What is a good moveset for Malamar?

Question

If you have a good competitive moveset for Malamar, post an answer below and upvote the best ones. Movesets for its pre-evolutions, if any, can also be shared on this thread.

Be sure to include full set details in your post, e.g. items, abilities, natures and EVs. Some detail, including the intended game mode for your set, is also appreciated. Access the full list of guidelines here.

Malamar Pokédex and learnset for reference.

Comments

I predict either RU or UU.

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NU, and in the least used of the NU. Except Contrary Superpower and Topsy-Turvy, this thing can not make any uses. It has a very bad typing. Superior to Spinda, inferior to any bug. Disappointing...

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I don't want to go too in-depth here, I'm just gonna say that I think it will be RU, and see usage in UU and possibly OU.

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just wanted to note that  i have a special wall malamar but it sucks. don't try it.

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actual tier: NU atm. didn't really get why as this is a really great pokemon. its gonna see much use in NU though as both topsy-turvy and contrary is great for the current meta. contrary fuggs up sticky web while topsy turvy really stops all those set-up sweepers

Answer 1

Malamar @ Leftovers

Ability: Contrary
Nature: Adamant (+Att, - Sp. Att)
EV's: 252 Att/128 HP/128 Def
Moves:
- Topsy-turvy
- Night Slash
- Psycho Cut
- Superpower

This is a good Pokemon, but I don't know which tier he will be in. His EV spread is so he can take a boosted hit, and then screw them (Swords Dance users, Calm Mind users, etc.) over with Topsy-turvy. Night Slash and Psycho Cut are STAB, and have decent coverage together. Superpower rounds out his coverage, and makes good use of his ability, Contrary, by boosting his Attack and Defence.

Comments

I have the same moveset! Good Job!

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I would go 252 HP > 128 in each defense.

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Honestly is there any other possible set to run?
:P

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Pls Kijanub. Specs is a good set. >.>

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wynaut foul play good power 95 goes first usually for me

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I voted for your answer, but I agree with JarJar, why don't you invest 252 EVs in your HP?

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try razor claw. with psycho cut and night slash = death

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This moveset is plain awesome, Malamar sweeps like a baws! Got my vote ;)

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What about Items? Leftovers or Razor Claw?

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I have the Leftovers for extra sustain, as once he gets set up he is quite physically bulky. However, Razor Claw is an interesting idea, as I think it gives Night Slash and Psycho Cut a 50% chance of getting a critical hit, because of the way crits work in Gen VI.

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knock off instead of night slash
quick claw instead of leftovers

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@Samurott_trainer Quick Claw is random and unreliable. Better to have something else.

Answer 2

Squid or kid?

Malamar @ Choice Band

Ability: Contrary

Nature: Adamant

EVs: 252 Atk, 252 Def, 4 Spd

• Superpower (Contrary abuse, and to be creative and original)

• Psycho Cut (STAB)

• Night Slash (STAB)

• Switcheroo (Choice Item Lock)

Comments

Remember: Always use Switcheroo first before you can do the fun part!

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I liek dis.

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Me too, but I think Choice Scarf + max speed + jolly Nature would work better

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Well, the Choice Scarf isn't meant for extra speed.

Answer 3

Nature: impish (+def, -spatt)
evs: 252 att, 128 def, 128 spdef

moveset:
topsy-turvy
swagger
psycho cut
superpower

topsy-turvy to reverse stats then use swagger to decrease attack stat by one stage and confuse oppenent and psycho cut for coverage and superpower to increase attack stat and defense by one stage. this set is a annoying/sweeper set.

Comments

I don't believe you understand the mechanics of topsy-turvy

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bravo, but topsy turvy flips stat changes

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sabeleye

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Coverage for what tho? .-.
Its weaknesses are Bug and Fairy

Answer 4

Random moveset

Malamar
Item: choice scarf
Ability: Contrary
Nature: Adamant or Jolly
EV's: 252 Atk, 252 Spd, 4 Hp
Moveset: Superpower, Night slash, Switcheroo, Topsyturvy

Choice scarf gives Malamar speed over most unboosted Pokemon.
Using the contrary ability, just keep spamming superpower for good damage and the Attack and defense boost every turn.(worth useing some pp ups on super power). If you get outsped Malamar has average defenses and should be able to sustain a neutral hit.

Alternate strategy:
Switch in to a swords dancing or calm minding opponent and use Switcheroo to get them stuck boosting them self with thy choice scarf. Then you can use Topsyturvy or dish out some damage with superpower and night slash.

Answer 5

Malamar@ Leftovers/Expert Belt

Ability: Contrary

Nature:Adamant Adamant

EVs: 252 Attack, 252 HP, 4 Defence

Moves:

• Topsy-turvy (to counter people who keep using Swords Dance and other stat boosting moves
• Rock Slide (to counter Bug- types)
• Night Slash (powerful move with an increased critical hit ratio)
• Facade (powerful move and even more powerful if the user has a status condition)

Answer 6

Malamar@ flame orb
Ability: Contrary
Nature: Jolly
Evs: 252 speed/ 252 attack/ 4 defence
Moves:
-Superpower
-Facade
-Hypnosis
-Switcheroo

This moveset is made to take out physical attackers easily. Switcheroo will give the opponent the flame orb thus burning them and reducing attack. Facade is there as a strong move in case you get toxic or burn. Superpower provides coverage and with contrary as your ability you get an attack and defense boost. Hypnosis is there just in case you want to sleep and switch out the next turn. With the jolly nature you will be faster than almost any Pokemon. If you do not like hypnosis I suggest psycho cut because it will have STAB and it is pretty strong. I take out walls like Aegislash and Snorlax easily. This has also won me a battle against an Arceus.

Answer 7

Malamar @ Leftovers
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Nature: Jolly (+Spd, -SAtk)
Moves:
- Psycho Cut (STAB; High critical rate)
- Foul Play (STAB)
- Pluck / Arial Ace (Covers its bug weakness)
- Superpower (Increase its Atk and Def because of its ability)

Comments

Pluck is horrible, so is Aerial Ace. I would recommend Topsy- Turvy or Switcheroo. Get rid of the Leftovers for the Focus Sash.

Answer 8

Assault Vest
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name: Assault Vest
move 1: Superpower
move 2: Pluck (Use Knock Off when ORAS come out)
move 3: Night Slash
move 4: Psycho Cut
ability: Contrary
item: Assault Vest
evs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
nature: Adamant

Comments

Why Pluck, when there is Topsy-Turvy?
Also, replace the Assault Vest with Choice Scarf or Focus Sash.

Answer 9

ability: contrary

item: charcoal/leftovers

EVs: 252 atk, 128 hp, 128 spe, lonely

moves: topsy turvy, flamethrower, psycho cut, superpower

this set is useful for messing up your opponents. it has flamethrower to cover bug types amd superpower to take advantage of contrary.

Comments

Charcoal is bad for Malamar. Use a Life Orb, Focus Sash or Choice Scarf set.

Answer 10

Malamar@ Expert Belt
Ability: Contrary
Nature: Jolly
EV's: 252 Atk, 252 Speed, 4 Sp. D
Moves: ( All these moves he learns by Lvl Up! No need to breed for specific moves!)
-Superpower
-Foul Play
-Psycho Cut
-Swagger
Very easy setup, it's fast and dangerous.
Swagger- gets them confused and if they get hurt, it hurts more.
Superpower- for a stat boost
Foul Play- Their boosted atk is used against them + STAB
Psycho Cut- STAB + High Crit

Answer 11

ORAS Choice Scarf Malamar

Ability: Contrary
EVs: 252 Att, 252 Spe, 4HP
Nature: Jolly

Knock Off is the new toy that Malamar received through ORAS move tutors. Great STAB move and it removes items.
Psycho Cut is another STAB move, good critical hit ratio, hits Fighting and Poison types hard.
Superpower is the coverage move that hits Steel, Normal, Ice, Rock and Dark types. Also a great choice move to lock yourself into once opposing Pokemon have been weakened.
Switcheroo is used to screw over defensive and stall teams.

Answer 12

Doubles Support Malamar

Malamar w/ Leftovers/mental herb/
Ability:contrary
nature: careful(-Spa +Spdf) or impish(-Spa +Def)
EV's: 112 Spd/ the rest into Hp and Spdf
Moves:
-Simple beam
-Super Power/Foul Play
-Topsy-Turvey
-Rain Dance/Sunny day/Confide

With just enough speed to out-speed uninvested Rotom at lvl 50 it is designed around powering up Rotom wash/fan/frost with simple beam, confide/rain dance, Topsy-Turvey. giving Rotom +2 Special attack or boosting hydro pump/ thunder with rain.

Rotom heat and mow can be simple beamed and then topsy turvy'd after the first turn of overheat/leafstorm and then boosted with sun/ protected with rain

Answer 13

Malamar @ Chesto Berry

Ability: Contrary
Nature: Adamant / Careful
EV's: HP: 252 / SpDef: 148 / Speed: 62 / Att: 36 / Def:12

Moves:
-Superpower
-Knock Off
-Psycho Cut
-Rest

Superpower is a great move when combined with Contrary. Not only is it powerful, but it gives you the necessary Attack and Defense boost to really pack a punch AND it compensates for Malamar's lower Defense stat. It also gives you a strong fighting type move to take out other Dark types.

Knock Off, while doing slightly less damage than Night Slash, lets you get rid of pesky held items like Leftovers and you still get the STAB from the Dark typing.

Psycho Cut is also STAB.

And the Rest/Chesto Berry combination is extremely useful with Malamar because it allows you time to build up Malamar's stats with Superpower and not fall prey to poison or paralysis. You also get a free heal without having to wait for your Pokemon to wake up so you can keep boosting your stats until you can one-hit K/O everything.

The reason I spread out the stats a bit more is because I feel like Malamar really needed a bit of a speed boost, but I still wanted that extra kick to the attack and defense in case I came across a situation where I couldn't use Superpower. The 252HP / 148SpDef /and at least 60 Speed are really the most necessary for this set, as Superpower makes up for the attack and defense. But feel free to allocate the remaining 48 points to other stats if you feel it would suit you better, this is just my preference.

Answer 14

Cthulhu (Malamar) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Brave Nature (+Atk, -Spe)
IVs: 0 Spe
- Superpower
- Psycho Cut
- Night Slash
- Trick Room

This is my Malamar for my Psychic Gym Team for several facebook groups.
It works extremely well in ou as a all rounded tank if you balance out the rest of your team. (I.E. Gardevoir-mega, Gallade, metagross, espeon, delphox(oras) of which have been extensively tested and adjusted accordingly)

The usual strategy is (remember be smart and observe your opponent's team. If its a mostly fast team send out Cthulhu first.): Trick room (unless the opposing Pokemon is slower than you are, which would be hard to do. Otherwise Superpower) -> superpower(times 8 if possible) -> (insert night slash/psycho cut for alternate typing advantage/neutral damage against: fairy, flying, etc.) -> trick room again -> if fainted switch to the next slowest (unless trick room has run out, in that case play fastest.(in my case espeon/gardevoir-mega.)) -> ??? -> Victory? -> Profits.

This build, on several occasions. Has swept entire OU teams, while being the only Pokemon sent out. (Here is a pretty decent example, although not a full ou team: 45eg-wwww-ww4d-gq8z)

As you can see, this is a hit first talk later kind of tank. A pretty good one at that too. (Unless prepared for it) Good thing leftovers saves it a bit.

Answer 15

Malamar @ King's Rock
Type: Dark, Psychic
Ability: Contrary
Nature: Quiet
EV train: speed, attack, special attack
Moveset:
Topsy-Turvy
Psycho Cut
Rock Slide
Superpower

Having moves like this can really annoy an opponent. Rock slide gives coverage for Bug types (Malamar's main weakness), and Psycho Cut can get a critical hit on a opponent. To add to this, King's Rock can get a flinch on the opponent. Topsy-Turvy helps against foes with stat raising moves (Swords Dance, Power-Up Punch, Calm Mind ect.) With the Contrary ability, it helps to have Superpower, as this move lowers your attack and defence, the Contrary ability makes it so move that normally would lower you stats, raise them incited and vice versa.

Answer 16

A bit late to the party, but I wanted to throw out a kinda gimmicky set I've been having fun with.

Malamar @ Focus Sash

Ability: Contrary

Nature: Jolly (+Spd, -Sp. Atk)

EV: 252 Spd, 252 Atk, 2 HP

Moves

-Topsy-Turvy

A must on any anti-meta Malamar build for obvious reasons. Ruins a setup sweeper's day. If they manage to get outspeed you and get a good hit, focus sash enables you to still pull this off.

-Destiny Bond/Switcheroo

Odd I'm not seeing the former more often on Malamar builds, but I suppose that's a good thing, it gives it the element of surprise. Egg move off of Qwilfish. Malamar is a pretty weak Pokemon compared to the common meta, so this with the focus sash lets you, at the very least, kamikaze a potential threat. Of course, this'll only be an option for Mons you can outspeed, and even with EV training Malamar can easily be topped by a niche sweeper.

The latter is obviously useful, and fun to get off after you've burned your focus sash to take the opponent's item with it.

-Foul Play

This is is great, great, great against physical sweepers that don't resist dark. Because it takes into account your own stat changes, it gets STAB, and it won't be nerfed by a Topsy-Turvey on Swords Dance/Dragon Dance either.

-Superpower

Pretty obvious inclusion on a Malamar build. Great with contrary, and the stat boosts stack with Foul Play, letting you boost off of a sweeper's attack.

Answer 17

Bulky Squid set
Malamar @Assault Vest
Ability: Contrary
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 252 HP, 252 Atk, 4 SpD/4 Spe
-Superpower- your source of ability abuse and defense boosts.
-Night Slash/Foul Play/Knock Off- your basic Dark stab.
-Psycho Cut- your basic Psychic stab.
-your choice of coverage: Rock Slide, Aerial Ace, Return, etc.
Pretty straightforward. I think you can figure out how this works.

Answer 18

Mostly Supportive but still Beefy and kinda Fast Squid (Doubles)
Ability- Contrary
Nature- Jolly (+Speed, -Special Attack)
Item- Focus Sash
EV's- 248 HP, 128 Atk., 128 Spd.
Moves:
Night Slash- STAB bonus
Superpower- Contrary abuse
Swagger- Powers up allies
Topsy Turvy- Gets rid of opponents buffs from Dynamaxing or otherwise and can also eliminate stat decreases of teammates

I love Malamar in doubles, especially when paired with Pokemon like Durant, who rely on their attack stat. I run a focus sash on mine just because bug types are growing in popularity, and Malamar would just kinda die without it. Though I'd watch out if you're playing to dynamax with an ally with Malamar, because Contrary is also a curse, since some g max moves raise you team's stats, it would lower Malamar's stats. This is my first time doing this so don't expect me to me perfect

Answer 19

Malamar @ Leftovers
ABILITY: Contrary
NATURE: Adamant (+Atk -SpAtk)
EVs: 252 Atk/252 Def/4 HP

Rest
Sleep Talk
Superpower
Knock Off

Answer 20

Malamar @ Choice Scarf
ABILITY: Contrary
NATURE: Jolly (+Spd -SpAtk)
EVs: 252 Atk/252 Spd/4 HP

Superpower
Knock Off
Psycho Cut
Switcheroo