Kartana Analysis



One of seven Ultra Beasts introduced in Pokemon Sun and Moon, Kartana filled the niche of a fast and incredibly powerful Grass type Attacker. With an insane Attack stat coupled with a high speed tier, Kartana continues its dominance into 2018.
Pros
*181 Attack stat is the highest base value in the entire VGC 2018 format; Kartana hits over 200 Attack without any investment or boosting nature.
*109 Speed Allows Kartana to hit 177 Speed, outspeeding numerous most Pokemon. Its naturally high speed means that Kartana does not have to invest too much into Speed to outspeed Positive Base 100 threats.
*Kartana’s ability, Beast Boost, raises Kartana’s Attack by one stage for every KO it gets.
*Thus, Kartana, with its high speed and Attack stat, can quickly snowball through opposing teams if given a kill
*There is a distinct lack of viable Grass types and Fighting types in VGC 2018, which Kartana fulfills with the help of Sacred Sword
*Along with USUM came USUM move tutors, which have blessed Kartana with moves such as Tailwind and Knock Off.
*Alongside its existing moves from 2017, Kartana can effectively fill a variety of roles that your team may need
Cons
*59 / 131 / 31 Defenses are decent when not being hit by Special Attacks
*Even resisted Special Attacks chunk Kartana for heavy damage
*With the introduction of Mega Evolutions in 2018, many Mega Evolutions threaten or wall Kartana.
*Mega Gengar and Manectric both outspeed and can KO Kartana, while Mega Metagross, Mega Charizard X / Y, and Mega Salamence can wall Kartana
*Common threats such as Cresselia and Landorus-T also hamper Kartana’s ability to sweep through teams with Icy Wind / Trick Room and Intimidate respectively
Set #1- Z Move Kartana
Kartana @ Flyinium Z / Grassium Z
Ability: Beast Boost  
Level: 50  
EVs: 44 HP / 84 Atk / 4 Def / 124 SpD / 252 Spe  
Jolly Nature  
- Leaf Blade  
- Sacred Sword / Knock Off / Night Slash
- Tailwind / Substitute   
- Protect
*A set using Z Moves to increase damage output and pick up KO’s, this spread has added bulk to allow Kartana to survive long enough to use said Z Move.
*Leaf Blade is Kartana’s main STAB and coverage move, allowing Kartana to hit ¾ Tapus, Landorus, and neutral targets for decent damage.
*Sacred Sword is the most common secondary move run on Kartana. It allows Kartana to hit Steel types that might otherwise wall Kartana.
*Knock Off can also be used to remove key items from the likes of Cresselia, Landorus-T, and Aegislash. However, most of the times Sacred Sword is better.
*Night Slash can be run on Flyinium Z Kartana to ensure a 100% crit chance and KO Pokemon such as Aegislash and Gothitelle
*Depending on which Z Crystal you are running, you can opt for Substitute > Tailwind for increased longevity and to soak up attacks from slower Pokemon without using Protect.
*If you are running Flyinium Z, you are running Tailwind.
*Flyinium Z is a viable item because Z Tailwind increase Kartana’s critical hit ratio by several stages. This increase is enough to ensure that Leaf Blade and Night Slash will always crit their targets, while giving Sacred Sword a 50% chance to crit.
*84 Atk Kartana still hits a respectable 212 Attack, allowing Kartana to pick up KO’s such as:
*84 Atk Kartana Leaf Blade KO’s 252 / 4 Tapu Fini 56.3% of the time
*84 Atk Kartana Bloom Doom KO’s 100 / 68 Landorus-T 100% of the time
*-1 84 Atk Kartana Bloom Doom KO’s 252 / 100+ Tapu Fini 100% of the time
*-1 84 Atk Kartana Bloom Doom KO’s 4 / 0 Tapu Lele 100% of the time
*84 Atk Kartana Sacred Sword KO’s 4 / 0 Mega Tyranitar 87.5% of the time
*With Z Tailwind’s Critical Hit Boost, Kartana will always be striking critical hits while ignoring Intimidate and opposing Pokemon’s Defense buffs.
*84 Atk Kartana Leaf Blade KO’s 4 / 0 Tapu Koko and Tapu Lele, while KOing 252 / 252+ Tapu Fini 93.8% of the time
*44 / 124 SpD allows Kartana to survive various common Special Attacks, including:
*252 SpA Aerilate Mega Salamence Hyper Voice, 252 SpA Life Orb Tapu Koko Thunderbolt in Electric Terrain, +252 SpA Tapu Lele Psychic in Psychic Terrain, and +164 SpA Tapu Fini Ice Beam 100% of the time
Set #2- Sash Kartana
Kartana @ Focus Sash
Ability: Beast Boost  
Level: 50  
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature  
- Leaf Blade  
- Sacred Sword  
- Tailwind / Knock Off
- Protect
*The standard set for almost any Sash Pokemon, this second set maximizes offense and speed because Focus Sash allows Kartana to survive one hit 100% of the time regardless.
*While some people do run Knock Off over Tailwind, on Focus Sash Kartana I highly encourage Tailwind because you are practically guaranteed to get Tailwind up with Focus Sash, barring a double into Kartana.
Using Kartana
*With so many new threats in the format, Kartana can no longer stay on the field as freely in 2018. However, Kartana still serves as an excellent Tailwind support and offensive threat for various Pokemon.
*Charizard Y Teams run Kartana to not only cover bulky waters, but also to tear apart Sand teams. With Sacred Sword, Kartana threatens both Tyranitar and Excadrill.
*Kartana is also run alongside Kommo-o teams to destroy non-Bulu Tapus and provide Tailwind support
*A current form of CHALK is running around with Kartana and recently topped the ladder; however I do not have the specifics
*Kartana appreciates pairing with Pokemon that can deal with Steel types that might otherwise wall it, such as Charizard Y, Incineroar, and Heatran.
*Kartana also pairs well with Scarf Soak Tapu Fini; Soak + Bloom Doom can pick up KO’s immediately, especially on unsuspecting Metagross, Charizard, and Landorus

*Kartana, while not KO’d outright or unable to deal damage to Landorus-T, appreciates some form of Landorus check to prevent multiple Intimidates neutering Kartana’s damage.

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