunfisk. Situational, but effective.

Normally, I like using Nasty Plot over Calm Mind. Cof' is one major instance where I flip that decision, especially with the beefy defenses and Sp.Def being the lower one.

 

[Jazz™]

Hi all

Overview

Cofagrigus is quite possibly the epitome of a defensive spinblocker, thanks to its great defensive stats and Ghost typing. Unfortunately, these assets may not be enough to let it keep up with the extremely offensive metagame of the new generation. The main reason why people may shy away from Cofagrigus is simply the intense competition for a team slot; Jellicent, for example, which can also block Rapid Spin with its Ghost typing, possesses many more resistances thanks to secondary Water typing. A shallow movepool also lets Cofagrigus down quite a bit, so its standard support set doesn't have many options, aside from Haze, to use as a filler move. Finally, with Rapid Spin becoming less and less common, Cofagrigus's primary role is slowly becoming less and less important.

However, despite all these setbacks, Cofagrigus still has its merits. 58/145/105 defenses are great, giving Cofagrigus the ability to wall entire teams once certain threats have been removed. Being the sole fully-evolved Pokemon with the Mummy ability helps as well, allowing Cofagrigus to fare well against certain threats such as Conkeldurr, Scizor, and Breloom. Cofagrigus's usefulness doesn't end there, though; access to Calm Mind allows it to go on the offensive and rip apart unprepared teams.

Bulky Ghost

Leftovers

Bold

EVs:252 HP / 136 Def / 120 SpD

Moveset:

~ Rest
~ Haze
~ Shadow Ball / Hex
~ Will-O-Wisp

This standard bulky set takes advantage of Cofagrigus's natural bulk in order to serve as a defensive pivot and team supporter. In addition to being the second bulkiest Ghost-type (after Eviolite Dusclops), Cofagrigus has a more than passable Special Attack stat, which can ward off frail attackers, and a useful ability in Mummy, which allows Cofagrigus to fare well against certain Pokemon that are dependent on their abilities. Shadow Ball is Cofagrigus's main attacking option, as it gets STAB and has a consistent Base Power. Will-O-Wisp allows Cofagrigus to cripple physical attackers while slowly whittling away their HP at the same time. Haze is largely a filler option, but can be a life saver when going up against defensive stat-boosting Pokemon such as Wish Calm Mind Jirachi and Curse Snorlax.