Pokémon Hydreigon

[Dr Ciel]

Approved by Aragorn the King. Original thread here.

Name: Hydreigon (#635)
Type:

Base Stats: 92 HP / 105 Atk / 90 Def / 125 SpA / 90 SpD / 98 Spd
Notable Moves: (STABs in Bold)

• Dark Pulse
• Draco Meteor
• U-Turn
• Taunt
• Focus Blast
• Flamethrower / Fire Blast
• Roost
• Earthquake
• Substitute
• Flash Cannon
• Surf
• Earth Power
• Head Smash
• Outrage
• Superpower
• Tailwind
• Iron Tail

Abilities:
Levitate: This Pokemon is immune to Ground; Gravity, Ingrain, Smack Down, Iron Ball nullify it.

Analysis: At first glance, Hydreigon may seem to be outclassed by it's Dragon type brethren, most notably Latios & Latias, with both having much more bulk (In the case of Latias.) & much more Special Attack, (In the case Latios). Dark / Dragon isn't the best typing either with all the Fairies running around, one simple attack from one of them will befall the poor Dragon. However, Hydreigon has something that both Lati Twins lack, a very deep move-pool filled with both Physical & Special attacks. allowing it to viably run an all out mixed attacking set. With fantastic offensive stats of 105 / 125 / 90, Hydreigon can deal some very significant damage to anything that doesn't resist it's STAB moves.

Potential Sets:

Life Orb Attacker

Hydreigon @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Mild / Modest Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Dark Pulse
- Flash Cannon / Fire Blast
- Superpower / Earth Power

This set makes use of Hydreigons powerful Offensive attacking stats in order to become a fearsome Mixed Wall-breaker capable of taking down even the bulkiest of Pokemon with it's high powered STAB moves. Draco Meteor is Hydreigons most powerful attacking move, denting everything bar Steel & Fairy types. Dark Pulse is Hydreigon's secondary STAB move, hitting the Steel types that resist Draco Meteor, while also getting solid coverage against pesky bulky Psychic types, most notably Jirachi. Flash Cannon allows Hydreigon to 2HKO the majority of Fairy types that resist both of Hydreigon's STAB moves. However, Fire Blast nails pesky Steel types such as Ferrothorn & Scizor for OHKOs. Superpower does a hefty amount of damage to opposing Chansey which otherwise walls this set. Meanwhile, Earth Power is a viable coverage move for hitting mainly Heatran & other Steel types.

Revenge Killer

Hydreigon @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest / Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Dark Pulse
- Earth Power
- U-Turn

This set makes use of Hydreigons respectable base Speed stat of 98, making it a very potent revenge killer in the OU meta. Once again, Draco Meteor OHKOs several offensive Pokemon, notibly the Lati Twins, which this set is able to out-speed. Dark Pulse is the secondary STAB move of choice for hitting the likes of Psychic & Ghost types including Gengar, Jirachi, Mew, & Celebi. Earth Power is a mandatory coverage move in order to hit the likes of Mega Diancie, Klefki, Tyranitar, Bisharp, & Empoleon. U-Turn is used to swing the momentum of the game in your teams favor, while also getting some important chip damage. Fire Blast may be used if hitting Ferrothorn & Scizor harder is more of a concern, but Hydreigon will be unable to significantly damage Heatran.

Other Move Options:

• Taunt helps shut down Pokemon looking to set up hazards & shuts down most defensive Pokemon's recovery.
• Tailwind can patch up Hydreigon's below average speed while also supporting the rest of its team with doubled speed.
• Iron Tail 2HKOs Sylveon, but the shaky accuracy is a huge concern when using it.
• Roost is an option for the first set, but it's usually not worth sacrificing a coverage move.

Conclusion:
Hydreigon has went from absolutely amazing to straight out mediocre with the generation shift from BW to XY. With all the Fairy type Pokemon running around in the tier being able to easily OHKO the fearsome dragon, can Hydreigon be viably run in OU in this meta?

 

[michaeloche]

Hydreigon actually has 98 base speed, not 90. It's correct in the stat line up top, but the set descriptions have it wrong.

Anyway, the biggest thing you have to fear when facing Hydreigon is that you don't always know what moves it has. You may think your fairy mon is safe, but there's the threat of Iron Tail, which 2HKOes most of them, barring a miss. Think you can outrun it? One Tailwind coming right up. While it's generally outclassed, it's still versatile enough to pose a threat.

 

[FlyThai]

Hydreigon really misses Aegislash as a partner. After its ban he really took a hit in vialibility

But it's still a pain to switch into, but the best I see this thing being used is in hyper offense but it's still pretty outclassed by Kyurem B as a Wallbreaker

 

[boltsandbombers]

Cool stuff.
I personally really dislike Fire Blast on Hydreigon because missing out on Clefable is awful when you want to call LO Hydreigon a wallbreaker. It's not bad per say, its just that I can't see myself using Hydreigon without Flash Cannon.
Hydreigon got significantly better in ORAS due to the fact that balance playstyles gained much more viability with the ban of Greninja, as it is often very unprepared for on balanced teams and also makes for a great teammate to Mega Metagross.
It was pretty mediocre in XY, that's a fair statement, but I wouldn't call it mediocre now, I'd go more along the lines of a decent wallbreaker.
Also I'd remove Crunch from the notable moves section.

 

[Expert_Occultist]

Hydreigon really misses Aegislash as a partner. After its ban he really took a hit in vialibility

But it's still a pain to switch into, but the best I see this thing being used is in hyper offense but it's still pretty outclassed by Kyurem B as a Wallbreaker

Hydreigon has different typing and more spammable STAB. While Kyurem B usually has to predict to hit things hard Hydreigon can usually click Dark Pulse and go to town. In addition, it's resistances are actually pretty good which allows it to switch into fire and ground attacks and take sucker punches. Hydreigon's movepool is leagues better as well (although both mons have great coverage). Lastly, Kyurem's stealth rock weakness means it requires more mandatory support. As someone who has experience with both I think Hydreigon is about on par with Kyurem B. Which dragon you choose is based on your team and what you want to switch into and beat.

 

[G-Von]

Whenever I've used Hydreigon this gen, I've felt that its 4mss was pretty severe because there were always times where I wished I had Draco/Focus Miss/Fire Blast/ Earth Power/Dark Pulse/Superpower. Also, I found Flash Cannon to be very underwhelming but that might be because I've never really had trouble dealing with Clefable. But yea I would say that it can't simply "click Dark Pulse and go to town". It definitely remains a very difficult mon to switch in to but prediction does in fact play a big part into Hydreigon's use.

 

[Expert_Occultist]

Whenever I've used Hydreigon this gen, I've felt that its 4mss was pretty severe because there were always times where I wished I had Draco/Focus Miss/Fire Blast/ Earth Power/Dark Pulse/Superpower. Also, I found Flash Cannon to be very underwhelming but that might be because I've never really had trouble dealing with Clefable. But yea I would say that it can't simply "click Dark Pulse and go to town". It definitely remains a very difficult mon to switch in to but prediction does in fact play a big part into Hydreigon's use.

I might have oversimplified the Dark Pulse part (although the times where you want to use FC and DM are pretty obvious) but I've never found that Hydreigon has 4MSS. The standard set of Draco, Pulse, Superpower, and Flashcannon covers an awful lot of things. Superpower is hitting what Focus Miss and Earth Power hit so you can cross those off your list. Dark Pulse also hits steels really hard to the point where they can't switch into it so Fire Blast is really not needed. The problem isn't Hydreigon's coverage it's usually his speed. Thing is, faster threats can't really switch in. What did you need Fire Blast, Focus Miss, and Earth Power for?

 

[Kurona]

Is the 'revamp' on the title necessary? I mean if it was an actual official analysis sure; but the old thread'll be buried within a couple of days and this essentially becomes the only discussion.

 

[BCE]

Hydreigon is one of the best designs of the game *.* and i dont think he has 4mss, draco meteor / dark pulse / flash cannon / flamethrower is all that he needs, timid with life orb is the must go, i really dont think he can afford to be locked in one move, more importantly in 6 gen when theres imunity to dragon / fire / ground around in the corner or resistence to dark, if you guys think that his speed is really that terrible, use sticky web or baton pass in your team. Hydreigon is definitely not S ranking, but you cant underestimate this monster. The day that he gets Mega form or a Hidden ability (speed boost ? Adaptability ? ) he will probably be suspected, levitate is so.... useless to him

 

[pika pal]

Hydreigon is one of the best designs of the game *.* and i dont think he has 4mss, draco meteor / dark pulse / flash cannon / flamethrower is all that he needs, timid with life orb is the must go, i really dont think he can afford to be locked in one move, more importantly in 6 gen when theres imunity to dragon / fire / ground around in the corner or resistence to dark, if you guys think that his speed is really that terrible, use sticky web or baton pass in your team. Hydreigon is definitely not S ranking, but you cant underestimate this monster. The day that he gets Mega form or a Hidden ability (speed boost ? Adaptability ? ) he will probably be suspected, levitate is so.... useless to him

Levitate actually does Hydreigon plenty of favors, making him immune to Spikes while neutral to rocks really helps his longevity, which is important when taking LO recoil, as well as the ability to switch into ground scot free..

Hydreigon's speed just isn't fast enough to play as a sweeper. He was already below the preferred Base 100 in XY, then ORAS brought speed creep. What Hydreigon does have is good wallbreaking capability with good offenses and a ridiculously deep movepool.

 

[Red King]

Hydreigon is really prone to wear and tear, especially with life orb. don't let him get burned, and his dragon typing make him a good candidate for wishpassing. his moveset is still quite good, able to tear slower teams apart. he doesn't fare particularly well against offense and appreciates teammates who do. does serious damage to teams who rely on jirachi to eat dracos. try not to directly switch into jirachi however, as being paraflinched to death b/c you switched into bodyslam isn't good. his bulk allows him to be somewhat effective against offense, mainly requires voltturn support to be effective. he can check/trade against a few decent offensive threats like thundurus and tank and hp ice and knock out in return. his use is definitely a lot more questionable this generation, but by no means unviable in the meta, and downright effective against slower teams.

 

[FrocoTerra]

What are Hydreigon's best teammates in a core? I know M-Metagross was great pre-suspect, and Scizor is decent, Aegislash used to be amazing, Azumarill is also pretty good. So what's the best one currently?

 

[BlazeLatias]

Personally it might be worth noting that as a partner mega diancie would make for a great team mate due to how the two have Great coverage with both of their moves.

 

[DarkNostalgia]

Not only do they have great synergy but they can kinda lure in each others counters. For example Hydreigon lures in and weakens down Chansey as well as various Dragon- and Ice- types for Diancie to destroy. Haven't tested this core out yet but I will definitely post some results!

 

[BlazeLatias]

Not only do they have great synergy but they can kinda lure in each others counters. For example Hydreigon lures in and wears down Chansey as well as various Dragon- and Ice- types for Diancie to destroy. Haven't tested this core out yet but I will definitely post some results!

Should also be mentioned that hydra loves being in drag/fairy/ steel cores so pokemon like heatran and jirachi make for great teamates. For the scarf set you might want to mention that volt-turn users such as scizor and rotom wash make for great parnters being able to use a slow u-turn / volt turn allowing hydra to get a free switch in and nuke somthing.

 

[boltsandbombers]

Not only do they have great synergy but they can kinda lure in each others counters. For example Hydreigon lures in and wears down Chansey as well as various Dragon- and Ice- types for Diancie to destroy. Haven't tested this core out yet but I will definitely post some results!

I think Hydreigon luring in Chansey is an overstatement since it needs a ton of attack investment to have a shot at 2HKOing the standard Chansey with Superpower. However, Mega Diancie can run max attack investment (haven't tried it myself but sounds good on paper) which can surprise Chansey and 2HKO it after some prior damage. On the other side of the argument, Chansey is ridiculously easy to wear down.

 

[BlazeLatias]

I think Hydreigon luring in Chansey is an overstatement since it needs a ton of attack investment to have a shot at 2HKOing the standard Chansey with Superpower. However, Mega Diancie can run max attack investment (haven't tried it myself but sounds good on paper) which can surprise Chansey and 2HKO it after some prior damage. On the other side of the argument, Chansey is ridiculously easy to wear down.

To be fair that what additional teammates are for and hydra pairs well with several pokemon that can wittle chansey down such as heatran with its magma storm+taunt set. Mega Heracross sounds like a good partner in theory for the lo set as it breaks Chansey and softens up a ton of stall mons for hydra to pick off.

 

[Kurona]

I think Hydreigon luring in Chansey is an overstatement since it needs a ton of attack investment to have a shot at 2HKOing the standard Chansey with Superpower. However, Mega Diancie can run max attack investment (haven't tried it myself but sounds good on paper) which can surprise Chansey and 2HKO it after some prior damage. On the other side of the argument, Chansey is ridiculously easy to wear down.

Going off of that, I know this may sound stupid, but would a White Herb variant of Hydreigon be at all a good idea to lure Chansey?
176 Atk Hydreigon Superpower vs. 4 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Chansey: 282-332 (43.9 - 51.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
Obviously sacrifices a lot of SpA/Spd investment as well as a valuable item, but even so

 

[boltsandbombers]

Going off of that, I know this may sound stupid, but would a White Herb variant of Hydreigon be at all a good idea to lure Chansey?
176 Atk Hydreigon Superpower vs. 4 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Chansey: 282-332 (43.9 - 51.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
Obviously sacrifices a lot of SpA/Spd investment as well as a valuable item, but even so

I think that sounds way too situational and maybe even gimmicky - Hydreigon needs Life Orb for that extra oomph in power; notably allowing it to 2HKO most if not all Clefable variants with Flash Cannon (provided you have max SpA, all the more reason). I get where you're coming from, but as I said earlier, its not that difficult to keep pressure on Chansey with team support.

 

[BlazeLatias]

White herb as bolts and bombers said is pretty situational. Also with knock of everywhere i don't really think its the best item. Leave the white herb shenanigans to flannery and her torkoal.

Edit: Lol docter ciel hates me for spamming his pms with all the talk in the thread.

 

[pretty little liAr]

I think thunderus or klefki could also be great teammates, as they can slow down faster threats that can OHKO hydreigon, which hydreigon can turn the tables on and OHKO them.

 

[BlazeLatias]

Overall any steel or fairy pairs well with hydra due to how they cover his weakneses perfectly. All hydra really needs is speed support / Bulky teammates to put in work.

 

[Expert_Occultist]

Funny enough my current main team has many of the mons mentioned as great Hydreigon teammates. Mixed Thundurus makes a great teammate not only because it can paralyze faster mons but it lures in and Knocks Off Chansey's item and possibly finish it off with its Superpower. Heatran takes on most fairies but both are weak to fighting. So why not put Celebi on your team? Celebi also has the added bonus of beating Azumarrils (the only really commonfairy Heartan and Hydreigon can't usually beat) and passing Nasty Plots to Hydreigon and another great teammate; mega-Diancie! Lastly I have scarf Keldeo to revenge Lando and Lopuuny and to take advantage of all the wall breakers this team has for cleaning purposes. Lol I know this might sound like a RMT but these teammates seem to work great with Hydreigon and each other :D

 

[Pei Kong]

Wow, this Hydreigon seems pretty good. =)

 

[Jaroda]

I've always favored Hydra way more as a bulky pivot than a wall breaker. Most of the other Dragons perform that role better like Latios (mixed offensive STABs with Draco/Psyshock), and Mold Breaker/Teravolt Haxorus and Kyurem-B. Much better offensive stats and abilities for those roles.

What Hydra has going for it though is a typing/ability combo that grant it 6 resistances and 2 immunities, on top of Roost and access to Leftovers, with no SR weakness, and immunity to Spikes. On top of that he gets U-Turn, what more could you want in a bulky pivot? Not to mention his support movepool as well as coverage options are great, meaning rather than trying to cover everything, you can suit him to take out certain threats. Have an Agility M-Metagross and you can run Earth Power for Bisharp, Heatran and Sand Rush Excadrill for example. You can also outrun defensive Mew and Celebi and threaten with Dark STAB and Taunt. Or you can use Thunder Wave to slow down fast switch ins.

Hydreigon@Leftovers/Expert Belt
Levitate
Modest 240 HP / 96 SpA / 172 Spe
- Dark Pulse
- Focus Blast/Earth Power/U-Turn
- Roost
- Taunt

Hide

96+ SpA Hydreigon Earth Power vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Bisharp: 250-296 (91.9 - 108.8%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
96+ SpA Hydreigon Earth Power vs. 248 HP / 192+ SpD Heatran: 272-324 (70.6 - 84.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
96+ SpA Hydreigon Focus Blast vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Tyranitar in Sand: 332-392 (82.3 - 97.2%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
96+ SpA Hydreigon Focus Blast vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Excadrill: 354-418 (98 - 115.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
96+ SpA Hydreigon Earth Power vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Mega Manectric: 226-266 (80.4 - 94.6%) -- 50% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
96+ SpA Hydreigon Dark Pulse vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Mega Metagross: 230-272 (76.4 - 90.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
96+ SpA Hydreigon Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Mew: 252-296 (62.3 - 73.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
96+ SpA Hydreigon Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 224+ SpD Celebi: 186-218 (46 - 53.9%) -- 93.4% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
96+ SpA Hydreigon Dark Pulse vs. +1 252 HP / 0 SpD Mega Slowbro: 200-236 (50.7 - 59.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
96+ SpA Hydreigon Dark Pulse vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Thundurus: 150-177 (50.1 - 59.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
96+ SpA Hydreigon Dark Pulse vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Gengar: 314-372 (121.2 - 143.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
96+ SpA Hydreigon Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 168 SpD Ferrothorn: 190-224 (53.9 - 63.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
96+ SpA Hydreigon Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Gliscor: 159-187 (44.9 - 52.8%) -- 25.8% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Poison Heal
96+ SpA Hydreigon Focus Blast vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Mega Houndoom: 272-322 (93.4 - 110.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock

+2 252+ Atk Black Glasses Bisharp Sucker Punch vs. 240 HP / 0 Def Hydreigon: 182-215 (47.2 - 55.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
0 SpA Heatran Lava Plume vs. 240 HP / 0 SpD Hydreigon: 59-70 (15.3 - 18.1%) -- possible 7HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
0 SpA Tyranitar Ice Beam vs. 240 HP / 0 SpD Hydreigon: 136-162 (35.3 - 42%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock, sandstorm damage, and Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Life Orb Excadrill Iron Head vs. 240 HP / 0 Def Hydreigon: 211-250 (54.8 - 64.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Mega Manectric Hidden Power Ice vs. 240 HP / 0 SpD Hydreigon: 148-176 (38.4 - 45.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Tough Claws Mega Metagross Meteor Mash vs. 240 HP / 0 Def Hydreigon: 232-274 (60.2 - 71.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
+1 4 SpA Mega Slowbro Ice Beam vs. 240 HP / 0 SpD Hydreigon: 266-314 (69 - 81.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
+1 4 SpA Mega Slowbro Scald vs. 240 HP / 0 SpD Hydreigon: 89-105 (23.1 - 27.2%) -- 0.8% chance to 4HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Thundurus Hidden Power Ice vs. 240 HP / 0 SpD Hydreigon: 140-166 (36.3 - 43.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Gengar Focus Blast vs. 240 HP / 0 SpD Hydreigon: 286-338 (74.2 - 87.7%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
0 Atk Ferrothorn Gyro Ball (150 BP) vs. 240 HP / 0 Def Hydreigon: 168-198 (43.6 - 51.4%) -- 62.9% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
+2 252 SpA Mega Houndoom Fire Blast vs. 240 HP / 0 SpD Hydreigon: 207-244 (53.7 - 63.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

So here are some of the highlights:

• Counter to Mega Slowbro. Even if it gets a Calm Mind in, you still 2HKO, and even if it runs the rare Ice Beam, it can't OHKO you. Taunt prevents recovery and boosting obviously.
• Outspeeds stallbreaker Mew.
  
• Unless you really need to OHKO Ferrothorn and Mega Scizor, Dark Pulse and either Earth Power or Focus Blast are good for most Steels. The advantages of Focus Blast is that it can OHKO bulky Tyranitar and AV Bisharp, has a good chance of OHKO on Mega Gyarados if it switched into SR before megavolving, and it can hit Air Balloon Excadrill/Heatran. Dark Pulse clean 2HKOs Skarmory anyway so you don't need Fire Blast. Earth Power is more consistent though because of accuracy.
• Counters Reflect Type Starmie with Focus Blast.
• With Taunt can stall defensive Mega Venusaur, as Dark Pulse is 3HKO when it can't restore HP, and you can Roost off Sludge Bombs.
• Also counters Gliscor, Hippowdon, Chansey, Mew, Celebi, Suicune, Amoongus, Rotom-W, Quagisre, Cresselia, Crawdaunt, Zapdos, and Mega Houndoom.

So if you ask me, you gotta abuse Taunt and your resistances, you really do hard wall many staples of Stall and Balance, and it's easy to cover Hydreigon with several Fairy type clerics like Sylveon or Clefable resisting most of Hydreigon's weaknesses. If you find your power a little wanting, Expert Belt will make many of those chances to OHKO guaranteed while also preserving your longevity by lacking LO recoil, and you still have Roost. In fact, it may even be preferred.

EDIT: http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-216318015
First battle testing it out and it won me the match. It's an annoying one though.