Hydreigon (Analysis)

[Alaka]

Hydreigon

[Overview]

<p>Hydreigon has a terrific special movepool and base 125 Special Attack to back up its good offensive typing. Defensively, it isn't too much of a slouch either, with 92 / 90 / 90 defenses, allowing it to take powerful attacks without Focus Sash. Unfortunately, its Speed leaves a lot to be desired, as it leaves Hydreigon outsped by a large portion of the metagame.</p>

[SET]
name: Special Attacker
move 1: Dragon Pulse / Draco Meteor
move 2: Dark Pulse
move 3: Flamethrower / Fire Blast
move 4: Protect / Taunt / Surf
nature: Timid / Modest
item: Life Orb / Chople Berry
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Dragon Pulse gives Hydreigon a solid STAB attack that only a few Pokemon resist, all of which are hit for super effective damage by Hydreigon's Fire-type move of choice. If you aren't on concerned about Hydreigon's capability tomaintain a continued long-term offensive, Draco Meteor is also an option for a much more powerful initial hit. Dark Pulse is there for a secondary STAB attack. While it provides no extra neutral coverage, it does allow Hydreigon to hit Psychic- and Ghost-types such as Reuniclus, Beheeyem, Cofagrigus, and Musharna much harder. Dark Pulse also comes with a 20% chance to flinch the opponent, which can be game changing in some situations like potentially stopping Trick Room set up. The choice between Flamethrower or Fire Blast is the classic dilemma of accuracy versus power, and depends on your personal preference. It's worth noting, however, that Fire Blast assures a 2HKO on Amoonguss even when using a Timid nature, while Flamethrower never 2HKOes if it invests enough Evs in Special Defense and HP. Whichever Fire-type attack Hydreigon has, it will help it with the few Steel-types present in 2011 play, and scores super effective hits on the numerous Grass- and Bug-type Pokemon.</p>

<p>The choice of the final move really comes down to what type of team Hydreigon is playing in. If you really want to try and stop set up, Hydreigon can run Taunt and attempt to keep Trick Room, Tailwind, or rain from being set up, but it won't have any effect on the Prankster Tailwinds coming from Whimsicott and Tornadus. Remember, however, that Mental Herb now cures Taunt, and so Taunt is not a completely reliable way to stop Pokemon from setting up. If you are pairing Hydreigon with a Water Absorb user such as Jellicent, Surf can be a very valuable attack for extra coverage against sand teams. It is also useful as a spread attack that can finish off a weakened enemy while still dealing damage to its partner. It also allows Hydreigon to heal your Jellicent, possibly powering up its Water Spout. Finally, if your team doesn't fit either description above, Protect can be run as as consistently useful move.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>The choice of item really boils down to how afraid of Conkeldurr you are. Keep in mind, however, that even Guts-boosted Mach Punch from Conkeldurr with an Attack-boosting nature and 252 Atk Evs does a maximum of 94% to Hydreigon without Chople Berry, and Hammer Arm from the same Conkeldurr will OHKO Hydreigon through Chople Berry 87% of the time, even with no prior damage. These decisive outcomes puts the usefulness of Chople Berry in question.</p>

<p>Hydreigon makes a good partner for Jellicent, forming the famed "SazaJelly" combo. They complement each other well offensively, and have great synergy, considering Hydreigon's ability to give Jellicent back 25% of its health each turn with Surf. Jellicent is also a deterrent to Trick Room by being slow and bulky, while also being able to set up Trick Room if the opposing team tries to use Sand Rush, Tailwind, or Swift Swim to gain the Speed advantage over Hydreigon.</p>

<p>Hydreigon actually works very well as a lead on Trick Room teams, however, firing off powerful hits before Trick Room goes up. Because of Hydreigon's middling Speed, it can outpace opposing Trick Room teams with ease, and deal heavy damage to the Psychic- and Ghost-type Pokemon which set up Trick Room, while also undercutting most frail offensive Pokemon even if they haven't boosted their Speed with a field effect. The ability to deal with both fast teams and dedicated Trick Room teams gives Hydreigon terrific synergy with Jellicent. Finally, Hydreigon also has the obvious immunity to Ground-type attacks, making it a viable partner for an Earthquake user other than Haxorus, whose ability Mold Breaker would allow Earthquake to hit Hydreigon.</p>

[Other Options]

<p>In terms of other notable coverage attacks, Hydreigon doesn't really have anything else of note, but it does have several other support options at its disposal, namely Thunder Wave, Dragon Tail, and Reflect. Dragon Tail is mainly useful for Stopping Trick Room. Hydreigon has a competent base Attack stat that could be used to run a mixed set, but there really aren't enough Pokemon with lopsided defenses to warrant the overall drop in power. One advantage of a mixed set, however, is the ability to run Draco Meteor without worrying about the Special Attack drop since Hydreigon will be able to fall back on its physical attacks.</p>

<p>As far as items are concerned, there are a lot of noteworthy alternatives. Hydreigon can use Dragon Jewel to have a one time boost to its Dragon-type move of choice, but if Hydreigon attacks even twice, the boost from Life Orb will have been more beneficial. Life Orb's ability to boost the power of all of Hydreigon's formidable attacks is also important to consider. If you really want to assure Hydreigon can take a hit, Focus Sash is certainly an option, but usually, Hydreigon's bulk will be sufficient. Finally, if you want to run Draco Meteor without worrying about the Special Attack drop, Hydreigon can run White Herb to negate Draco Meteor's effect the first time.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>Defensively, very few Pokemon can truly counters Hydreigon because of its great coverage and sheer power, especially since almost all of the most bulky Pokemon are weak to Dark-type attacks. However, Hydreigon's middling Speed and Dark typing leaves it vulnerable to being defeated outright by many faster enemies. Volcarona outspeeds Hydreigon and can OHKO with Bug Buzz. Among Fighting-types, Terrakion, Virizion, Cobalion, and Mienshao can outspeed Hydreigon and OHKO it. Conkeldurr can deal serious damage to Hydreigon with Mach Punch, or OHKO it with Hammer Arm, without incurring too much damage to itself. The last Fighting-type worth mentioning is Scrafty, which can easily 2HKO with Drain Punch, while not being 2HKOed itself with the healing from Drain Punch factored in.</p>

 

[Ice-eyes]

Mention a mixed set? It gets Rock Slide and Crunch.

 

[Alaka]

I already did, bottom of the second to last paragraph.

 

[Kinneas]

Looks good to me. I think Sazando has plenty of other options but nothing is really as effective as the main set.

QC Approved 1/2

Deagle used a mixed set that is viable simply for negating the -2 drop from Draco Meteor

Sazandora (M) @ Dragon Jewel
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 176 Atk / 80 SAtk
Quiet Nature (+SAtk, -Spd)
- Draco Meteor
- Crunch
- Protect
- Rock Slide

Might be worth considering as an alternative though it doesn't really achieve much that the main set doesn't alredy. Perhaps white herb and dragon jewel could get mentions as alternative items.

 

[Alaka]

I'll add in all those mentions, thanks for the qc. (Im looking at yours now)

 

[Huy]

Looks solid to me. Saza does exactly what it's supposed to do. I especially like the SazaJelly combo.

QC APPROVED: 2/2

 

[Rising_Dusk]

I was going to add this to the queue, but this needs all of its Japanese names changed to English names before moving forward. Thanks.

 

[soul_survivor]

i was wondering, cant u add white herb if running draco meteor.

 

[Alaka]

Fixed the Japanese names.

 

[Demoness]

[Overview]

<p>Hydreigon has a terrific special movepool, and the 125 Special Attack to back it up, to go along with its good offensive typing. Defensively it isn't too much of a slouch either, with 92/90/90 defenses, meaning it doesn't it doesn't have to run sash to take a blow. Its speed leaves some to be desired, however, leaving it outsped by a large portion of the metagame.</p>

[SET]
name: Special Attacker
move 1: Dragon Pulse / Draco Meteor
move 2: Dark Pulse
move 3: Flamethrower / Fire Blast
move 4: Protect / Taunt / Surf
nature: Timid / Modest
item: Life Orb / Chople Berry
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Dragon Pulse gives Hydreigon a solid STAB attack that only a few Pokemon resist, all of which are hit for Super-Effective by Hydreigon's Fire-type move of choice. If you aren't as keen on Hydreigon surviving and firing off multiple hits, Draco Meteor is also an option for a much more powerful initial hit. Dark Pulse is there for a secondary STAB that provides no extra neutral coverage, but does allow Hydreigon to hit the numerous Psychic- and Ghost-types such as Reuniclus, Beheeyem, Cofagrigus, and Musharna much harder. Dark Pulse also comes with a 20% chance to Flinch, which can be game changing in some situations. The choice of Flamethrower or Fire Blast is the classic one of Accuracy v Power, and depends on your personal preference. It's worth noting however that Fire Blast assures a 2HKO on Amoongus even with a Timid nature, while Flamethrower doesn't ever 2HKO if Morobareru invests enough Special Defense and HP. Whichever Hydreigon has, it will help it with the few Steel-types in 2011 play, and scores Super Effective hits on the numerous Grass- and Bug-type Pokemon.</p>

<p>The choice of the final move really comes down to what type of team Hydreigon is playing in. If you really want to try and stop set up, Hydreigon can run Taunt and attempt to keep Trick Room, or Tailwind, or Rain from going up, but it won't have any effect on the Prankster Tailwinds coming from Whimsicott and Tornadus. Remember however that Mental Herb now cures Taunt, and so Taunt is a much less reliable way to stop set up. If you are pairing Hydreigon with a Water Absorb user such as Jellicent, Surf can be a very valuable attack for extra coverage against sand teams, as a split damage attack when you only need to deal a small amount to one Pokemon. It also allows you to heal back your Jellicent, possibly powering up its Water Spout. Finally, if your team doesn't fit either description above, Protect can be run as usual.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>The choice of item really boils down to how afraid of Conkeldurr you are. Keep in mind, however, that even +Atk 252 EV Guts boosted Mach Punch, does a maximum of 94% to Hydreigon without Chople Berry, and Hammer Arm from the same Roobushin will 1HKO through Chople Berry 87% of the time, even with no prior damage.</p>

<p>Hydreigon makes a good partner for Jellicent, forming the famed SazaJelly combo. They complement each other well offensively, as well as Hydreigon being able to give Jellicent back 25% of its health each turn with Surf. Burungeru is also a deterrent to Trick Room by being slow and bulky, while also being able to place Trick Room if the opposing team tries to use Sand Throw, Tail Wind, or Swift Swim to its advantage over Hydreigon.</p>

<p>Hydreigon actually works very well as a lead on Trick Room teams however, firing off hard hits before the Trick Room goes up. Because of Hydreigon's middling Speed, he it can outpace opposing Trick Room teams with ease, and deal heavy damage to the Psychic- and Ghost-type Trick Room starters, while also undercutting most frail offensive Pokemon even if they haven't boosted their speed with a field effect. Again, this is a good situation for it to be paired with Jellicent. Finally, Hydreigon also has the obvious Ground immunity, making it a viable partner for an Earthquake user other than Haxorus, whose Mold Breaker would allow Earthquake to hit Hydreigon.</p>

[Other Options]

<p>Coverage wise, Hydreigon doesn't really have anything else of note, but it has several more support options at its disposal, namely Thunder Wave, Dragon Tail to stop Trick Room, and Reflect. Hydreigon also has Rain Dance, and so can function as a rain setter. Hydreigon has decent enough Attack to run a mixed set, but there really isn't aren't enough Pokemon with lopsided defenses to warrant the overall drop in power. One advantage of a mixed set, however, is to be able to run Draco Meteor without worrying about the Special Attack drop since you will be using physical attacks after that.</p>

<p>As far as items go, Hydreigon has lots of other options for what to run. Hydreigon can use Dragon Jewel to have a one time boost to its Dragon-type move of choice, but if Hydreigon attacks even twice, the boost from Live Orb will have been more beneficial. This is especially true because Life Orb will allow you to fire off boosted Dark Pulses as well. If you really want to assure Hydreigon can take a hit, Hydreigon can use Focus Sash, but usually, Hydreigon's bulk will be sufficient. Finally, if you want to run Draco Meteor without worrying about the Special Attack drop, you can run White Herb to negate it the first time.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>Defensively, not much really counters Hydreigon, because of its great coverage and sheer power, since and that almost all of the most bulky Pokemon are weak to Dark. However, Hydreigon's middling speed and Dark-typing leaves it open to lots of 1HKOs OHKOs before it can move. Volcarona outspeeds and can 1HKO OHKO with Bug Buzz. All three of the horse trio can outspend and 1HKO, as well as Meinshao. Conkeldurr can deal serious damage with Mach Punch, or 1HKO OHKO with Hammer Arm, without incurring too much damage itself.</p>

Add
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[Xav]

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Dragon Pulse gives Hydreigon a solid STAB attack that only a few Pokemon resist, all of which are hit for Super-Effective by Hydreigon's Fire-type move of choice. If you aren't as keen on Hydreigon surviving and firing off multiple hits, Draco Meteor is also an option for a much more powerful initial hit. Dark Pulse is there for a secondary STAB that provides no extra neutral coverage, but does allow Hydreigon to hit the numerous Psychic and Ghost types such as Reuniclus, Beheeyem, Cofagrigus, and Musharna much harder. Dark Pulse also comes with a 20% chance to Flinch, which can be game changing in some situations. The choice of Flamethrower or Fire Blast is the classic one of Accuracy v Power, and depends on your personal preference. It's worth noting however that Fire Blast assures a 2HKO on Amoongus even with a Timid nature, while Flamethrower doesn't ever 2HKO if Morobareru invests enough Special Defense and HP. Whichever Hydreigon has, it will help it with the few Steel-types in 2011 play, and score Super Effective hits on the numerous Grass- and Bug-type Pokemon.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>The choice of item really boils down to how afraid of Conkeldurr you are. Keep in mind however, that even +Atk 252 EV Guts boosted Mach Punch, does a maximum of 94% to Hydreigon without Chople Berry, and Hammer Arm from the same Roobushin will 1HKO through Chople Berry 87% of the time even with no prior damage.</p>

<p>Hydreigon makes a good partner for Jellicent, forming the famed SazaJelly combo. They complement each other well offensively, as well as Hydreigon being able to give Jellicent back 25% of its health each turn with Surf. Burungeru is also a deterrent to Trick Room by being slow and bulky, while also being able to place Trick Room if the opposing team tries to use Sand Throw, Tail Wind, or Swift Swim to its advantage over Hydreigon.</p>

Just a little thing to change.

 

[Calm Pokemaster]

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[Overview]​

<p>Hydreigon has a terrific special movepool, and base 125 Special Attack to back it up, to go along with its good offensive typing. Defensively, it isn't too much of a slouch either, with 92 / 90 / 90 (spacing) defenses, meaning it doesn't have to run Focus Sash to take a blow powerful attacks. Its Speed leaves some a lot to be desired, however, leaving it Hydreigon outsped by a large portion of the metagame.</p>​

[SET]
name: Special Attacker
move 1: Dragon Pulse / Draco Meteor
move 2: Dark Pulse
move 3: Flamethrower / Fire Blast
move 4: Protect / Taunt / Surf
nature: Timid / Modest
item: Life Orb / Chople Berry
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe​

[SET COMMENTS]​

<p>Dragon Pulse gives Hydreigon a solid STAB attack that only a few Pokemon resist, all of which are hit for super effective damage by Hydreigon's Fire-type move of choice. If you aren't as keen on Hydreigon surviving and firing off multiple hits, Draco Meteor is also an option for a much more powerful initial hit. Dark Pulse is there for a secondary STAB attack that provides no extra neutral coverage, but it does allow Hydreigon to hit the numerous Psychic- and Ghost-types such as Reuniclus, Beheeyem, Cofagrigus, and Musharna much harder. Dark Pulse also comes with a 20% chance to flinch the opponent, which can be game changing in some situations like stopping Trick Room from being set up. The choice of Flamethrower or Fire Blast is the classic one of accuracy versus power, and depends on your personal preference. It's worth noting, however, that Fire Blast assures a 2HKO on Amoonguss even with a Timid nature, while Flamethrower doesn't ever never 2HKOes Amoonguss if it invests enough EVs in Special Defense and HP. Whichever Hydreigon has, it will help it with the few Steel-types present in 2011 play, and scores super effective hits on the numerous Grass- and Bug-type Pokemon.</p>​

<p>The choice of the final move really comes down to what type of team Hydreigon is playing in. If you really want to try and stop set up, Hydreigon can run Taunt and attempt to keep Trick Room, Tailwind, or rain from going being set up, but it won't have any effect on the Prankster Tailwinds coming from Whimsicott and Tornadus. Remember, however, that Mental Herb now cures Taunt, and so Taunt is a much less reliable way to stop field effects set up. If you are pairing Hydreigon with a Water Absorb user such as Jellicent, Surf can be a very valuable attack for extra coverage against sand teams, as a split damage attack when you only need to deal a small amount to one Pokemon. It also allows you Hydreigon to heal your Jellicent, possibly powering up its Water Spout. Finally, if your team doesn't fit either description above, Protect can be run as usual.</p>​

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]​

<p>The choice of item really boils down to how afraid of Conkeldurr you are. Keep in mind, however, that even +Atk 252 EV Guts-boosted Mach Punch from Conkeldurr with an Attack-boosting nature and 252 Atk EVs does a maximum of 94% to Hydreigon without Chople Berry, and Hammer Arm from the same Conkeldurr will OHKO Hydreigon through Chople Berry 87% of the time, even with no prior damage.</p>​

<p>Hydreigon makes a good partner for Jellicent, forming the famed "SazaJelly" combo. They complement each other well offensively, as well as Hydreigon being able to give Jellicent back 25% of its health each turn with Surf. Jellicent is also a deterrent to Trick Room by being slow and bulky, while also being able to place Trick Room if the opposing team tries to use Sand Throw, Tailwind, or Swift Swim to its advantage over Hydreigon.</p>​

<p>Hydreigon actually works very well as a lead on Trick Room teams, however, firing off hard powerful hits before Trick Room goes up. Because of Hydreigon's middling Speed, it can outpace opposing Trick Room teams with ease, and deal heavy damage to the Psychic- and Ghost-type Trick Room starters Pokemon which set up Trick Room, while also undercutting most frail offensive Pokemon even if they haven't boosted their Speed with a field effect. Again, this is a good situation for it to be paired with Jellicent. Finally, Hydreigon also has the obvious Ground immunity to Ground-type attacks, making it a viable partner for an Earthquake user other than Haxorus, whose ability Mold Breaker would allow Earthquake to hit Hydreigon.</p>​

[Other Options]​

<p>Coverage wise, Hydreigon doesn't really have anything else of note, but it has several more support options at its disposal, namely Thunder Wave, Dragon Tail to stop Trick Room, and Reflect. Hydreigon also has Rain Dance, and so can thus function as a rain setter. Hydreigon has decent enough Attack to run a mixed set, but there really aren't enough Pokemon with lopsided defenses to warrant the overall drop in power. One advantage of a mixed set, however, is to be able the ability to run Draco Meteor without worrying about the Special Attack drop since you Hydreigon will be using physical attacks after that.</p>​

<p>As far as items as concerned, Hydreigon has lots of other options for what to run. Hydreigon can use Dragon Jewel to have a one time boost to its Dragon-type move of choice, but if Hydreigon attacks even twice, the boost from Life Orb will have been more beneficial. This is especially true because Life Orb will allow you to fire off boosted Dark Pulses as well. If you really want to assure Hydreigon can take a hit, Hydreigon can use Focus Sash, but usually, Hydreigon's bulk will be sufficient. Finally, if you want to run Draco Meteor without worrying about the Special Attack drop, you Hydreigon can run White Herb to negate it the first time.</p>​

[Checks and Counters]​

<p>Defensively, not much really counters Hydreigon because of its great coverage and sheer power, especially since almost all of the most bulky Pokemon are weak to Dark-type attacks. However, Hydreigon's middling Speed and Dark-typing (remove hyphen) leaves it open to a lot of OHKOs before it can move. Volcarona outspeeds Hydreigon and can OHKO it with Bug Buzz. All three of the horse trio, as well as Mienshao, can outspeed Hydreigon and OHKO it, as well as Meinshao. Conkeldurr can deal serious damage to Hydreigon with Mach Punch, or OHKO it with Hammer Arm, without incurring too much damage itself.</p>​

GP 1 / 2

 

[Chou Toshio]

Working on top of C_P's

add/change
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[Overview]​

<p>Hydreigon has a terrific special movepool, and base 125 Special Attack to back it up, to go along with its good offensive typing. Defensively, it isn't too much of a slouch either, with 92 / 90 / 90 (spacing) defenses, meaning it doesn't have to run Focus Sash to take a blow powerful attacks allowing it to take powerful attacks without Focus Sash. Unfortunately, its Speed leaves some a lot to be desired, however, leaving as it leaves it Hydreigon outsped by a large portion of the metagame.</p>​

[SET]
name: Special Attacker
move 1: Dragon Pulse / Draco Meteor
move 2: Dark Pulse
move 3: Flamethrower / Fire Blast
move 4: Protect / Taunt / Surf
nature: Timid / Modest
item: Life Orb / Chople Berry
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe​

[SET COMMENTS]​

<p>Dragon Pulse gives Hydreigon a solid STAB attack that only a few Pokemon resist, all of which are hit for super effective damage by Hydreigon's Fire-type move of choice. If you aren't as keen on concerned about Hydreigon's capability to surviving and firing off multiple hits maintain a continued long-term offensive, Draco Meteor is also an option for a much more powerful initial hit. Dark Pulse is there for a secondary STAB attack. While itthat provides no extra neutral coverage, but it does allow Hydreigon to hit the numerous Psychic- and Ghost-types such as Reuniclus, Beheeyem, Cofagrigus, and Musharna much harder. Dark Pulse also comes with a 20% chance to flinch the opponent, which can be game changing in some situations like potentially stopping Trick Room from being set up. The choice between Flamethrower or Fire Blast is the classic dilemma of accuracy versus power, and depends on your personal preference. It's worth noting, however, that Fire Blast assures a 2HKO on Amoonguss even with when using a Timid nature, while Flamethrower doesn't ever never 2HKOes Amoonguss if it invests enough EVs in Special Defense and HP. Whichever Fire-type attack Hydreigon has, it will help it with the few Steel-types present in 2011 play, and scores super effective hits on the numerous Grass- and Bug-type Pokemon.</p>​

<p>The choice of the final move really comes down to what type of team Hydreigon is playing in. If you really want to try and stop set up, Hydreigon can run Taunt and attempt to keep Trick Room, Tailwind, or rain from going being set up, but it won't have any effect on the Prankster Tailwinds coming from Whimsicott and Tornadus. Remember, however, that Mental Herb now cures Taunt, and so Taunt is not a completely much less reliable way to stop field effects from being set up. If you are pairing Hydreigon with a Water Absorb user such as Jellicent, Surf can be a very valuable attack for extra coverage against sand teams. It is also useful as a spread damage attack when you only need to deal a small amount to one Pokemon that can finish off a weakened enemy while still dealing damage to its partner. It also allows you Hydreigon to heal your Jellicent, possibly powering up its Water Spout. Finally, if your team doesn't fit either description above, Protect can be run as a consistently useful move.</p>​

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]​

<p>The choice of item really boils down to how afraid of Conkeldurr you are. Keep in mind, however, that even +Atk 252 EV Guts-boosted Mach Punch from Conkeldurr with an Attack-boosting nature and 252 Atk EVs does a maximum of 94% to Hydreigon without Chople Berry, and Hammer Arm from the same Conkeldurr will OHKO Hydreigon through Chople Berry 87% of the time, even with no prior damage. These decisive outcomes puts the usefulness of Chopple Berry in question.</p>​

<p>Hydreigon makes a good partner for Jellicent, forming the famed "SazaJelly" combo. They complement each other well offensively, as well as and have great synergy, considering Hydreigon's ability being able to give Jellicent back 25% of its health each turn with Surf. Jellicent is also a deterrent to Trick Room by being slow and bulky, while also being able to place set up Trick Room if the opposing team tries to abuse Sand Throw, Tailwind, or Swift Swim to its to gain the Speed advantage over Hydreigon.</p>​

<p>Hydreigon actually works very well as a lead on Trick Room teams, however, firing off hard powerful hits before Trick Room goes up. Because of Hydreigon's middling Speed, it can outpace opposing Trick Room teams with ease, and deal heavy damage to the Psychic- and Ghost-type Trick Room starters Pokemon which set up Trick Room, while also undercutting most frail offensive Pokemon even if they haven't boosted their Speed with a field effect. Again, this is a good situation for it to be paired with The ability to deal with both fast teams and dedicated Trick Room teams gives Hydreigon terrific synergy withJellicent. Finally, Hydreigon also has the obvious Ground immunity to Ground-type attacks, making it a viable partner for an Earthquake user other than Haxorus, whose ability Mold Breaker would allow Earthquake to hit Hydreigon.</p>​

[Other Options]​

<p>Coverage wise In terms of other notable coverage attacks, Hydreigon doesn't really have anything else of note, but it does have several more other support options at its disposal, namely Thunder Wave, Dragon Tail to stop Trick Room, and Reflect. Dragon Tail is mainly useful for stopping Trick Room. Hydreigon also has Rain Dance, and so can thusfunction as a rain setter can be an effective choice to set rain up, especially after considering its powerful Surf and resistances to Water- and Electric-type attacks. Hydreigon has decent enough a competent base Attack stat that could be used to run a mixed set, but there really aren't enough Pokemon with lopsided defenses to warrant the overall drop in power. One advantage of a mixed set, however, is to be able the ability to run Draco Meteor without worrying about the Special Attack drop since you Hydreigon will be using physical attacks after that able to fall back on its physical attacks.</p>​

<p>As far as items are concerned, Hydreigon has lots of other options for what to run there are a lot of noteworthy alternatives. Hydreigon can use Dragon Jewel to have a one time boost to its Dragon-type move of choice, but if Hydreigon attacks even twice, the boost from Life Orb will have been more beneficial. This is especially true because Life Orb will allow you to fire off boosted Dark Pulses as well Life Orb's ability to boost the power of all of Hydreigon's formidable attacks is also important to consider. If you really want to assure Hydreigon can take a hit, Hydreigon can use Focus Sash is certainly an option, but usually, Hydreigon's bulk will be sufficient. Finally, if you want to run Draco Meteor without worrying about the Special Attack drop, you Hydreigon can run White Herb to negate Draco Meteor's effect the first time.</p>​

[Checks and Counters]​

<p>Defensively, not much really very few Pokemon can truly counters Hydreigon because of its great coverage and sheer power, especially since almost all of the most bulky Pokemon are weak to Dark-type attacks. However, Hydreigon's middling Speed and Dark-typing (remove hyphen) leaves it vulnerable to being defeated outright by many faster enemies. open to a lot of OHKOs before it can move. Volcarona outspeeds Hydreigon and can OHKO it with Bug Buzz. All three of the horse trio, as well as Among Fighting-types, Terrakion, Virizion, Cobalion, and Mienshao can outspeed Hydreigon and OHKO it, as well as Meinshao. Conkeldurr can deal serious damage to Hydreigon with Mach Punch, or OHKO it with Hammer Arm, without incurring too much damage to itself.</p>​

GP 1 / 2

GP 2/2

 

[breh]

I'm getting conflicting results as to whether it can or cannot learn it, but:

Acrobatics+Flying Gem seems like a viable idea. I've been using the mixed set that Kinneas posted a while back but with different evs and nature (Adamant with enough speed to outspeed chandelure and then the rest in attack and hp) and have had issues nailing Amoonguss. It looks usable, at the very least. If such an idea were to be realized, essentially use the same set that kinneas posted but with Acrobat in DM's place; evs are variable.

 

[cosmicexplorer]

Hydreigon can learn Acrobatics.

 

[Chou Toshio]

Hydreigon also has Rain Dance, and can thus function as a rain setter, but this job is usually done better by a Pokemon with Prankster like Tornadus or Thunderus.

If you're really set on mentioning Rain Dance, this is a better sentence:

Hydreigon also has Rain Dance, and so can thus function as a rain setter can be effective at setting up rain.

"Can thus function" is not good prose (I double checked this with R_D, because I know I'm directly changing C_P's check). Also "setter" is not standardized terminology for "a Pokemon that sets a field condition," so please don't use that phrase.


Congratz on finishing this up at last dude-- it's a great analysis, and I'm sorry we've been so slow to GP it ;P

 

[Alaka]

I'm getting conflicting results as to whether it can or cannot learn it, but:

Acrobatics+Flying Gem seems like a viable idea. I've been using the mixed set that Kinneas posted a while back but with different evs and nature (Adamant with enough speed to outspeed chandelure and then the rest in attack and hp) and have had issues nailing Amoonguss. It looks usable, at the very least. If such an idea were to be realized, essentially use the same set that kinneas posted but with Acrobat in DM's place; evs are variable.

If you cut Draco Meteor there is no longer any reason to be mixed, and a 120 bp Fire Blast that allows you to still use Life Orb is better than a item needing 110 bp Acrobatics, especially with all the Coba Berries around. If you were to drop to Dragon/Flying/Rock/Dark coverage or some combination, you totally can't touch steels like Bisharp, not worth it at all.

also done, thanks Chou :D

 

[TorchicBlaziken]

Why is the combo called "SazaJelly"?

 

[muffinhead]

+

 

[Phiddlesticks]

shouldnt it be called hydrajelly at least

 

[evan]

got standardised early in the meta when hydreigon was sazando

and honestly which sounds more interesting: hydreijelly or sazazazazazazazazajelly?

 

[cosmicexplorer]

I'm not on the GP team, but there were a few very minor errors. Great analysis, by the way.

Hide

[Overview]

<p>Hydreigon has a terrific special movepool and base 125 Special Attack to back up its good offensive typing. Defensively, it isn't too much of a slouch either, with 92 / 90 / 90 defenses, allowing it to take powerful attacks without Focus Sash. Unfortunately, its Speed leaves a lot to be desired, as it leaves Hydreigon outsped by a large portion of the metagame.</p>

[SET]
name: Special Attacker
move 1: Dragon Pulse / Draco Meteor
move 2: Dark Pulse
move 3: Flamethrower / Fire Blast
move 4: Protect / Taunt / Surf
nature: Timid / Modest
item: Life Orb / Chople Berry
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Dragon Pulse gives Hydreigon a solid STAB attack that only a few Pokemon resist, all of which are hit for super effective damage by Hydreigon's Fire-type move of choice. If you aren't on concerned about Hydreigon's capability to maintain a continued long-term offensive, Draco Meteor is also an option for a much more powerful initial hit. Dark Pulse is there for a secondary STAB attack.
While it provides no extra neutral coverage, it does allow Hydreigon to hit Psychic- and Ghost-types such as Reuniclus, Beheeyem, Cofagrigus, and Musharna much harder. Dark Pulse also comes with a 20% chance to flinch the opponent, which can be game changing in some situations like potentially stopping Trick Room set up. The choice between Flamethrower or Fire Blast is the classic dilemma of accuracy versus power, and depends on your personal preference. It's worth noting, however, that Fire Blast assures a 2HKO on Amoonguss even when using a Timid nature, while Flamethrower never 2HKOes if it invests enough EvVs in Special Defense and HP. Whichever Fire-type attack Hydreigon has, it will help it with the few Steel-types present in 2011 play, and scores super effective hits on the numerous Grass- and Bug-type Pokemon.</p>

<p>The choice of the final move really comes down to what type of team Hydreigon is playing in. If you really want to try and stop set up, Hydreigon can run Taunt and attempt to keep Trick Room, Tailwind, or rain from being set up, but it won't have any effect on the Prankster Tailwinds coming from Whimsicott and Tornadus. Remember, however, that Mental Herb now cures Taunt, and so Taunt is not a completely reliable way to stop Pokemon from setting up. If you are pairing Hydreigon with a Water Absorb user such as Jellicent, Surf can be a very valuable attack for extra coverage against sand teams. It is also useful as a spread attack that can finish off a weakened enemy while still dealing damage to its partner. It also allows Hydreigon to heal your Jellicent, possibly powering up its Water Spout. Finally, if your team doesn't fit either description above, Protect can be run as as consistently useful move.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>The choice of item really boils down to how afraid of Conkeldurr you are. Keep in mind, however, that even Guts-boosted Mach Punch from Conkeldurr with an Attack-boosting nature and 252 Atk EVs does a maximum of 94% to Hydreigon without Chople Berry, and Hammer Arm from the same Conkeldurr will OHKO Hydreigon through Chople Berry 87% of the time, even with no prior damage. These decisive outcomes puts the usefulness of Chopple Berry in question.</p>

<p>Hydreigon makes a good partner for Jellicent, forming the famed "SazaJelly" combo. They complement each other well offensively, and have great synergy, considering Hydreigon's ability to give Jellicent back 25% of its health each turn with Surf. Jellicent is also a deterrent to Trick Room by being slow and bulky, while also being able to set up Trick Room if the opposing team tries to use Sand Throw, Tailwind, or Swift Swim to gain the Speed advantage over Hydreigon.</p>

<p>Hydreigon actually works very well as a lead on Trick Room teams, however, firing off powerful hits before Trick Room goes up. Because of Hydreigon's middling Speed, it can outpace opposing Trick Room teams with ease, and deal heavy damage to the Psychic- and Ghost-type Pokemon which set up Trick Room, while also undercutting most frail offensive Pokemon even if they haven't boosted their Speed with a field effect. The ability to deal with both fast teams and dedicated Trick Room teams gives Hydreigon terrific synergy with Jellicent. Finally, Hydreigon also has the obvious immunity to Ground-type attacks, making it a viable partner for an Earthquake user other than Haxorus, whose ability Mold Breaker would allow Earthquake to hit Hydreigon.</p>

[Other Options]

<p>In terms of other notable coverage attacks, Hydreigon doesn't really have anything else of note, but it does have several other support options at its disposal, namely Thunder Wave, Dragon Tail, and Reflect. Dragon Tail is mainly useful for Stopping Trick Room. Hydreigon has a competent base Attack stat that could be used to run a mixed set, but there really aren't enough Pokemon with lopsided defenses to warrant the overall drop in power. One advantage of a mixed set, however, is the ability to run Draco Meteor without worrying about the Special Attack drop since Hydreigon will be able to fall back on its physical attacks.</p>

<p>As far as items are concerned, there are a lot of noteworthy alternatives. Hydreigon can use Dragon Jewel to have a one time boost to its Dragon-type move of choice, but if Hydreigon attacks even twice, the boost from Life Orb will have been more beneficial. Life Orb's ability to boost the power of all of Hydreigon's formidable attacks is also important to consider. If you really want to assure Hydreigon can take a hit, Focus Sash is certainly an option, but usually, Hydreigon's bulk will be sufficient. Finally, if you want to run Draco Meteor without worrying about the Special Attack drop, Hydreigon can run White Herb to negate Draco Meteor's effect the first time.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>Defensively, very few Pokemon can truly counters Hydreigon because of its great coverage and sheer power, especially since almost all of the most bulky Pokemon are weak to Dark-type attacks. However, Hydreigon's middling Speed and Dark typing leaves it vulnerable to being defeated outright by many faster enemies. Volcarona outspeeds Hydreigon and can OHKO with Bug Buzz. Among Fighting-types, Terrakion, Virizion, Cobalion, and Mienshao can outspeed Hydreigon and OHKO it. Conkeldurr can deal serious damage to Hydreigon with Mach Punch, or OHKO it with Hammer Arm, without incurring too much damage to itself. The last Fighting-type worth mentioning is Scrafty, which can easily 2HKO with Drain Punch, while not being 2HKOed itself with the healing from Drain Punch factored in.</p>

 

[Lucien Lachance]

I'm just a little late but I think it should be mentioned that Draco Meteor OHKO's Haban Berry Haxorus 100% of the time assuming you don't miss.

 

[MultiZMAN95]

Just wanted to Share my Set if this is going to fit in :D
Hydreigon

Trait:Levitate

Attacks:
Draco Meteor
Surf
Dark Pulse
Fire Blast/Flamethrower

Item:Choice Scarf

Nature: Timid

EV Spread: 4 HP 252 Sp.att 252 Spe

This Set is About Revenge Killing in Late game :)

 

[NatGeo]

Eh, revenge killing pretty much doesnt happen in VGC like it does in singles, so the above set doesn't really work.

Also, there is an extra line that needs to be removed. it should be attack. While instead of attack.
While.

You get my point, its in the set comments :P