Overview
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Delphox has a great offensive Fire / Psychic typing and access to STAB Fire Blast and Psychic. This, combined with its high base 114 Special Attack and base 104 Speed, makes Delphox one of the most prominent special sweepers in the RU tier. Thanks to Delphox's typing and power, it can switch in on some of the most durable walls in the tier, such as Aromatisse and Cresselia, and easily set up or overwhelm them with strong attacks. It has access to a wonderful movepool with coverage moves like Psyshock, Grass Knot, Switcheroo, and Shadow Ball, and a boosting move in Calm Mind, which can aid Delphox in sweeping and wallbreaking. However, even with its above-average base 104 Speed, it's sadly still slower than common threats such as Cobalion, Virizion, and Durant, all of which can hit Delphox hard with super effective attacks. It's also weak to all kinds of entry hazards and passive damage. Along with Life Orb recoil, this wears Delphox down very easily. Its average bulk doesn't help with its longevity, either.

Offensive Calm Mind
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name: Offensive Calm Mind
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Fire Blast
move 3: Psyshock
move 4: Grass Knot
ability: Blaze
item: Life Orb
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
nature: Timid

Moves
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Calm Mind lets Delphox boost its Special Attack to ridiculous levels, allowing it to serve as a wallbreaker that can easily pressure defensive teams with Life Orb and a boosted Special Attack. Fire Blast is Delphox's main STAB move and a very strong option overall, allowing it to wallbreak much more easily thanks to its high Base Power. Psyshock is another STAB attack that can hit Pokemon like Aromatisse, which are less bulky on the physical side, for a lot of damage, and it also hits Assault Vest Pokemon like Gallade and Druddigon for more damage. Grass Knot is a coverage move that allows Delphox to easily get past some threats that would otherwise stop it, such as Gastrodon and various Rock-types, including Tyrantrum, Rhyperior, Barbaracle, and Regirock. It also hits Jellicent and Slowking for a fair bit of damage after a boost.

Set Details
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EVs are set to maximize Speed to outspeed as many threats as possible, including Moltres, Drapion, and Meloetta. 252 Special Attack EVs allow Delphox to dish out as much damage as possible, and the rest of the EVs are dropped in Defense to give Delphox a little boost. Life Orb is used to maximize Delphox's damage output and makes it hit very hard.

Usage Tips
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Bring Delphox in against a Pokemon it matches up well against, such as Aromatisse, Amoonguss, Tangrowth, or Cresselia; set up a Calm Mind; and then begin to fire away ridiculously strong Fire Blasts or Psyshocks, depending on the matchup. Delphox can work early- and mid-game as a wallbreaker against defensive teams, and it can also clean up late-game against more offensive and balanced teams, but beware of Pokemon like Cobalion, Virizion, and Jolteon, which Delphox fails to outspeed. Its wallbreaking capabilities can allow another sweeper on the team to easily come in and clean up to seal the game.

Team Options
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Because Delphox is very susceptible to entry hazards, it's mandatory to have Defog or Rapid Spin support. Luckily for Delphox, many of the Defoggers and spinners have good synergy with it, including Shiftry, which can be used to take out Slowking and Jellicent, two Pokemon Delphox struggles against, and Skuntank, which can trap Slowking and Jellicent with Pursuit. Good spinners that can easily pair up with Delphox include Hitmontop and Hitmonlee, with the former being more defensive and the latter being a reliable and strong spinner thanks to its access to Knock Off and High Jump Kick, which can hit a lot of Pokemon that threaten Delphox really hard, such as Slowking, Jellicent, Druddigon, and Miltank.

Dugtrio pairs rather well with Delphox because of its ability to trap and, with some prior damage, KO some of the faster threats that Delphox can't outspeed, such as Cobalion, Durant, and Heliolisk. It also has access to Memento to ease Delphox's setup. Offensive Spiritomb is another good teammate because it can dispose of Slowking and Jellicent with Sucker Punch and Pursuit. Finally, Sharpedo can come in after Delphox has softened up the opponent's team and easily sweep.

Choice Specs
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name: Choice Specs
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Psychic / Psyshock
move 3: Grass Knot
move 4: Switcheroo
ability: Blaze
item: Choice Specs
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
nature: Timid

Moves
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Fire Blast is one of the most powerful moves Delphox can utilize and hits ridiculously hard thanks to Choice Specs, STAB, and its high Base Power. The choice between Psychic and Psyshock, Delphox's other STAB options, comes down to simply what you want to beat. Psychic has overall more power and can 2HKO Pokemon like Alomomola and Rhyperior, while Psyshock hits Pokemon such as specially defensive Aromatisse, Assault Vest Druddigon, and Gallade harder thanks to the fact that it hits the target's physical Defense. Grass Knot is the best coverage Delphox could ask for, as it hits Slowking and Jellicent hard, potentially 2HKOing them with a little prior damage. Additionally, it also hits some Rock-types like Rhyperior harder than Psychic. Switcheroo is used in the last slot to cripple some walls, including Aromatisse, Alomomola, and Cresselia, by giving them a useless item.

Set Details
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Max Speed helps Delphox outspeed slower threats while hitting them hard, possibly KOing them thanks to the power that Choice Specs brings. Maximum Special Attack investment allows Delphox to hit as hard as possible. The rest of the EVs are dumped into Defense. With Choice Specs, Delphox becomes an insanely powerful wallbreaker that can hit hard right off the bat. Cresselia, Aromatisse, Meloetta, Alomomola, and Amoonguss are some examples of the walls this Delphox can break. It can even possibly overwhelm what would otherwise be considered counters, such as Cradily, which is 2HKOed with Fire Blast after Stealth Rock damage. Even Slowking can be taken down with a little bit of prior damage, Stealth Rock, or prediction.

Usage Tips
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This particular Delphox can be brought in early-game against defensive teams and start wallbreaking without much effort, and it can easily dismantle and break a lot of common defensive cores such as Alomomola + Amoonguss. It's hard to face even for offensive teams because it's fairly fast. If you make sure to bring it in against a target that's slower than Delphox, it can often knock out a Pokemon, provided it doesn't resist the move Delphox is locked into. Be careful when using Switcheroo, as giving Slowking Choice Specs can backfire thanks to Slowking's good Special Attack and the fact that it has Regenerator. The same goes for facing offensive teams, because giving the wrong Pokemon Choice Specs can cause a bit of trouble.

Team Options
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Entry hazard removal is necessary for Delphox to live up to its true potential. This means Shiftry and Skuntank are good team options because of their access to Defog, Knock Off, and Pursuit. Skuntank's access to Pursuit lets it trap Pokemon like Slowking and Jellicent, and Shiftry's Knock Off KOes them. Dugtrio can be used to get rid of faster threats such as Durant, Heliolisk, and Cobalion with a little bit of prior damage, which makes Delphox's life easier when facing offensive teams.

Thanks to Delphox's offensive prowess and wallbreaking capabilities, it can open up opportunities for setup sweepers and cleaners to seal the game after Delphox has brought down the opponent's walls. Such teammates include Swords Dance Virizion, which has good synergy with Delphox. Jolteon is a pretty fast cleaner that can come in after Delphox has done its job and sweep, as is Choice Scarf Braviary, although both Jolteon and Braviary share weaknesses with Delphox, so make sure to cover those by adding some Ground- and Rock-type resistances, such as from Tangrowth and Gligar. The former is a bulky pivot that can switch into Ground-types and threaten them with a strong Leaf Storm, and the latter is a bulky physical wall that can grab momentum with U-turn, has access to Stealth Rock and Defog, and is immune to Ground-type moves. A sweeper that can also pair well with this particular Delphox is Sharpedo, which can come in after Delphox dents the opposing team and clean up.

Substitute + Calm Mind
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name: Substitute + Calm Mind
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Calm Mind
move 3: Fire Blast
move 4: Psychic / Psyshock
ability: Blaze
item: Salac Berry / Leftovers
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
nature: Timid

Moves
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Substitute shields Delphox from status and weaker attacks, letting it set up more easily against Pokemon such as Alomomola that rely on Toxic to beat it. Substitute is also very useful to shield Delphox from potential revenge killers and to dodge Sucker Punch. It is also quite easy to set up, as Delphox forces a lot of switches. Calm Mind is Delphox's boosting move, increasing its Special Attack and Special Defense to make Delphox's Substitute progressively harder to break by walls that use special attacks, such as Aromatisse and Alomomola. Such walls can't break Delphox's Substitutes with their STAB moves if Delphox has a Calm Mind under its belt. Fire Blast is a strong STAB move that hits everything that doesn't resist it pretty hard. Psychic is chosen as the secondary STAB move because it hits Rhyperior a lot harder than Psyshock does, which is very important because this set is not using Grass Knot. Psyshock is usable to hit specially defensive Pokemon harder and to win Calm Mind wars more easily, however. Grass Knot is also an option in this slot to quickly remove Rhyperior and get a stronger hit on some Water- and Rock-types, but most of them are hit nearly as hard by Psyshock or Psychic.

Set Details
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Maximum Special Attack and Speed investment along with a Timid nature is used to make the most of Delphox's great Speed tier and offensive capabilities. The remaining 4 EVs are put into HP to let Delphox activate its Salac Berry after 3 Substitute uses; move them to Defense if you are using Leftovers. Salac Berry gives Delphox a Speed boost, letting it avoid revenge killing attempts from faster Pokemon such as Cobalion, Cinccino, and Dugtrio, as well as Choice Scarf users such as Braviary. It is also useful to bluff a Choice item until Delphox reveals Substitute or Calm Mind. Leftovers is also a viable item to set up more Substitutes and heal off entry hazards damage.

Usage Tips
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Choose the right moment to set up. Delphox's checks, such as Slowking and Rhyperior, should be removed from the game before you attempt to sweep. This is especially true if you are using a Salac Berry, as that only activates once. Substitute is a pretty safe move to go for against opposing walls such as Alomomola that rely on status to beat Delphox, as the opponent usually won't expect it. Try to get into Salac Berry activation range if the opponent has a faster revenge killer waiting in the back or if you think that Delphox needs a Blaze boost to take out a threat.

Team Options
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This set fits well on balanced and offensive teams looking for a late-game sweeper and wallbreaker. Pursuit users such as Spiritomb are good offensive partners, as most of them can easily switch in and trap Slowking. Spikes support from Accelgor or Qwilfish is great with this set because Spikes greatly wears down Rhyperior and Druddigon, which check Delphox. Toxic Spikes is also very good with this set, as Delphox can use the poison to weaken checks to KO range. Pokemon that can take advantage of Rhyperior, such as Virizion and Rotom-C, are also very good partners, even more so if you are running Psyshock.

Choice Scarf
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name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Psychic / Psyshock
move 3: Grass Knot
move 4: Switcheroo
ability: Blaze
item: Choice Scarf
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
nature: Modest / Timid

Moves
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Fire Blast on Delphox is mandatory because it's Delphox's best STAB option. The same applies for Psychic and Psyshock, as they are also good STAB options and can be counted on for reliability. The choice between Psychic and Psyshock comes down to whether you want a stronger Psychic-type attack or a bit weaker one that hits Aromatisse, Assault Vest Druddigon, and Gallade for better damage. Grass Knot provides coverage against Rock-types and lets Delphox get past Rhyperior specifically. Finally, Switcheroo is used to cripple regular Delphox switch-ins, such as Slowking, Jellicent, and Druddigon, and it's a good move to render most walls useless.

Set Details
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252 Speed EVs along with Choice Scarf means Delphox outspeeds the entire unboosted metagame while still packing a punch thanks to its decent base 114 Special Attack and strong STAB moves. 252 EVs in Special Attack are used to maximize Delphox's damage output, with the rest dumped into Defense. As this particular Delphox is using Choice Scarf rather than Choice Specs or Life Orb, it's significantly weaker than the other sets, but it's still a powerful cleaner and revenge killer. The choice between Modest and Timid comes down to power versus Speed. Timid still allows Delphox to be fast even after using Switcheroo to get rid of the Choice Scarf, while Modest gives Delphox more power at the cost of being slower than some Pokemon without it, most notably Drapion and Sigilyph.

Usage Tips
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Choice Scarf Delphox is a revenge killer and late-game cleaner, and it can't function as a wallbreaker like its other sets. It should only be brought out late-game when all the Pokemon have been weakened to the point where Delphox is able to perform a sweep. Switcheroo can be used to cripple a wall, though you should be careful of giving the wrong Pokemon a Choice Scarf.

Team Options
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Delphox should never be used without a teammate that can get rid of entry hazards. Shiftry and Skuntank are good at this role with their access to Defog and STAB Knock Off and Pursuit, respectively, which allow them to beat Slowking and Jellicent, two of Delphox's counters. Additionally, Shiftry forces switches, and with its strong Knock Offs, it can weaken Pokemon for Delphox to clean up later. Hitmonlee is also an excellent wallbreaker and spinner, and it can seriously put a hole in almost all walls in RU.

Generally, strong wallbreakers will make excellent teammates for Delphox, as Delphox can clean up after its teammates weaken opposing walls. For this reason, Choice Band or Life Orb Druddigon and Choice Specs Meloetta make good choices. Additionally, Delphox can be a good cleaner after setup sweepers like Virizion, Cobalion, and Durant have done their job. Virizion especially has good synergy with Delphox, thanks to its resistance to Ground-, Rock-, Dark-, and Water-type moves.

Other Options
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Delphox has a few other options at its disposal, but they're nothing special. It can use Shadow Ball on any of its main sets to hit opposing Delphox, but it doesn't hit anything else that Grass Knot doesn't cover. A set with Magician, Power Herb, and Solar Beam can be used to lure in some Pokemon such as Slowking and Jellicent and steal their items, but Solar Beam is unreliable and will often be a burden. A bulkier, more supportive set can be run with Will-O-Wisp and Wish, but Delphox's low base HP means that its Wishes are small, and its mediocre physical bulk doesn't do it any favors. A combination of Substitute and Calm Mind alongside Leftovers, Fire Blast, and Psyshock or Psychic is another option, but it lacks the coverage and power offensive Calm Mind has. Magic Coat can be used to reflect back Toxic and some other moves like Stealth Rock, but Delphox barely has any space for it.

Checks & Counters
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**Bulky Water-types**: Slowking is the best counter you'll get, as the Assault Vest set can take on almost anything Delphox can throw at it, and it can do massive damage with Scald, but it won't like being given a Choice item. Jellicent and specially defensive Alomomola can also fulfill the same role. Be wary, though, that none of these Pokemon like switching into Switcheroo.

**Bulky Pokemon**: Specially defensive Meloetta, Druddigon, Miltank, and Cradily can all take any of Delphox's attacks and hurt it back. Meloetta can use Hyper Voice, Druddigon can use Dragon Claw, Outrage, Earthquake, or Sucker Punch, Miltank can paralyze Delphox, and Cradily can KO with Rock Slide after Stealth Rock and Life Orb damage. Carbink can switch into Delphox rather easily, stall it out with a combination of Toxic and Protect, and then take it out with Rock Slide. As before, none of these Pokemon like switching into Switcheroo.

**Faster Pokemon**: Dugtrio can trap Delphox and KO it with Earthquake. Speed Boost Sharpedo can easily revenge kill Delphox. Durant also outspeeds and KOes with Crunch or Rock Slide. Choice Scarf users such as Braviary can revenge kill Delphox.

**Priority**: Most priority users such as Spiritomb, Doublade, Banette, Fletchinder, Shiftry, and Skuntank can KO Delphox with their respective priority move, although Doublade and Fletchinder needs a little bit of prior damage for Shadow Sneak and Acrobatics, respectively, to KO.

**Residual Damage**: Stealth Rock, Spikes, Toxic Spikes, and Sticky Web all really hurt Delphox. Toxic damage also racks up rather quickly.