Ambipom Analysis

Ambipom
Pickup
Adds a chance of finding an item after each in-game battle.
Technician
Moves with 60 base power or less do 50% more damage.
Type Tier
Normal BL

Name Item Ability Nature
Choice Band
Choice Band Technician Jolly
Moveset EVs
~ Return
~ Focus Punch / Brick Break
~ Payback
~ Fake Out / U-turn
4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
This Ambipom is like a slightly faster, more fragile version of Tauros. They have the same Attack stat, and with Ambipom’s wide variety of physical moves, it is certainly a viable Choice Bander. The offensive combination of Fighting and Dark has tremendous coverage while Return is a reliable STAB move. Payback is a better choice than Shadow Claw for the third slot because of Technician and its side effect which will occasionally double its base power. The last slot is largely filler. Fake Out is good if you plan on leading with this guy as it will take advantage of STAB and Technician while flinching the targeted Pokémon, unless it has the ability Inner Focus. The fact that you will have to switch afterwards is not a huge hardship since you would likely have to switch anyway. U-turn helps you get in a counter Pokémon while doing nominal damage.

Name Item Ability Nature
Baton Pass
Leftovers Technician Timid
Moveset EVs
~ Baton Pass
~ Nasty Plot
~ Swift
~ Thunderbolt / Taunt / Substitute
252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Ambipom is the fastest Pokémon in the game that can pull off a Nasty Plot pass, and since your opponent will have no idea you aren’t running the Choice Band version, you will have a pretty easy time getting off at least one boost! Although Ambipom’s Special Attack isn’t great, Swift takes advantage of STAB, Technician, and the Nasty Plot boost so it will be doing decent damage should you be out of Baton Pass targets. The last slot, while essential, is a toss up. Thunderbolt will damage Skarmory that attempt to come in to rain on your Baton Passing parade, while Taunt prevents phazing altogether. Electing Substitute over the other options makes your passable stat boosts more vulnerable to Roar / Whirlwind, but gives Ambipom some measure of defense and another passable move.

Name Item Ability Nature
Flinch and Flee
Life Orb / Silk Scarf Technician Adamant / Jolly
Moveset EVs
~ Fake Out
~ U-turn
~ Brick Break
~ Payback / Return
4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Fake Out to inflict damage and flinch your opponent, and then U-turn to a counter Pokémon before your opponent gets a chance to attack you! Again, the Fight / Dark combination is there for coverage. Return is an option if you want to take advantage of STAB, but you lose coverage. This set will not inflict as much damage on your opponent as the first two, but is a much better team player.

Name Item Ability Nature
Last Resort
Life Orb Technician Adamant / Jolly
Moveset EVs
~ Fake Out
~ Last Resort
4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Only two moves are listed here because the sole goal of this set is to unleash the sweeping potential of Last Resort. In case you are unaware of how this move works, it is a 130 base power Normal move that can only be employed after all other moves in the set have been used since the Pokémon has switched in. This is why only two moves are listed, and the first is Fake Out. If a third move were to be chosen, it would have to be Substitute. However, using Substitute with Life Orb creates a situation where you would be sacrificing too many Hit Points, thus necessitating the use of the less powerful Silk Scarf. Though straightforward in its use, this set is actually quite difficult to pull off considering the prevalence of Ghost, Rock, and Steel-types. Only attempt to sweep with it late in the game when you have intimate knowledge of your opponent's remaining Pokémon.

Other Options

In the way of elemental offense, Ambipom has access to Grass Knot, Shadow Ball, and a Hidden Power type of your choice if you are looking for a novelty special sweeper. To ensure the Technician boost and still have flawless Speed, use 59 base power Hidden Power. A good IV spread choice would be 31/30/30/29/31/31, which returns Hidden Power Ice, which complements Thunderbolt. On the physical side, Ambipom has access to its “signature” Double Hit that takes advantage of Technician to make it roughly the same power as Return. The difference is that Double Hit is able to hit through Substitutes, and is only 90% accurate. However, in general, 90% accuracy is less than acceptable for a fragile Pokémon like Ambipom when it is able to avoid the risk by using a reliable move like Return. Fire Punch, Ice Punch, and ThunderPunch are all available and could be put on a Choice Band set as well. Thunder is your best option against Skarmory, but it will not even 2HKO, making it a rather poor option. In the way of support, Agility is available if you would prefer to pass Speed instead of Special Attack, but there are quite a few Pokémon that do that better. You could slap Sleep Talk on the Choice Bander to absorb Hypnosis from those Choice Scarf Gengar leads. Lastly, Screech and Thunder Wave are usable options to hamper your opponent’s party, but Ambipom is a bit fragile for such support.

EVs

Always maximize its fabulous Speed; that is what makes Ambipom different, so take advantage of it! The rest of the EVs obviously depend on the set. Suggestions are listed.

Opinion

If Ambipom's only option was Choice Banding or Baton Passing, then Ambipom would scream mediocre. However, the fact that it can do both quite well makes Ambipom an unpredictable threat that could turn a game around in the blink of an eye, or even the clap of a tail.

Counters

Obviously, the Choice Bander will be hampered by the usual physical walls like Metagross, Bronzong, and Skarmory. The Baton Passer is really only frightened of Pokémon that both outspeed it and are able to OHKO. This group includes most Choice Scarf users (like Heracross and Garchomp) along with the few Pokémon that outrun Ambipom on their own steam like Dugtrio, Weavile, Alakazam, Jolteon, and Aerodactyl. Notice, however, that no Pokémon really counters both versions; good luck to your opponent in this guessing game!