YoukiType:
Steel/GhostAbilities:
Inner Focus or
InsomniaBase Stats:HP: 55
Atk: 135
Def: 85
Spd: 135
SpAtk: 60
SpDef: 70
OverviewYouki Konpaku, swordsmanship instructor for Youmu Konpaku, and half-living proof that Steel types are a huge threat in this metagame. Despite his age, his abilities as a Swordsman are top notch, reaching an astonishing 135 Base Attack and 135 Base Speed. With stats like that, it's no wonder that Youki is not so easily dealt with, and can dispose of teams that were foolish enough to not have an answer for Steel types. However, he is an old man, and as a result, his movepool suffered quite a bit over the years. Youki cannot use Hi Jump Kick like Youmu can, and the best STAB move at his disposal for his ghostly half has a pitiful 70 Base Power. Fortunately, his problems end there, and Youki has just about every move he needs to succeed and keep his spot near the top of the imaginary usage statistics.
Choice-Battle Chant/Draw The Line
-Shadow Hit
-Brick Break
-Poison Jab/Heart Break/Blade Flash
Item: Special Bloomers/Choice Ribbon
Nature: Jolly (+Spe,-SpAtk)
Ability: Insomnia
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spe
It took everything I had in me to resist naming this set something painfully different. Anyway, this sort of setup acts as a Hit-and-run revenge killer. With a Choice item and a Jolly nature, Youki reaches an astonishing 553 Attack and 405 Speed, outspeeding and punishing just about anything that isn't named Mimi-chan. Battle Chant eliminates pretty much anything that doesn't resist it, and comes with a wonderful passive 20% chance to raise attack by one stage. That's like saying, if you aren't packing a Steel Resist in general, then it's game over. A +1 choiced Battle Chant 2HKOes even the mighty Attack Suwako (though it's not something you'd want to stay in on if it's there for the Revenge Kill). If you dislike the 85 accuracy on Battle Chant, you can opt for the weaker but perfectly accurate Drawn Line. Shadow Hit is your secondary STAB move, and should only be opted for if it's going to hit for SE damage, or if your opponent resists Steel. Brick Break is for coverage against the Steel and Heart types that might attempt to give you trouble. The last slot is a tough choice; Poison Jab gets rid of the ever-so-common Star Sapphires and Defense Kaguyas, and all of the annoying water types that will try to wall kill you that aren't named Attack Komachi. Heart break on the other hand, combats opposing Dream types, however, it is only 10 BP stronger than a STAB Battle Chant when hitting Super effectively (being 40 BP stronger than a STAB Drawn Line is a bigger deal, though). While Youki might have the second highest Speed Stat in the game, Blade Flash might save you from a weakened foe that has previously set up a Tailwind.
Set-up Sweeper-Tailwind/Swords Dance
-Battle Chant/Drawn The Line
-Shadow Hit
-Brick Break/Poison Jab/Heart Break/Blade Flash
Item: Maid Uniform/Lum Berry
Nature: Adamant (+Atk,-SpAtk)/Jolly (+Spe,-SpAtk)
Ability: Insomnia
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spe
The idea with this is the same as with any other set-up sweeper: get him in safely, make sure it's still safe to power up, then if you're still alive, cut everything to pieces. After a Tailwind, your Attack and Speed stats reach 553 and 607 respectively as a Jolly nature, and vice versa if running an Adamant nature. If Swords Dance is opted for instead, then a Jolly nature is suggested to keep your sky-high Speed stat. After a Swords Dance, Youki's attack reaches a dangerous 738. Couple an Attack stat of 738 with a Speed stat of 405, and you've got a force to be reckoned with. Still alive? Now pick the most appropriate move and hope for the best.
Your choice of item depends on whether or not you're paranoid of being burned/paralyzed vs more cleaving power. You should note that Youki is immune to sleep, so he is immune to two status aliments already.
Tail Dance-Tailwind
-Swords Dance
-Battle Chant/Draw The Line
-Shadow Hit
Item: Maid Uniform/Lum Berry
Nature: Adamant (+Atk,-SpAtk)/Jolly (+Spe,-SpAtk)
Ability: Insomnia
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spe
Movepool? What are you talking about? This set attempts to utilize both Tailwind and Swords Dance, and hit hard with both of his STAB moves. You'll be sacraficing coverage, but there are very few puppets in the game that resist the Steel/Ghost combination.
Other OptionsYouki has access to Taunt and Substitute, the latter of which can be used in conjunction with something like Tailwind to provide a safer opportunity to set up. Another move worthy of note is Spikes, but there are other, better puppets that can set them up. Pursuit is pretty cool, but if you're looking for a Pursuit trapper with a godly Steel type move, use Yumeko instead.
CountersThe only puppets that resist the half-decent STAB combination of Youki are Ruukoto, the Momiji forms, and the Rin forms. Ruukoto has non-existant physical defense, and is 4x weak to Brick Break, so she's out of the question. Momiji, on the other hand, is a terrific counter to Youki; she switch in and force an attack drop on Youki while resisting Battle Chant AND Shadow Hit. Momiji can then take a Super-effective Brick Break to the face (even with Spikes, but only once), then OHKO back with Crunch or even Earthquake ("&Agastya: Crunch would probably be safer"). Rin is another surefire counter to Youki. Like Momiji, Rin also has Intimidate, and therefore takes miniscule damage from Youki's assaults, even if he has Tailwind up. Rin can then proceed to vaporize Youki with Flare Blitz, or Fire Punch after Spikes damage. The stone evolutions of the two puppets mentioned don't stand the same kind of chance since they all miss out on Intimidate. Defense Momiji cannot outspeed a Jolly Youki even after she uses Tailwind, and will not survive two Brick Breaks to the face after Spikes damage. Attack and Speed Rin have less than amazing Physical Defense stats; those two will not survive two +1 Drawn Lines, and rarely (never with Spikes) will they survive a +0 Drawn Line followed up by a Brick Break/Poison Jab. If Attack or Speed Rin make it out alive, they will escape with huge cuts and bruises, leaving them in rage of being KOed by Priority anyway.
As for other counters, you'll probably want to look at things that resist Steel type attacks first. The big bad Tensoku can wall Youki to hell and back with or without a good Defensive investment. Mimi-chan is faster and, like Tensoku, has a 4x resistance to Steel-type moves, but if Mimi-chan switches in on a Tailwind, you can say good-bye to your favorite ICBM, and quite possibly your whole team. It's also best to keep in mind that Youki is weak to Earth type moves, so finishing him off with Rock Bullet isn't a bad idea either;a couple of popular users of this move are Speed Yamame and the Tenshi forms. Quite a few Earth types in general give Youki quite a hard time: Attack Kaguya, Attack Suika, Technical Suika, Toyohime, and Technical Toyihime all take neutral damage from Youki's attacks while resisting Steel, and each pose a Super-effective threat. If you've unmasked that Youki is not carrying Poison Jab, then Kisume can come in on Drawn Line and threaten a burn. Just be warned that Youki can also set up on Kisume, and if Youki has a Lum Berry, then it will have been a wasted effort. A Modest Technical Kisume can also come in on a Poison Jab-less Youki, and can quickly and painlessly vaporize him with Fire Blast without all the Bullshit that Kisume would otherwise have to deal with. Like the Kisume Forms, a full Defensively invested Helper Star Sapphire can hold her own against a Youki lacking Poison Jab, but Youki can set up on her too (it would be risky). Defense Ichirin doesn't screw around either with her 165 base Defense. Even without attack investment, Defense Ichirin can OHKO Youki with Dynamic Punch, and in the case it misses, she won't be taking much damage from Youki's next attack anyway, unless of course Youki is running Heart Break. Defense Yuugi can do the exact same thing that Defense Ichirin can, but 50% of the time, she will need some Spikes damage. Again, Defense Yuugi is also weak to Heart Break, and also will likely not survive more than two +1/Choiced Battle Chants without full Defensive investment.
In short, there are a lot of ways to deal with Youki. As menacing as his stats look, he's not impossible to kill. On the next episode of "Everybody Loves Mimi-chan!"
