[OVERVIEW]
Hydreigon went from hardly even being viable in AAA to being one of its most fearsome Pokémon thanks to the ability Mega Launcher. Mega Launcher boosts its 2 primary STAB moves Dragon Pulse and Dark Pulse by 50% without any drawbacks. Add that to the Choice Specs and high base 125 Special Attack, and you have yourself a potent sweeper and wall-breaker in a single package. Hydreigon’s surprisingly vast pool of attacks is only icing on the cake.
However, Hydreigon still has its flaws. Its STAB combo is a double-edged sword which give it both a pair of powerful STAB Mega Launcher boosted attacks and an x4 weakness to Fairy as well as weakness to the common Mach Punch. Being a Dragon-Type, Hydreigon is also weak to Ice, which means Refrigerate/Pixilate Extreme Speed will deal massive damage. Furthermore, Hydreigon is quite frail despite its 92/90/90 defenses and its speed leaves much to be desired with a base 98. Also, aside from Dragon Pulse and Dark Pulse, Hydreigon doesn’t have any other moves that can utilize Mega Launcher. Despite these flaws, Hydreigon still has the potential be to an absolutely devastating force in the battlefield.
[SET]
HydreiDOOM (I know this is a bad pun)
move 1: Dragon Pulse
move 2: Dark Pulse
move 3: Fire Blast
move 4: Superpower / U-Turn
Item: Choice Specs
Ability: Mega Launcher
Nature: Naïve
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Dragon Pulse takes the first slot because its power gets ramped up from 85 to 128 thanks to Mega Launcher before STAB. Did I also mention that this is a 100% accurate STAB attack with no drawbacks?
Dark Pulse takes the second slot for our other STAB attack, which is also boosted by Mega Launcher. Did I mention that Dark Pulse also comes with flinch hax?
Fire Blast takes our third slot to hit some of the Steel-Types that may survive Hydreigon’s absurdly powerful assault, like Ferrothorn and Scizor that lack Flash Fire. If you don’t like Fire Miss, then there’s always the more reliable Flamethrower, but you’ll notice the sharp drop in power, so Fire Blast is generally preferred.
Superpower takes the last slot for only 2 reasons: the pink blobs and Tyranitar. These Pokemon certainly won’t like taking a Superpower to the face. Tyranitar needs 252 EVs in HP and 152 EVs in Defense to guarantee survival after Stealth Rock. Alternatively, you may U-Turn here if you’re more concerned about momentum than Tyranitar and pink blobs.
Set Details
========
Maximum Spe and SpA investment is a must for Hydreigon because the brutal Pokemon needs all the speed and power it can get. The Choice Specs is the recommended item because it boosts Hydreigon’s power by an additional 50%. The power of Hydreigon’s Dragon Pulse starts at 85 and through STAB, Choice Specs and Mega Launcher gets amped up to 286! Dark Pulse isn’t too far behind with a whopping 270. How does this affect the metagame? The results are frightening…
Usage Tips
========
First rule of using Hydreigon: KEEP IT AWAY FROM FAIRIES! I cannot stress this enough! Hydreigon isn’t just x4 weak to Fairy, but also has limited tools for removing them! Some Pokemon like Alakazam, Gengar and Cresselia can viably run a Fairy-Type attack, so be careful of that. In addition, be on the lookout for Refrigerate and Pixilate, both of which are very common abilities in the metagame.
Also, try to predict what your opponent will switch into. Truly safe switch-ins to this absolute monster are few and far between, so always be sure to use that to your advantage. Your opponents will most likely be 2HKOd by the right move!
Team Options
========
Anything that can get rid of Fairies would be a great help to Hydreigon, like Assault Vest Excadrill, Mega Metagross, Gengar and Aegislash. Also, paralysis and Sticky Web support is appreciated because it helps Hydreigon patch up that lackluster base 98 Speed.
Furthermore, anything that can counter both Lucario and Entei would be greatly appreciated because said Pokemon commonly run Pixilate/Refrigerate Extreme Speed, which generally murders Hydreigon.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
While Hydreigon has a vast array of moves to choose from, the moves in the set are by far the best in terms of coverage, power and usefulness. Pretty much anything else is a gimmick at best. For example, Iron Head may surprise your opponent if they try to switch in a Fairy-Type, but since Hydreigon’s mediocre base 105 Atk is mostly uninvested, it may end up failing to land that OHKO or even 2HKO unless you’re hitting Diancie.
Replacing Dragon Pulse with Draco Meteor and changing Hydreigon's ability to Sheer Force is a noteworthy option that may offer you more power on your coverage moves. Keep in mind that for the STAB attacks, the Mega Launcher boost is much greater than the Sheer Force Boost.
Checks and Counters
===================
Fairy-Type Attacks: Fairies are the bane of Hydreigon’s existence.
Refrigerate/Pixilate Extreme Speed: Self-explanatory.
Cresselia: While she can’t switch into Dark Pulse, she can safely switch into all of Hydreigon’s other attacks and retaliate with a guaranteed OHKO from Moonblast.
Assault Vest Conkeldurr: Survives a Dragon Pulse and retaliates with a Drain Punch that has a 75% chance to OHKO. Advised not to switch this guy in as even he can’t stomach 2 Dragon Pulses…
Prankster Breloom: While our favorite mushroom kangaroo thingy can’t switch into 2 of Hydreigon’s attacks, he can certainly retaliate if he survives with a STAB Mach Punch or even Focus Punch after sending Hydreigon to dreamland with Spore.
Poison Heal Suicune: Suicune can tank Hydreigon’s attacks with its own bulk and find the opportunities to use Calm Mind and attack with Ice Beam and/or Scald
Chansey: One of the few things that can actually switch into Hydreigon’s attacks. Just beware of Superpower as it’ll wipe out nearly half your health even uninvested. Chansey can also cripple Hydreigon with status moves like Toxic and Thunder Wave.
Hydreigon went from hardly even being viable in AAA to being one of its most fearsome Pokémon thanks to the ability Mega Launcher. Mega Launcher boosts its 2 primary STAB moves Dragon Pulse and Dark Pulse by 50% without any drawbacks. Add that to the Choice Specs and high base 125 Special Attack, and you have yourself a potent sweeper and wall-breaker in a single package. Hydreigon’s surprisingly vast pool of attacks is only icing on the cake.
However, Hydreigon still has its flaws. Its STAB combo is a double-edged sword which give it both a pair of powerful STAB Mega Launcher boosted attacks and an x4 weakness to Fairy as well as weakness to the common Mach Punch. Being a Dragon-Type, Hydreigon is also weak to Ice, which means Refrigerate/Pixilate Extreme Speed will deal massive damage. Furthermore, Hydreigon is quite frail despite its 92/90/90 defenses and its speed leaves much to be desired with a base 98. Also, aside from Dragon Pulse and Dark Pulse, Hydreigon doesn’t have any other moves that can utilize Mega Launcher. Despite these flaws, Hydreigon still has the potential be to an absolutely devastating force in the battlefield.
[SET]
HydreiDOOM (I know this is a bad pun)
move 1: Dragon Pulse
move 2: Dark Pulse
move 3: Fire Blast
move 4: Superpower / U-Turn
Item: Choice Specs
Ability: Mega Launcher
Nature: Naïve
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Dragon Pulse takes the first slot because its power gets ramped up from 85 to 128 thanks to Mega Launcher before STAB. Did I also mention that this is a 100% accurate STAB attack with no drawbacks?
Dark Pulse takes the second slot for our other STAB attack, which is also boosted by Mega Launcher. Did I mention that Dark Pulse also comes with flinch hax?
Fire Blast takes our third slot to hit some of the Steel-Types that may survive Hydreigon’s absurdly powerful assault, like Ferrothorn and Scizor that lack Flash Fire. If you don’t like Fire Miss, then there’s always the more reliable Flamethrower, but you’ll notice the sharp drop in power, so Fire Blast is generally preferred.
Superpower takes the last slot for only 2 reasons: the pink blobs and Tyranitar. These Pokemon certainly won’t like taking a Superpower to the face. Tyranitar needs 252 EVs in HP and 152 EVs in Defense to guarantee survival after Stealth Rock. Alternatively, you may U-Turn here if you’re more concerned about momentum than Tyranitar and pink blobs.
Set Details
========
Maximum Spe and SpA investment is a must for Hydreigon because the brutal Pokemon needs all the speed and power it can get. The Choice Specs is the recommended item because it boosts Hydreigon’s power by an additional 50%. The power of Hydreigon’s Dragon Pulse starts at 85 and through STAB, Choice Specs and Mega Launcher gets amped up to 286! Dark Pulse isn’t too far behind with a whopping 270. How does this affect the metagame? The results are frightening…
- 252 SpA Choice Specs Mega Launcher Hydreigon Dark Pulse vs. 248 HP / 252+ SpD Heatran: 198-234 (51.4 - 60.7%) -- 91.8% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
- 252 SpA Choice Specs Mega Launcher Hydreigon Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Skarmory: 258-304 (77.2 - 91%) -- 25% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock (Fire Blast always scores the OHKO in this situation)
- 252 SpA Choice Specs Mega Launcher Hydreigon Dragon Pulse vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Rotom-W: 283-334 (93.3 - 110.2%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO
- 252 SpA Choice Specs Mega Launcher Hydreigon Dragon Pulse vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Manaphy: 303-357 (88.8 - 104.6%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO
Usage Tips
========
First rule of using Hydreigon: KEEP IT AWAY FROM FAIRIES! I cannot stress this enough! Hydreigon isn’t just x4 weak to Fairy, but also has limited tools for removing them! Some Pokemon like Alakazam, Gengar and Cresselia can viably run a Fairy-Type attack, so be careful of that. In addition, be on the lookout for Refrigerate and Pixilate, both of which are very common abilities in the metagame.
Also, try to predict what your opponent will switch into. Truly safe switch-ins to this absolute monster are few and far between, so always be sure to use that to your advantage. Your opponents will most likely be 2HKOd by the right move!
Team Options
========
Anything that can get rid of Fairies would be a great help to Hydreigon, like Assault Vest Excadrill, Mega Metagross, Gengar and Aegislash. Also, paralysis and Sticky Web support is appreciated because it helps Hydreigon patch up that lackluster base 98 Speed.
Furthermore, anything that can counter both Lucario and Entei would be greatly appreciated because said Pokemon commonly run Pixilate/Refrigerate Extreme Speed, which generally murders Hydreigon.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
While Hydreigon has a vast array of moves to choose from, the moves in the set are by far the best in terms of coverage, power and usefulness. Pretty much anything else is a gimmick at best. For example, Iron Head may surprise your opponent if they try to switch in a Fairy-Type, but since Hydreigon’s mediocre base 105 Atk is mostly uninvested, it may end up failing to land that OHKO or even 2HKO unless you’re hitting Diancie.
Replacing Dragon Pulse with Draco Meteor and changing Hydreigon's ability to Sheer Force is a noteworthy option that may offer you more power on your coverage moves. Keep in mind that for the STAB attacks, the Mega Launcher boost is much greater than the Sheer Force Boost.
Checks and Counters
===================
Fairy-Type Attacks: Fairies are the bane of Hydreigon’s existence.
Refrigerate/Pixilate Extreme Speed: Self-explanatory.
Cresselia: While she can’t switch into Dark Pulse, she can safely switch into all of Hydreigon’s other attacks and retaliate with a guaranteed OHKO from Moonblast.
Assault Vest Conkeldurr: Survives a Dragon Pulse and retaliates with a Drain Punch that has a 75% chance to OHKO. Advised not to switch this guy in as even he can’t stomach 2 Dragon Pulses…
Prankster Breloom: While our favorite mushroom kangaroo thingy can’t switch into 2 of Hydreigon’s attacks, he can certainly retaliate if he survives with a STAB Mach Punch or even Focus Punch after sending Hydreigon to dreamland with Spore.
Poison Heal Suicune: Suicune can tank Hydreigon’s attacks with its own bulk and find the opportunities to use Calm Mind and attack with Ice Beam and/or Scald
Chansey: One of the few things that can actually switch into Hydreigon’s attacks. Just beware of Superpower as it’ll wipe out nearly half your health even uninvested. Chansey can also cripple Hydreigon with status moves like Toxic and Thunder Wave.
