Azelf, The Willpower Pokémon. Known as "The Being of Willpower". It sleeps at the bottom of a lake to keep the world in balance. When it flew, people gained the determination to do things. It was the birth of willpower. This Pokémon is said to have endowed humans with the determination needed to face any of life's difficulties.

Overview

Azelf is the powerhouse pixie. Amazing Speed, amazing Attack, amazing Special Attack. It makes a great lead and a great late game sweeper. Everything about it screams offensive beast. A highly recommended Pokémon for offensive teams.

Ability

Levitate: a free switch in to any Ground attack, which is great for Azelf due to its low bulk.

Move Sets

Lead

- Taunt
- Stealth Rock
- Fire Blast / Grass Knot
- Explosion
Item Attached: Focus Sash
Ability: Levitate
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Naive Nature (+Spd, -SDef)

Taunt is perfect for a fast Pokémon like Azelf. It stops bulky Pokémon setting up Stealth Rock, which is great for any team. Stealth Rock is amazing and should be on every team. Fire Blast destroys any Steel type not named Heatran, but Grass Knot ruins Swampert, both of which are popular leads. Explosion adds the final blow and can potentially save your team from a big threat.

Nasty Plot

- Nasty Plot
- Psychic
- Flamethrower
- Grass Knot / Hidden Power [Fighting]
Item Attached: Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)

Nasty Plot boosts Azelf's already amazing Special Attack to huge levels. Psychic is STAB and works well with the other moves. Flamethrower ruins any Steel types that want to try and take a Psychic. Grass Knot helps murder bulky waters, and it also murders Tyranitar. Hidden Power [Fighting] is another option for coverage and hitting Tyranitar really hard.

Dual Screen lead

- Reflect
- Light Screen
- Explosion
- Taunt
Item Attached: Light Clay
Ability: Levitate
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)

Dual Screens makes for an amazing offensive team lead, as it makes even the weakest Pokémon defensively potent. Explosion is amazing and works as a suicide move to kill… most things. Taunt stops Stealth Rock and set up moves, and what not. Azelf's reason for existing is setting up Dual Screens and then dying, ideally through Explosion.

Pure Sweeper

- Explosion
- Psychic
- Flamethrower
- Grass Knot / Hidden Power [Fighting]
Item Attached: Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 40 Atk / 252 SAtk / 216 Spd
Naive Nature (+Spd, -SDef)

Explosion is obvious, but don't use it at the wrong time. Psychic is a powerhouse move, especially when combined with Life Orb. Flamethrower handles any Steel types, with Grass Knot killing bulky Waters and hurting Tyranitar pretty badly. Hidden Power [Fighting] is an option of beating Heatran and Tyranitar down.

Choice

- Psychic
- Flamethrower
- Grass Knot
- Trick / Explosion
Item Attached: Choice Specs / Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk) / Naive Nature (+Spd, -SDef)

Psychic is power. No other way to describe it really. Flamethrower handles Steel types. Grass Knot beats down bulky Waters and sorts out Tyranitar. Trick can ruin a Pokémon if used at the right time. Explosion is… fairly obvious.

Choice Scarf makes Azelf a more effective revenge killer, but Choice Specs is all about power.

EVs and Nature:

Lead
No point in anything but offence here, as you have Focus Sash, making bulk pointless.

Nasty Plot
Offence, offence, offence. It is all about sweeping, and isn't about taking hits. Just max out those powerhouse stats.

Dual Screen Lead
Azelf actually wants to survive long enough to set up Reflect and Light Screen, so investing in HP is required. Speed is also ideal to invest in, so Taunt and Explosion can be used first.

Pure Sweeper
Azelf doesn't really need more than 216 Speed EVs. Max Special Attack and dump the rest into Attack. You could go with more Speed for safety, but you don't really need to.

Choice
Run Modest if you are using Choice Scarf, if you want some more power. Put the 4 HP EVs into Attack if you are using Explosion.

Other Options

Thunderbolt, Hidden Power [Ice], Shadow Ball, Rain Dance, Sunny Day, Knock Off, Physical

Thunderbolt can deal obscene damage to Gyarados.

Hidden Power [Ice] ruins any of the OU Dragons.

Shadow Ball deals with Cresselia if it is ever used in OU, as well as other Psychic types..

Rain Dance could be used if you wanted to support the rest of your team.

Sunny Day is usable to support the rest of your team.

Knock Off is a good choice for supporting the team.

Physical sets can be used with Choice Band and Choice Scarf with Fire Punch, Zen Headbutt, Ice Punch, U-turn, Explosion.

Countering Azelf

Spiritomb completely ruins Azelf. It is immune to Psychic and Explosion, and hits back with priority STAB Shadow Sneak or Sucker Punch. Anything that can take Special hits well can take Azelf on, such as Blissey, Cresselia, Metagross, Registeel, Pokémon like that. Scizor can destroy Azelf if it predicts wrongly as it will take any of Scizor's moves to the face and die. Tyranitar beasts through Azelf, especially with Pursuit. Dark Pokémon in general are good switch ins. Also, status completely shuts down Azelf, especially Thunder Wave. If you can predict the move that Azelf uses upon switching in, it will have a hard time taking a hit due to its low defenses and majorly offensive nature in general.

Locations in Games

Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald Not in Game Colosseum/XD Not in Game Fire Red/Leaf Green Not in Game Diamond/Pearl/Platinum Lake Valor HeartGold/SoulSilver Trade from DPt

Animé Appearences

Azelf has had a few Animé Appearences. First, Ash saw it shrouded in Lake Valor. After that, Team Galactic managed to capture it and used it to awaken Dialga & Palkia. It then fought with Mesprit & Uxie to help stop Galactic Episode 504: The Secret Sphere of Influence Episode 546: Pruning a Passel of Pals! Episode 564: Losing Its Lustrous Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Explorers of Sky Episode 601: Uncrushing Defeat Episode 618: Unlocking the Red Chain of Events! Episode 619: The Needs of Three Episode 620: The Battle Finale of Legend!