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Hustle
- Physical moves do 50% more damage at the cost of 20% accuracy. Increases wild encounter rate with higher level Pokemon.
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Level 100 Statistics (see level 5, 50, 100)
|
Min- |
Min |
Max |
Max+ |
| HP |
72
|
- |
285 |
348 |
- |
| Atk |
85
|
185 |
206 |
269 |
295 |
| Def |
70
|
158 |
176 |
239 |
262 |
| SpA |
65
|
149 |
166 |
229 |
251 |
| SpD |
70
|
158 |
176 |
239 |
262 |
| Spe |
58
|
136 |
152 |
215 |
236 |
Overview
When you look at Zweilous, you'd probably think, "why on earth would I be using an NFE Pokemon!?" Fortunately, there is logic behind the madness. By looking at Zweilous, you'll notice it has rather lackluster stats, especially it's base 58 Speed and average defenses. However, what makes Zweilous so unique is Hustle; with Hustle, Zweilous has power that rivals even top-tier Pokemon such as Rayquaza and Zekrom, but at a cost. Hustle, although it is an amazing ability, lowers the accuracy of all moves by 20%, so even moves with perfect accuracy have a chance to miss. Zweilous also has a limited movepool, but it contains all the right ingredients to compete in RU. Fire Fang, when combined with Outrage and Crunch, provide excellent type coverage against every Pokemon in the tier, making Zweilous difficult to switch into without the correct prediction. Finally, Zweilous's typing leaves it vulnerable to Fighting-, Bug-, Ice-, and Dragon-type moves, so proper team support is essential to its success. Despite its flaws, Zweilous can open up holes in your opponent's team and give its teammates an easier time sweeping.
The main reason to use Zweilous is that it has one of the most powerful unboosted Outrages in the game, higher than even Pokemon in the Uber tier. Fire Fang and Crunch provide Zweilous with excellent type coverage, and allow it to hit everything in the tier for neutral damage. The item choice comes down to personal preference; if you use a Choice Band, Zweilous will have significantly higher power. Eviolite, on the other hand, raises its defenses, and allows it to take a hit should Hustle make Zweilous miss. 20 Speed EVs allow Zweilous to outrun base 60 Speed Pokemon such as Clefable and Weezing before they can cripple it with status; a burned Zweilous is basically deadweight on your team. The final move is mainly a filler; Dragon Tail can force the opponent out, whereas Substitute provides some well needed protection from status or weak attacks.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
Stealth Rock support is greatly appreciated, as Zweilous is attempting to KO as many Pokemon as possible. Sandslash is an excellent teammate as it can switch into most Fighting-type moves aimed at Zweilous, and it also has access to Rapid Spin to remove entry hazards. Spikes are equally as helpful, and can be provided by Pokemon such as Roselia and Qwilfish. Using Dragon Tail in conjunction with multiple entry hazards will surely cause a headache for your opponent, so be sure to take advantage of this, should the opportunity arise. Taunt can be used in the last slot to stop walls from inflicting status on Zweilous, whereas Thunder Wave can be used in order to cripple faster Pokemon that switch in. For additional support, a Wish user such as Clefable is helpful as it can restore any damage Zweilous has accumulated from entry hazards; however, it also shares a Fighting-type weakness.
When using Outrage, Zweilous faces problems with Steel-types who can switch in and set up. For this reason, Magneton is an excellent partner. Magneton can trap Steel-types with Magnet Pull, and use a super effective Hidden Power to KO them. Using another Dragon-type can put pressure on the opponent; once Zweilous has broken up the opponent's team, this gives a Pokemon such as Gabite or Druddigon a much easier time sweeping, and the opponent will have a hard time dealing with a second assault.
Even without a Choice Band, Hustle allows Zweilous to hit like a truck, having the strongest unboosted Dragon-type STAB in RU. When using a Choice Scarf, Zweilous is able to outspeed everything in RU up to positively natured Archeops, and can easily KO a large portion of the metagame. Outrage is Zweilous's main STAB option, hitting most of the tier ridiculously hard thanks to the lack of common Steel-types that resist it. Crunch is a great secondary STAB to utilize when Outrage is unsafe to use, while Fire Fang rounds off Zweilous's type coverage, hitting the Steel-types that it can't destroy with Outrage and Crunch. Return is mostly a filler option, doing little to help Zweilous's coverage, although it can be handy if the opponent is packing both Dark- and Dragon-type resists and it is unsafe to get locked into Outrage too early. Thunder Fang is another option, which can be used to get out of some sticky situations with setup sweepers that Zweilous is incapable of KOing with Outrage and Crunch, such as Gallade or Poliwrath.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
Zweilous should almost always use maximum Attack and Speed EVs with a Jolly nature when using a Choice Scarf. However, if outrunning the few Pokemon between the base 101 and base 111 Speed tiers isn't important, an Adamant nature is also an option, placing Zweilous at 295 Attack, which translates into well over 400 with Hustle. Zweilous has a few other move options for its last moveslot; Ice Fang can hit Flying-, Ground-, and Grass-types relatively hard, but unless against a Pokemon 4x weak to Ice, a neutral Outrage hits harder. Zweilous can also use either Dragon Tail or Toxic in its last moveslot; the former being useful for handling bulky setup sweepers, although it rather defeats the purpose of the Choice Scarf, while the latter cripples most common walls.
Zweilous really appreciates teammates who are capable of removing bulky Steel-types that prevent it from firing off Outrages recklessly. Because of this, Magneton and Wynaut pair well with Zweilous, as they're able to trap and KO most Steel-types with ease. Additional useful teammates for Zweilous include other Dragon-types, such as Fraxure and Altaria, forming a double Dragon strategy capable of systematically breaking down almost all the common walls in the tier. Zweilous appreciates support from bulky Water- and Steel-types, who take the Ice-type attacks commonly directed at it with ease, as well as Ghost- and Psychic-types, such as Rotom and Gallade, who can sponge the Fighting-type attacks fired off towards it.
As with nearly any offensive Pokemon, Zweilous hugely appreciates entry hazard support. Being a Choice Scarf user affected by all of the entry hazards, Zweilous can also make good use of Rapid Spin support. Excellent choices for providing entry hazards include Qwilfish, Mesprit, and Scolipede, while great users of Rapid Spin who complement Zweilous include Sandslash, Hitmonchan, and Cryogonal.
Other Options
Zweilous has a very poor movepool, thus making its options limited. Ice Fang can be used to hit Tangrowth for super effective damage, but isn't useful for much else. Other physical options include Head Smash, Thunder Fang, Return, and Body Slam, but none of these offer additional coverage to his moveset. Work Up is available to boost Zweilous's Attack and Special Attack, but generally it's too slow and frail to set up, even with Eviolite.
Checks and Counters
Countering a Pokemon with more Attack than Rayquaza may seem tough, but Steel-types do a great job as long as they avoid Fire Fang. Steelix and Aggron are great examples; they have excellent Defense, a resistance to Dragon-type moves, and they can both KO Zweilous with Earthquake. Most faster Pokemon who carry a STAB, super effective attack can defeat Zweilous, providing they avoid switching directly into Outrage. Fighting-types such as Hitmonlee, Ice-types such as Cryogonal, and Bug-types such as Scyther are good checks. Finally, Zweilous is essentially useless should it get burned, so Pokemon who carry Will-O-Wisp are also good checks.
