Never got past Gen 3 and my combat tactic never really got past the "Fight [element] with [appropriate element]"-stage. So this is all fairly new to me
Well, so far there's about 3 main 1-hit Kills in the meta.
- F.E.A.R. (Focus Sash, Endeavor, Quick Attack, Rattata, this is actually where the 4E Rattata build derives it's name from, capable of 1-hit Killing a level 100 at level 1, the sweeper version requires an entire party of these).
- Epic Flail (The above video shows the most insulting form, but others exist, all require level 100 builds)
- Aggro Aaron (The build I mentioned above, requiring any Pokemon that can produce a Sandstorm (Tyranitar works best, as he's not only capable of it, he's a decent Pokemon in his own right) and an Aaron with Sturdy).
To give further explanation:
F.E.A.R.
[spoiler]You've got a level 1 Rattata and nothing else. It's attacks are Endeavor (learned through breeding) and Quick Attack (same), and whatever else because it doesn't matter past those two. It's holding a Focus Sash (the item used in the video above, prevents the Pokemon from being 1-hit KO'ed if the Pokemon was all ready at full HP, only works once).
Whatever they send out is going to be faster than a level 1 Rattata, so your first attack will be Endeavor (which will go after they get their first attack, which will likely drop Rattata's HP to 1). If played right, the Sash kicks in, and now both Pokemon have only 1 HP left. Next turn, you use Quick Attack and kill them.
It doesn't have to be a Rattata, just any Pokemon capable of learning both Endeavor and Quick Attack.
This build has a very wide number of counters, from Ghost types to high-priority moves to environmental damage from things like Sandstorm or Hail to Knock Off (which kills the Rattata without letting the Focus Sash trigger).[/spoiler]
Epic Flail[spoiler]As the name implies, you need a Pokemon that knows Flail. You then need something that knows Belly Drum, Substitute, and Baton Pass (Smeargle being the best for the job, as it can also learn Spore as shown in the video). The latter needs to be holding a Salac Berry, and the former needs to have a high speed with good HP.
You let the first one get hit until it's in the red, then switch out for the Baton Passer. If it has a move like Spore or THunder Wave, use it first. The Substitute, Belly Drum, and finally Baton Pass. The Belly Drum will have triggered the Salac Berry (which gives another speed boost). You switch back in the first Pokemon, then have it use Flail to kill them.
The best counter is Extreme Speed or Ghost type immunity. Also, a Rock/Steel like Agron will be capable of surviving the first hit from Flail (especially because of Gen 5's change to Sturdy).[/spoiler]
Aggro Aaron[spoiler]This is by far the easiest to set up. You need a level 1 Aaron with the Sturdy ability and Endeavor (breedable), a Pokemon like Tyranitar that can produce Sandstorm (that Hippo that's never important enough for me to remember the name of), and an idiot of an opponent. You need the Aaron to be holding a Shell Bell (which restores HP equal to 1/8th of the damage you deal)
It works fairly simply. You lead off with the Tyranitar. Let it get KO'ed (not to easy to do, but it does happen if they have a Fighting type move). That set sup a constant Sandstorm. Switch into the Aaron when the Tyranitar faints. You now use Endeavor to set their HP to whatever Aaron's is (because almost everything in the game is faster than a level 1 Aaron, their attack goes first and will likely drop Aaron to 1). The only thing standing between death and that Aaron is Sturdy, which got revamped in Gen 5 to act like a constantly-active Focus Sash.
Bam, they are at 1 HP, the Shell Bell kicks in and heals Aaron based on the damage Endeavor did (which will be enough to put it back to full). Then the Sandstorm happens, and the enemy Pokemon dies with your Aaron being unharmed.
Anything that can avoid Endeavor or change the weather is capable of stopping this, so most people follow it up with something powerful (like a Scizor).[/spoiler]
