One thing I've noticed with Azelf, is that its one, got terrible bulk and is usually knocked out within the first 4 turns of a match, and two, it's never strong enough to put down opposing Rapid Spin users in one hit, potentially running the risk of its Stealth Rock being removed. One aspect of Azelf I fail to understand, is that many people believe that its best suited as either a sweeper or revenge killer thanks to its sky-high Attack and Speed stats, when in reality, it's actually terrible at doing both. Azelf is one of those "looks good on paper, but sucks in practice" Pokemon, which is why the Choice Scarf set never made it to the analysis. With the plethora of Pokemon now running priority moves and a significant number of Pokemon running Pursuit, Azelf is just better off running a dedicated lead set.
Azelf @ Life Orb
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Taunt
- Stealth Rock
- Psychic
- Explosion
The goal of this set is to get Stealth Rock up, and keep it there. On the non-Nasty Plot sets, Azelf actually has a fair bit of difficulty managing to bypass the majority of Spinners available to UU, Hitmontop being the only exception. In fact, without Nasty Plot, the best Azelf can manage is a 2HKO or even a 3HKO against the likes of Blastoise, Claydol, and Cryogonal. However, taking away from the Final Gambit tactic that Accelgor effectively runs, Azelf can sacrifice itself against an opposing Spinner, prevent the spin from working since there's no target, and allow a check to said spinner to enter the field, creating a plethora of offensive momentum. The EV distribution of this set is relatively straightforward - maximize Azelf's Speed to ensure that Stealth Rock is laid and that Taunt prevents other hazard setters from doing their job. After that, Special Attack is maximized in order to secure an OHKO on opposing Hitmontop, keeping Stealth Rock up. Explosion, much like Accelgor's Final Gambit, is there to take a solid chunk of HP out of a spinner or other bulky threat if the opposing team neglects to run one, preventing the Rapid Spin, and bringing out a better-suited check for said spinner. Since Azelf is not a Pokemon that traditionally finds itself lasting throughout a match, this strategy won't see any real downside to running this Azelf variant - it's usually knocked out within the first four turns anyways.