|
-
Levitate
- This Pokémon is immune to Ground-type moves.
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Level 100 Statistics (see level 5, 50, 100)
|
Min- |
Min |
Max |
Max+ |
| HP |
80
|
- |
301 |
364 |
- |
| Atk |
100
|
212 |
236 |
299 |
328 |
| Def |
80
|
176 |
196 |
259 |
284 |
| SpA |
80
|
176 |
196 |
259 |
284 |
| SpD |
80
|
176 |
196 |
259 |
284 |
| Spe |
100
|
212 |
236 |
299 |
328 |
Overview
Flygon is an excellent Pokemon, being one of a meager handful of the dreaded Dragon-types left in OU. Just be sure to not use it as an inferior Dragonite. Its resistance to Stealth Rock is a major boon in comparison to Dragonite, the 25% damage upon switching in greatly hampers the flying friendly dinosaur. On top of that, Flygon has a plethora of resistances and immunities that it can take advantage of when switching in. U-turn is an awesome attack to have on Choice sets since it makes predicting switches a lot easier. It isn't the most powerful Pokemon offensively, but it is good enough to get the job done, as STAB Dragon- and Ground-type attacks are devastating even without the Attack and Special Attack stats to back them up. Overall, Flygon has a lot of perks and shouldn't be underestimated whatsoever.
Flygon's resistances and immunities give it plenty of opportunities to switch in and score some surprise kills. Earthquake and Outrage are Flygon's primary STAB options, resisted only by Levitate Bronzong, Skarmory, and Shedinja. Stone Edge allows Flygon to revenge kill +1 Gyarados, and can pick off a weakened Zapdos. Fire Blast fries Skarmory for a 2HKO and is Flygon's best option against Bronzong. U-turn is to scout for common counters and works well with entry hazards in play as Flygon can force a lot of switches.
The idea of using Choice Scarf Flygon is simple. While its goal is being a revenge killer, Flygon makes an excellent secondary scout. With U-turn, Flygon can help ease the prediction when switching and, to add, could reveal another Pokemon on the opponent's side. It is best to use U-turn often when Flygon is sent out. It isn't a bad idea to use any of Flygon's other attacks if the Pokemon facing Flygon is threatening the team though, so only use U-turn if there are no other clear options. Outrage is used as your trump card, so make sure that Flygon is not spamming this move often. If it's locked into Outrage, beware of the revenge killers such as Scizor and Mamoswine that could possibly switch in after Flygon KOes a Pokemon and, consequently, lose Flygon in the process. To sum it up in a sentence: use U-turn to help scout and ease switching while using Flygon's other attacks to keep threats at bay or KO them in the process.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
A Jolly nature should be used to revenge kill neutral Speed nature +1 Jirachi. If you feel that Jirachi is controlled without the assistance of Flygon, use Adamant for more power.
Since this set's goal is to revenge kill Pokemon, Flygon wants support in the form of chip damage. Besides that, Flygon appreciates bulkier Pokemon first being eliminated from the field, as this set lacks the power to muscle through them. Tyranitar pairs well with Flygon, as it boasts the ability of taking down Cresselia, Uxie, and other bulky Ghost- or Psychic-types with its Choice Band-boosted attacks. The mixed sets can stretch further and beat other Pokemon such as Skarmory, but requires more prediction. If you're seeking a Pokemon who can keep Dragon-type attacks as well as Ice-type attacks at bay, the best solution is to use a Steel-type of your own. Magnezone support is also welcome as Steel-types counter Flygon locked into Outrage. Heatran helps Flygon take on Pokemon such as Celebi, who would trouble Flygon unless it switched into an Adamant Outrage or a U-turn. In addition to obliterating Skarmory and Bronzong, hence allowing Flygon to run Stone Edge, Heatran's nifty resistances to Bullet Punch and ExtremeSpeed also help Flygon revenge kill more easily as well. Furthermore, STAB Fire Blast will dent Dragonite and Gyarados switch-ins, especially if Stealth Rock is on the field.
With Fire Blast, Flygon gets a bit of leverage against Skarmory, but has a harder time revenge killing Pokemon such as Gyarados. Vaporeon can take on Gyarados easily thanks to Water Absorb and its monstrous HP while 2HKOing Gyarados with Hidden Power Electric. Scizor can pair well with Flygon due to U-turn being common on both their movesets, greatly easing prediction. Scizor also makes a great Pokemon to revenge kill Dragonite, especially one locked into Outrage. If you elect to use Scizor and Flygon, wallbreakers such as Infernape or Lucario are recommended. U-turns from Flygon or Scizor makes it easier to switch the wallbreakers in. Despite its use as a revenge killer, Flygon appreciates support such as Stealth Rock. Any form of indirect damage (Spikes, sandstorm, or Toxic Spikes) also makes Flygon's job easier. Skarmory and Forretress don't mind being paired with Flygon as their weaknesses can be easily absorbed by Flygon. Using Smeargle for Spikes isn't far-fetch'd as well thanks to Spore severely crippling a Pokemon on the opponent's team.
While Flygon is often forgotten in favor of Dragonite, the Choice Band set can pose a huge threat to a lot of teams. Thanks to its excellent Dragon / Ground typing and its ability, Levitate, Flygon has many opportunities to switch in with its unique resistances to Rock and Fire, and immunities to Electric- and Ground-type attacks.
All Choice Band users require prediction to use effectively, but this applies to Flygon more than most other Pokemon due to its risky STAB moves. A Choice-locked Earthquake is a great opportunity for the likes of Dragonite and Gyarados to switch in; allowing these dangerous free switches can be problematic. Outrage, while hitting almost everyone for good damage, forces Flygon to remain in play for two to three turns, leaving it very vulnerable to revenge kills from Mamoswine or other fast Ice attackers. Despite this, many people underestimate the power of these STAB attacks coming from an Attack stat of 492, which allows Flygon to 2HKO Vaporeon, most Swampert, and a chance to 2HKO Bold Suicune if it takes prior Stealth Rock damage. U-turn is a fantastic option on Choice Band Flygon as it can not only wear down some common "Dragon counters", but also give you the benefit of learning what your opponent's Flygon counter is as Flygon damages them. Fire Punch allows Flygon to hit Skarmory and 2HKO specially defensive variants (with Stealth Rock) and reliably 2HKOes Bronzong and OHKOes Scizor. Fire Blast is also acceptable in this slot as it 2HKOes physical Skarmory, but it is less effective in most other scenarios and has reduced accuracy. If one has Magnezone support to eliminate these Steel-types though, Stone Edge or Dragon Claw become the superior options, letting Flygon hit Flying-types and Levitators without locking itself into Outrage.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
To demonstrate the effectiveness of this Flygon, some damage calculations are given below.
- Outrage vs. 252/252+ Suicune 43.56% - 51.49%
- Outrage vs. 252/252+ Vaporeon 56.9% - 67.03%
- Outrage vs. 252/252+ Swampert 51.49% - 60.64%
- Outrage vs. 252/252+ Zapdos 55.99% - 66.15%
- Outrage vs. 252/252+ Cresselia 38.51% - 45.5%
- Earthquake vs. 252/252+ Jirachi 79.95% - 94.06%
- Earthquake vs. 252/0 Metagross 97% - 100%
- Earthquake vs. 252/0 Tyranitar 100%
- Fire Punch vs. 252/176 Skarmory 40.7% - 47.9%
- Fire Punch vs. 252/0 Skarmory 46.1% - 54.5%
- Fire Punch vs. 252/252+ Bronzong 43.2% - 51.48%
Like every other physical sweeper, Stealth Rock is #1 priority for this set; it guarantees many of the 2HKOs and OHKOs against many Pokemon. After that, it's selecting Pokemon who help clear Flygon's issues. Choice Scarf Heatran pairs well with Choice Band Flygon due to the fact that many of Heatran's checks and counters are beaten by Flygon, and vice versa. Heatran easily resists Bullet Punch and ExtremeSpeed, which hit Flygon for neutral damage and impend Flygon from being effective. Scizor still pairs well with Flygon due to U-turn spamming. Scizor works better with Choice Band Flygon, however, because the Pokemon who usually outspeed Flygon can be picked off by Scizor. As Scizor is a problem for Flygon, Magnezone support is always welcome. Choice Scarf Magnezone obtains the bonus of defeating Lucario much easier and, with Knock Off or Trick support, takes down Skarmory as well.
As with the Choice Scarf set, pairing Flygon with wallbreakers is always welcome due to the abundant Pokemon who are strong on the defensive side and Flygon's access to U-turn. Gliscor, Hippowdon, and the aforementioned Skarmory give issues to this Flygon. Infernape wrecks all three of these Pokemon easily with a combination of Hidden Power Ice, Grass Knot, and Fire Blast. Seeking versatile Pokemon such as said Infernape or Gengar is always welcome; granted that the latter gets walled easily by Blissey aside from a random Explosion. Finally, Spikes and Toxic Spikes support is always welcome. Forretress can look into either entry hazard while Skarmory has Spikes, a recovery move, and a phazing move to help with Flygon's team.
This set utilizes Levitate and Roost to their maximum potential in order to stall an opponent with increasing Toxic damage. 281 Speed is reached to outspeed 278 Speed Heatran, 279 Speed Lucario, and 280 Speed Pokemon in general. 364 HP and 240 Defense isn't particularly bulky, but this Flygon isn't meant to absorb physical hits. Its purpose is to minimize residual damage as much as possible and Roost to keep its health up and let Toxic to take its toll on the opponent. The reason a Dragon move is not chosen is because Earthquake and Fire Blast hit all the Pokemon who are immune to Toxic for super effective damage (besides Weezing, Gengar, and Crobat). Despite the Timid nature, Earthquake is chosen over Earth Power because it does more damage on average, and deals more damage to Heatran and Tentacruel, both of which resist Fire Blast and are immune to Toxic.
Flygon is unique in that he is the only Pokemon in the OU metagame that takes some sort of reduced damage from Fire, Electric, and Ground attacks, and this fact should be emphasized at all times when using Flygon. Its useful resistances are why Roost is such a quality move on it, as Roost allows the user to continually switch Flygon in to take Fire Blasts, Earthquakes, or Thunderbolts.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
Since this Flygon plays more defensively, he appreciates many forms of support. Indirect damage such as Stealth Rock and Spikes play a vital role with this set. Since most Pokemon afflicted with Toxic will switch out after a certain amount of time, it is important for them to take as much damage as possible when switching back in. Skarmory and Forretress are your best bets when it comes to laying down entry hazards. Despite Flygon lacking a weakness to most indirect damage attacks, Forretress doesn't seem as necessary. Keep in mind, though, that it is still vital to other teammates if Flygon is being paired with Pokemon such as Blissey and Celebi. Toxic Spikes play a crucial role for this set. With them set up Toxic becomes less of a necessity against certain Pokemon such as Hippowdon. With Toxic Spikes on the field, the only Pokemon who won't be under Toxic conditions so easily will be Pokemon such as Zapdos and Cresselia. With Toxic nailing these Pokemon and Toxic Spikes poisoning most Pokemon on the ground, Flygon's role of stalling is easier to play. An Aromatherapy / Heal Bell user isn't a bad idea to pair with Flygon due to attracting random status afflictions from Pokemon such as Rotom-A. Tentacruel pairs nicely with Flygon as Flygon can absorb most of Tentacruel's weaknesses barring Psychic. On top of that, Tentacruel can lay Toxic Spikes for Flygon and its teammates to stall the opponent out. Using its resistances alongside other Pokemon can help structure the team. For example, Skarmory pairs well with Flygon because Flygon can easily absorb incoming Fire- and Electric-type attacks aimed at Skarmory. From a different perspective, Skarmory can switch into Dragon-type attacks aimed at Flygon and, at the very least, take neutral damage from Ice.
This set can be used on a more balanced or offensive team. Flygon loses a lot of leverage since the team won't be as patient laying Spikes, Stealth Rock, and Toxic Spikes. Scizor, to no one's surprise, pairs well with Flygon. U-turn being a general scout move makes Flygon's stall life a lot easier since the player can glance at the opponent's team. Heatran boasts as a great Pokemon to pair with Flygon; especially when facing against stall teams. Life Orb Heatran devastates most Pokemon on a stall team as it easily 2HKOes everything that it touches thanks to STAB Fire Blast, Earth Power for coverage, and Hidden Power Grass for Swampert. Tyranitar pairs nicely with this set, as Pursuit can tackle Pokemon who commonly use RestTalk as a means of recovery. Speaking of which, Flygon being paired with a Taunt user is an excellent way of pulling off Toxic easier. Great Taunt users that pair well with Flygon who come to mind include Gyarados—especially due to Flygon resisting Gyarados's weaknesses, Weavile, Crobat, or even Tyranitar.
A general attacking Flygon, except with the ability to recover Life Orb and other damage with Roost. The ability to switch attacks also makes this Flygon more potent as a sweeper. The combination of Ground, Dragon, and Fire is unresisted so it can be difficult for an opponent to play around a Life Orb Flygon.
Outrage is usable on this set, but this Flygon is designed to stay in for several turns so being locked in can be a vulnerability to it, thus Dragon Claw is the primary option. Stone Edge can be used over Fire Blast or Dragon Claw. Using it over Dragon Claw gives Flygon leverage against Pokemon such as Gyarados and still nails Dragonite; however, lack of a secondary STAB that hits neutral against Levitating Pokemon is noticeable. Without Fire Blast, Skarmory becomes more of an issue.
Maximum Attack is used to get the most power out of this set, while the Speed EVs are to Speed tie with other positive-natured base 100 Speed foes, such as Jirachi. If you opt to use Fire Blast, the Special Defense EVs may be moved into Special Attack.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
This set doesn't have a lot of power; however, its main goal is to be a Pokemon who hits hard while maintaining its bulk via recovery. As such, pairing this set with sweepers is an excellent idea. Unlike many of Flygon's previous sets, Scizor doesn't pair as well with this set. Nevertheless, Scizor still does a spectacular job by easing prediction with U-turn or hammering faster Pokemon with Bullet Punch. In the process, Scizor can severely wound Cresselia with U-turn and Pursuit her as well as Ghost-types that lack Will-O-Wisp or a Fire-type attack. Heatran pairs well with this set, since most of the problems this set faces are easily solved with Heatran, it makes Flygon's life a lot easier. As an added bonus, Flygon can easily drop Fire Blast in place of Stone Edge to nail other Pokemon such as Zapdos. Tyranitar and Flygon are a dubious combo since most, if not all of Flygon's problems, are taken care of with Tyranitar. Psychic- and Ghost-types will have major difficulties taking on Tyranitar. On top of that, Tyranitar can threaten Pokemon with its unpredictability; it keeps the opponent guessing if the Tyranitar is using a Choice Band variant, a Boah variant, or even something out of the box such as a Specs variant.
Unlike the physical Life Orb set, which seeks to defeat enemies through brute force, this Flygon set works as a lure. It is easy to fool many players into thinking that this Flygon is the popular Choice Scarf set, which means that the opponent will be inclined to switch in Pokemon such as Hippowdon, Gliscor, and Dragonite on an expected U-turn, and they will all be be handily defeated by Draco Meteor. Fire Blast is used for Skarmory, Forretress, and Bronzong, while Earthquake deals with other Steel-types and 2HKOes Calm Blissey with aid from residual damage. The fourth moveslot depends on your needs. Roost is invaluable against stall teams, but it is difficult to find the opportunity to use the move against offensive teams. Conversely, U-turn is useful to scout switch-ins and deal more damage on offensive teams, but has little utility against stall. With a Rash nature and the given EVs, Flygon outspeeds neutral-natured base 90 Pokemon. Naive can be used to beat neutral-natured base 100 and positive-natured base 90 Pokemon, but Flygon will often find that it needs the additional power afforded by a Rash nature.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
Perhaps the best way to play this Flygon is to behave as if it has a Choice Scarf at first. For example, come in on a Pokemon such as Starmie (who outspeeds Flygon) and threaten to KO with U-turn or ThunderPunch. The Starmie user will likely switch out, at which point Flygon can use Draco Meteor against the opponent's switch-in. Against stall, you do not have to risk your Flygon as such, as it can 2HKO or OHKO every common player on a stall team bar Suicune, along with using Roost to heal off the residual damage.
The best strategic partner for this Flygon set is Lucario, who takes advantage of Gliscor, Hippowdon, and Dragonite being lured in and defeated. Other than that, similar partners to those of the other sets, such as Scizor and Heatran, work well here. Unfortunately, Suicune still walls this Flygon and many of its potential partners, so a Pokemon who can defeat it, such as Gyarados or Dragonite, is recommended.
Although denied the powerful boosting moves that its Dragon-type cousins have access to, Flygon can cause mayhem through the use of Screech. With its threatening STABs and multitude of resistances, including immunities to popular Electric- and Ground-type attacks, Flygon can easily force switches and hit the incoming opponent with Screech. With their Defense slashed, even bulkier foes, whom Flygon could never dream of taking on with its other movesets, are KOed by the correct move given entry hazard support. Suicune, Gliscor, and Gyarados are just a few of the victims who would normally wall the common Flygon. This puts opponents in a sticky situation: stay in and lose a Pokemon, or switch out and allow Flygon a free turn to attack, set up a Substitute, and rack up even more residual damage.
Screech is the key to this set, allowing Flygon to KO bulkier foes and force switches, which can be taken advantage of with U-turn. U-turn also does respectable damage to bulky Grass-types, such as Celebi and Shaymin, who resist Earthquake. As Outrage's lock-in side effect counteracts the goal of this set, Earthquake is Flygon's strongest STAB move against most grounded foes. The last moveslot depends on what the rest of the team has issues with. Dragon Claw gets STAB, and hits foes like Gliscor and opposing Dragon-types, who would otherwise wall this set. On the other hand, Stone Edge gets great coverage alongside Earthquake and easily takes care of Gyarados and Zapdos, who are only 2HKOed by Dragon Claw. Substitute is an option over U-turn to more directly take advantage of switches, but with Life Orb recoil added into the mix, Flygon will lose health rather quickly. Life Orb is necessary to achieve many KOs, especially on bulky threats.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
Below are some damage calculations to demonstrate how hard this set hits after the opposing Pokemon's Defense has been cut by Screech.
- Stone Edge vs. Physically Defensive Zapdos: 100.8% - 119.1% (OHKO)
- Stone Edge (-1) vs. Bulky Gyarados: 91.9% - 108.6% (OHKO with Stealth Rock)
- Earthquake vs. Tank Swampert: 70.3% - 83% (OHKO with Stealth Rock and three layers of Spikes.)
- Earthquake vs. Offensive Suicune: 91.5% - 108.2% (OHKO with Stealth Rock)
- Earthquake vs. Wish Blissey: 89.9% - 105.9% (OHKO with Stealth Rock)
- Earthquake vs. Wish Vaporeon: 77.7% - 91.7% (OHKO with Stealth Rock and two layers of Spikes)
- Earthquake vs. Hippowdon: 58.6% - 68.8% (2HKO)
- U-Turn vs. Physically Defensive Celebi: 120.8% - 142.6% (OHKO)
- Dragon Claw vs. Defensive Rotom-A: 69.1% - 81.3% (2HKO)
- Dragon Claw vs. Physically Defensive Celebi: 52% - 61.1% (2HKO)
- Dragon Claw vs. Britscor: 72.3% - 85.6% (2HKO, good chance to OHKO after two rounds of Stealth Rock)
Due to the rarity of this set, most opponents will not know how to respond and might lose several crucial team members, including strong defensive walls. With these threats defeated, powerful sweepers such as Metagross, Tyranitar, and Lucario can easily smash through the weakened team. If you feel that Flygon is a bit too fragile, then simply lower Flygon's Speed to different benchmarks and move the leftover EVs into HP to increase its overall bulk. Running 216 Speed EVs allows Flygon to surpass base 95 Pokemon such as Gliscor and Electivire, while 176 Speed EVs allows Flygon to beat neutral-natured base 90 Pokemon, such as Adamant Lucario.
This Flygon set greatly appreciates entry hazard support as it allows Flygon to secure several important KOs against bulkier foes. For this reason, having Skarmory on the team is recommended. Skarmory can switch into Dragon-type attacks aimed at Flygon with ease and set up Spikes, while Flygon can switch into Electric- and Fire-type attacks aimed at Skarmory. Vaporeon makes a great partner, especially if Substitute is being used. Vaporeon can heal Flygon with Wish, and Roar away the opposing Pokemon to rack up entry hazard damage. Since entry hazards are being used, a Ghost-type such as Rotom-A is required on your team to block Rapid Spin.
Although Screech limits the amount of existing counters, there are still some Pokemon that will give Flygon trouble. Skarmory takes little damage from Flygon even after a Screech or two and can set up on it or attack. Without Stone Edge, Gyarados may be able to sneak in a Dragon Dance and consequently outspeed and KO Flygon the next turn. Without Dragon Claw, Gliscor and opposing Dragon-types wall Flygon. In order to deal with these Pokemon, certain teammates should be employed; Heatran and Rotom-A can destroy Skarmory, while Vaporeon can beat Gyarados if Vaporeon is carrying Hidden Power Electric and Gliscor either way. Faster sweepers such as Gengar and Starmie are a menace to this set, as they can outspeed and deal heavy damage to Flygon. Starmie in particular is the bane of this set as it can either spin on or KO Flygon, making it hard to predict around. Running a special wall such as Blissey will block Starmie's sweep on a more defensive team, whereas a bulky Kingdra fares nicely on offensive teams.
Other Options
There isn't much else that Flygon has to exploit. Choice Specs is decent, but Flygon doesn't have the raw attacking stats to pull it off effectively. ThunderPunch is an option for Gyarados if you are concerned about it taking an Outrage and KOing Flygon with Ice Fang or Avalanche. Finally, Rest and Sleep Talk could work, as Flygon has good defensive typing, but Roost is almost always a better option.
Checks and Counters
Not many Pokemon can take repeated hits from the Choice Band set, so prediction is key. Cresselia is your best bet, not being 2HKOed by Outrage if very defensively EVed. Suicune and Vaporeon work reasonably well but both must watch out for Choice Band-boosted Outrages if they have taken residual damage. Hippowdon and Gliscor work similarly, although Ice Fang is required for them to be of an immediate threat to Flygon opposed to just a buffer. A bulky Gyarados is an excellent counter with Intimidate, although Stealth Rock can hinder its ability to switch in repeatedly. Bronzong, Skarmory, and Forretress can come in on any attack not of the Fire-type and set up something in Flygon's face. Most Steel-types can revenge kill a Flygon that's locked itself into Outrage too early into a match. Heatran and Metagross can come in relatively easy on an Outrage and OHKO with either Hidden Power Ice or Ice Punch, respectively. Many of these counters (Cresselia, Suicune, Vaporeon, Hippowdon, Gliscor) can handle hits from the Choice Scarf version very well, though the latter two should avoid catching a Draco Meteor. Porygon2 can come in on Earthquake by Tracing Levitate, and is not 2HKOed by an unboosted Outrage, whereas it OHKOes back with Ice Beam. Gardevoir can too come in on weaker Draco Meteors and Earthquake, but fears Outrage more.
