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[Overview]
<p>Liepard is infamous for its disruption capabilities, which it achieves through being the fastest Prankster user in NU, good Speed, and an extensive support movepool. The most notable of these moves would be Encore and Swagger, which it can stun opponents with; Encore can lock its targets into unfavorable moves and provide easy setup, while Swagger can luck an opponent out of the game. While its attacking stats are not too impressive, it can still boast surprising offensive presence due to its tricky attacks. Unfortunately, it is one of the frailest Pokemon in existence, meaning it dies to even the lightest of breezes, which brings its fair share of risks when trying to use its disruption tools, but Prankster coupled with its movepool does go a long way in helping it to avoid direct hits.</p>
[SET]
name: Pivot
move 1: Encore
move 2: Sucker Punch
move 3: U-turn
move 4: Pursuit / Night Slash
item: Dread Plate
ability: Prankster
nature: Jolly
evs: 4 HP/ 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This Liepard serves as both a momentum grabber and a revenge killer. It is fairly consistent at its role, and has priority that packs decent enough power to pick off weakened foes, though it struggles to KO healthier targets. While it seems risky for such a frail Pokemon to adopt a prediction-heavy task, Liepard has all the moves it needs to minimize this risk. For a trapper, Skuntank is usually used in this role, but Liepard's advantages are better Speed, U-turn for grabbing momentum, and Encore for stopping setup sweepers and Substitute users, while Skuntank has to rely on prediction and usually isn't fast enough to use Taunt on them to ease said prediction. Sucker Punch revenge kills weakened targets and is Liepard's strongest unboosted attack, but it fails if the opponent switches or doesn't attack. Pursuit can hunt down those that flee and take them out anyway. Should the opponent stick around to either set up or heal, Prankster Encore locks the opponent into the non-damaging move they used on a previous turn regardless of any Speed they may have attained, turning the opponent into a sitting duck. What this means is that Liepard can thwart almost any attempt to bypass Sucker Punch by itself. From there, U-turn and Pursuit gives Liepard's team the advantage against the switches the opponent will be making to escape Encore (and Sucker Punch), making it a decent pivot, or you could just Pursuit it. U-turn also allows Liepard to escape its counters while landing chip damage. Night Slash provides more reliable STAB, but Pursuit is preferred as it punishes Pokemon attempting a switch, especially after they have been Encored, while Sucker Punch is stronger and its risks have been reduced thanks to Liepard's other moves.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Dread Plate is used for maximum power on Sucker Punch without recoil from Life Orb, at the cost of a negligible loss in U-turn's power. Dark Gem could be used but Liepard loses a noticeable amount of power after it is consumed. Due to the switches Encore, Sucker Punch, and U-turn force, Liepard appreciates hazard support as it can wear down walls that stop Liepard, making Pokemon such as Garbodor, Scolipede, and Golem good partners. Liepard also has good synergy with Poison-types such as Garbodor, Roselia, and Scolipede, as well as Ghost-types such as Haunter and Golurk to cover its weaknesses. Encore and U-turn makes Liepard a great partner for setup sweepers such as Jynx, Carracosta, Samurott, and Braviary, or frail attackers such as Swellow, Scolipede, Drifblim, Zangoose, and Haunter, all if whom like free switch-ins. Walls such as Alomomola and Regice are good counters because Liepard doesn't have the sheer power to break them, thus wallbreakers such as Eelektross and Samurott are recommended.</p>
[SET]
name: SubSwagger
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Swagger
move 3: Encore / Thunder Wave
move 4: Foul Play
item: Leftovers
ability: Prankster
nature: Timid
evs: 80 HP / 140 Def / 120 SpD / 168 Spe
ivs: 0 Atk
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>The set most players are grudgingly familiar with, this Liepard aims to cripple as much as possible with its Prankster status moves and STAB Foul Play. Substitute blocks status moves, Trick, and direct hits, as well as providing a safety buffer against faster Pokemon and can be used to stall or scout. Swagger powers up Foul Play while potentially immobilizing foes and is potent against Fighting-types, but is risky as Liepard can easily get OHKOed by a gentle touch from a move backed by +2 Attack. Encore, if timed right, locks opponents into unfavorable moves, mainly non-damaging attacks, to grant free switches or setup opportunities for itself, as well as tripping up most utility Pokemon that rely on said moves. Thus, Liepard's presence alone can be enough to deter the use of support moves, but requires good prediction lest Liepard be damaged beyond repair. Thunder Wave combined with Prankster is nice for crippling fast threats and performs the classic parafusion combo with Swagger. Swagger and Thunder Wave can drive offensive teams insane, but is still considerably risky for Liepard as well as being less effective against defensive Pokemon that shrug it off, especially if they have reliable recovery. STAB Foul Play is good against a wide range of Pokemon; it hits powerful physical sweepers hard, and hits Ghost- and Psychic-types hard even with their low Attack stats.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EVs are tailor-made to allow Liepard to function at its best. 80 HP EVs allow for five Substitutes after factoring in Leftovers, allowing Liepard to stall even more. 120 Special Defense EVs are sufficient in allowing its Substitute to survive Misdreavus's Shadow Ball and Alomomola's Scald. Maximum Special Defense is an option as physical bulk does not matter too much to Liepard against +2 opponents, courtesy of Swagger, but there are far and few attacks between that won't KO either the Substitute or Liepard itself with more special bulk. 168 Speed EVs allow it to outspeed Haunter and Jynx, but max Speed can be used to get the drop on anything between the 95-105 base Speed range. Any remaining EVs are thrown into Defense, which makes Liepard more resilient to priority and multi-hit moves.</p>
<p>Poison-types make for great partners for Liepard: they resist its weaknesses, lure Psychic attacks for Liepard to switch into, and grounded Poison-types such as Garbodor, Scolipede, and Roselia have the added benefit of absorbing Toxic Spikes, which would otherwise ruin Liepard. Ghost-types such as Haunter and Drifblim and Flying-types such as Braviary and Charizard are also handy to handle its weaknesses. Other potential partners include Gurdurr, Sawk, Golurk, or Samurott to break down Steels while taking advantage of Liepard slowing down sweepers for them. Setup sweepers, preferably those with notable immunities such as Jynx and Misdreavus, or resistances such as Carracosta, Serperior, Klang, are recommended to take advantage of the attacks that Liepard Encores. Specially defensive Pokemon, examples including Mantine, Regice, Lickilicky, Audino, and Gardevoir, make for good partners to take on the special attackers that shrug off Foul Play.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Nasty Plot can do serious damage to most physical walls that intend to wall Liepard, but Liepard's power is pretty modest before a boost and can be lacking even after a boost, and it is hard to find the turns it needs to set up while protecting itself from revenge kills. Taunt can be used to prevent setup attempts such as Spikes, but Encore is better as not many Pokemon have access to it nor make use of it well, though the two can be used together to force a Pokemon locked into a non-damaging move to Struggle. Toxic allows Liepard to combat bulky Pokemon that can stand up to Foul Play, and causes residual damage to make up for weak Foul Plays; when used in tandem with Encore, it can really harass most walls looking to counteract the poison. However, bulkier Pokemon make use of Toxic better since they can take hits longer. Yawn can be used to force switches or put a foe to sleep, both of which can buy Liepard free turns, but Liepard would be exposed to attacks for at least one turn. Torment combos very well with a prior Substitute to infuriate Choice users (without Volt Switch or U-turn) or mono-attack Pokemon such as Alomomola and support Miltank, and can be used in tandem with Encore to force Struggling (and switches). Encore alone is better most of the time though.</p>
<p>Knock Off can be used to cripple pretty much any wall and even certain sweepers, and is effective against bulky Poison-types that Toxic can't affect, though Liepard has better things to be doing and this is also better left off to bulkier Pokemon. Prankster Trick is outdone by Encore, nor is Liepard strong enough to make use of Choice items. Unburden with a pinch berry does not do damage as consistently as Life Orb and only has the boost as long as it stays in. Liepard has Hone Claws with physical moves such as Seed Bomb, Gunk Shot, and Iron Tail, but still cannot beat its common switch-ins. Prankster Charm can weaken physical sweepers, but it does clash with Foul Play and said physical sweepers can still overwhelm Liepard.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Liepard is super frail, and one direct hit can do massive damage or even KO. In general, Pokemon that are even remotely bulky, such as Samurott and Eelektross, can take Liepard's attacks and KO back. Defensive titans such as Alomomola, Regice, Torkoal and even Wartortle perform similarly. Fighting-types and Steel-types make for the safest switch-ins to most Liepard, with Gurdurr receiving special mention due to powering up from status via Guts and threatening with STAB Mach Punch, while Shed Skin Scraggy manhandles any Liepard. Resisting the temptation to set up or heal haphazardly can deny Liepard the opportunity to mess you up with Encore, so just take it down as quickly as you can. Pivot Liepard for the most part is not very hard to counter due to its lackluster power, but access to U-turn and Sucker Punch makes it tricky to check. Faster Pokemon such as Tauros, Swellow, Scolipede and various Choice Scarf Pokemon can easily KO Liepard, but if they are weakened they need to be wary of Sucker Punch. Priority moves outspeed Liepard's attack, cornering it into using Sucker Punch or switching out; faster priority such as Fake Out and ExtremeSpeed or faster priority users such as Quick Attack Swellow and Aqua Jet Floatzel outspeed it regardless. Jolly Shell Smash Carracosta and Belly Drum Linoone are two exceptions to setup sweepers Liepard cannot stop, as they can evade Liepard's Encore by following up with Aqua Jet and ExtremeSpeed respectively.</p>
<p>Swagger Liepard is usually the one most have trouble with, even though Liepard plays just as much with Lady Luck during the initial turns of its mayhem-inducing antics. If it does get going though, it can still be stopped. Multi-hit moves such as Bonemerang, Gear Grind, Rock Blast, Icicle Spear, and Bullet Seed can bust through Liepard's Substitute with ease, especially after a Swagger boost. Marowak must be careful of Foul Play though, but others such as Klang, Golem, Armaldo, Piloswine, and Torterra can easily take a hit or two. Special attackers, especially those with 0 Attack IVs, can take on Swagger Liepard one-on-one the majority of the time as they do not take too much from self confusion or Foul Play, provided they aren't weak to Dark. Lum Berry grants one window of opportunity to dispatch Swagger Liepard before it causes further trouble. Liepard despises status as they drastically reduce its staying power; Toxic Spikes can bypass its Prankster Substitute which would ward off other attempts. Lickilicky with Own Tempo counters Swagger sets due to its confusion immunity while receiving free attack boosts, but must still watch out for boosted Foul Plays and Encore when trying to heal off damage or status. U-turn and Volt Switch can break Liepard's Substitute after it uses a Prankster Substitute (meaning Liepard cannot set up another one on the same turn) while escaping Swagger's confusion, leaving Liepard exposed to attack; however, the U-turn or Volt Switch user is likely to be crippled by status in the process. Be aware that Swagger alongside Thunder Wave can screw you over on a bad day regardless of any of this, but usually the odds are against Liepard.</p>
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