Disclaimer: I don't own this artpiece

https://www.smogon.com/dex/sm/pokemon/lunala/

  Requested by: @Stareevee

      As the emissary of the moon, Lunala fits it pretty darn well with that bat theme since they are nocturnal and really only come out at night. Lunala is a Pokemon that does better than Solgaleo in Ubers thanks to it's better movepool and makes far better use of it's signature Z Move. It also had a scarf set like it's sun counterpart at the beginning, but has expanded it's variety of sets. Personally, I prefer Solgaleo, but I can't deny that Lunala legitimately looks cool both outside of and in battle. Can I just mention how much I love what it looks like? It looks like a cool combination of Olympia's cape and a bat, with the stars inside of it! In battle, Lunala is rather decent, yet good compared to it's sun counterpart as it shines as a sweeper, but suffers similar flaws to it, but is still better than it. 

     In the early part of SM, Lunala's most common sets were very predictable, and they still kind of are now. Like it's sun counterpart, it usually ran Choice Scarf, but unfortunately, even it didn't do much better as Pokemon who can soak up it's hits easily such as Ho-Oh and Yveltal, who are still good checks to it now, with the latter being more of a prominent threat. In my opinion, like Solgaleo, Lunala is also kind of meh, but it's still a good Pokemon to use...that is, unless you run into a Dark or Ghost type that are faster than it and have priority moves.  Now, though, people managed to make more sets that have been opted to be used for more than Scarf. Those are Choice Specs and Lunalium Z, both of which are good in their own right, but fall flat in some areas. There's not really much speaking for it in the defensive department either, but on an offensive set like Lunalium, Calm Mind can be found to boost one area of that, Sp Def. However, on the physical side, not much can be said - it's decent, and at least it's not a glass cannon! 

  As for it's ability, Shadow Shield(clearly Multiscale but renamed like Full Metal Body), it really doesn't help Lunala out at all. If you really think about it, Lunala really only has 2 weaknesses to worry about - Dark and Ghost, which are 4X super effective against it.  Shadow Shield  isn't really all that helpful for Lunala, as one super effective move can snuff out most of it's health, if not all of it in an OHKO. It also doesn't help that Dark types have the best matchup against it, and some are faster than it and have priority moves like Sucker Punch that break that flimsy protection. Like Multiscale, it's got the same flaw in that it only works at full health, meaning it's weaknesses can be exploited even more with status ailments or something like sandstorm weather.  Another bad thing for Lunala is it's mediocre speed tier. It does break a trend of legends who have a max speed of 306, but people have long since gone a long way from using from what was considered a good speed stat in 100(max 328), and like Solgaleo's, Lunala's is 97(max 322). My point being, a lot of Pokemon nowadays are usually faster than it and can easily overpower Lunala, such as Arceus or Marshadow. This makes Lunala's situation a bit tougher because some of it's counters can speed past it to go first, such as the mega ultra bacon chicken Yveltal, or Dark-Arceus, and Marshadow. 

     It's coverage is pretty good - Lunala has some very strong offensive moves that help it out, some more than others. Examples of these are Ice Beam, Focus Blast, Psyshock, Thunder, and of course, it's signature move Moongeist Beam. Then if you have a Lunalium Z, you crank that signature move up into Super Saiyan mode with Menacing Moonraze Maelstrom! All of these moves help out Lunala in some way, depending on the set it has(you can check out the link at the top) . Thunder is very situational in my opinion, as it's really only good for Primal Kyogre, and isn't worth your time using for Pokemon like Ho-Oh and Toxapex, unlike what the guide says. I disagree, though - Psyshock is definitely the superior move in my opinion, as it actually hits 100% of the time, and doesn't need rain to hit all the time, and still does good damage. As for the move Trick that it says for Choice Specs, I don't really think it's good as it wastes a moveslot on Lunala so that it can switch an item with a Pokemon...which in hindsight, could be good, but in this tier, a lot of Pokemon could have items that can't be swapped. Items like the Orbs of the Primals, Mega Stones, Plates, and Z Crystals can't do that. It's unfortunate for this move, that it has this flaw. Ice Beam can hit Zygarde, really hard..since Zysnake hates Ice a lot. This also applies to offensive Pokemon like Mega Salamence or Yveltal. Moongeist Beam is an excellent move, as it ignores Abilities like Shadow Shield...I wonder how this would go for other Lunala if they got hit by this, or yours? 

     Focus Blast is a staple of both the Choice Specs and Lunalium Z set, and for good reason. The reason why it's used over Moonblast is because it hits more Dark types for consistent damage, on a wider scale. Moonblast is ok...it does lower special attack on some occasions, but Focus Blast helps dig up a slight weakness in the opponent's special defense, which can be useful against foes like Tyranitar. Psyshock is definitely needed because it hits Pokemon with a strong defense on the special side hard, such as Blissey, Toxapex, or Chansey on their physical. Be careful though - using it carelessly on a Choice Specs set can result in Lunala having to switch out quickly. Moving on to the movesets, there isn't that much to say about the Choice Specs - it's just as you'd expect, full on hyper offense. Choice Specs does lock you in though, to using one move at a time, so be careful, especially if you're using Psyshock...don't get too clicky happy. As for the Lunalium Z, I can say Menacing Moonraze Maelstrom is a huge nuke, if used properly. Make sure to, though, make the best possible use of it that you can - and don't use it if there's a Normal type just in case they switch it in to the Z Move, or waste it on a low health mon(unless it's the last one?). Against Dark types, it can do a substantial amount even though it's resisted. This set doesn't get locked into one move, thankfully, and can also take one powerful hit, even without it's ability. Both still have trouble with their ability being broken by entry hazards or statuses, and faster Pokemon who could potentially have the type advantage.  

Despite all of this good coverage, there are still good checks to Lunala. A lot, in fact. In Ubers, there's a lot of Dark type or Ghost types that have a good matchup. Yveltal, Marshadow, Tyranitar, etc. Although some need to be wary of moves that it can use to knock them out or weaken them, Yveltal out of them, has the greatest advantage over it. Yveltal just wrecks Lunala in every single way. With it's devastating offense, it can easily knock out Lunala or take out at least 90% of it's health with a single dark type move, like Dark Pulse or Sucker Punch. It also doesn't help that there are good walls that block it, such as Chansey or Ho-Oh. Specially defensive Ho-Oh can tank a couple of hits that aren't boosted by Calm Mind and stall it out with it's recovery move, Roost or Recover. Chansey and Blissey can simply shrug off all special attacks that Lunala can throw at it, except for Psyshock, which targets the physical side. 

    This can also sort of apply to the Dark types, except that some of them fear Focus Blast, and for the Ghost types, they have to fear switching into a super effective move. Someone like Mega Gengar has an advantage in that it's faster, but Lunala can still escape unharmed with Shadow Shield being fine as it's a Ghost type, meaning it can switch out from Shadow Tag. It also struggles against priority moves that are super effective against it, like Sucker Punch and Shadow Sneak, and status ailments that chip away at it's health or slow it down severely. Still, though, Lunala can be a formidable foe with the right support with the rest of it's team, that cover it's weaknesses. Shame, though. Marshadow needs less support.

    Lunala is...ok. It's not terrible, it's not good, just...mediocre. It needs a ton of support from the rest of it's teammates to actually function, and it's ability isn't that helpful for it. Chip damage can break Shadow Shield rather easily, and there are a lot of checks to it in Dark types like Yveltal. It's got good moves - but sadly, that won't help it at all if it can't even land them on foes who knock it out first with their greater speed. It's still cool, though.

Rating: 6/10

Merry Christmas by the way:)