Overview
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Larvitar has a great offensive STAB combination that is not resisted by any Pokemon in LC. It also gets Dragon Dance, a great setup move that boosts its Attack and Speed. Larvitar also has an amazing ability in Guts, meaning it can easily absorb Will-O-Wisp and Toxic, as its typing makes it immune to Thunder Wave.
While Larvitar's Rock / Ground typing is great offensively, it is horrible defensively. Larvitar is 4x weak to Water- and Grass-type moves, as well as Fighting-type moves, which run rampant in LC. Although Larvitar gets Dragon Dance, it only hits 14 Speed with a Jolly nature, which means that it is outsped by common Choice Scarf users, such as Pawniard and Mienfoo. It also faces competition from common setup sweepers such as Tirtouga and Omanyte, as they have a better boosting move in Shell Smash and better bulk. Lastly, Larvitar needs Flame Orb to ensure that Guts activates, but it is frail without Eviolite's bulk.
Dragon Dance
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name: Dragon Dance
move 1: Dragon Dance
move 2: Rock Slide / Stone Edge
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Superpower
ability: Guts
item: Eviolite / Flame Orb
evs: 244 Atk / 36 Def / 36 SpD / 188 Spe
nature: Jolly
Moves
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After one Dragon Dance, Larvitar can outspeed the entire unboosted metagame. Rock Slide is a reliable STAB move, though Stone Edge may be used for more power at the cost of accuracy. Earthquake takes the next slot, as it is a nice STAB move and synergizes well with Rock Slide. Superpower allows Larvitar to nail Ferroseed, Porygon, and Lileep, which all have the bulk to take Larvitar's STAB moves even after a boost.
Set Details
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244 Attack EVs and 188 Speed EVs are used to reach Larvitar's maximum potential. The rest of the EVs are put into Defense and Special Defense to hit Eviolite numbers. Eviolite is used to let Larvitar take more hits and set up more reliably. Flame Orb, however, can be used to ensure Guts activates and gives Larvitar more initial power. Jolly Larvitar reaches 14 Speed, allowing it to outspeed the entire unboosted metagame after a Dragon Dance. With an Adamant nature, Larvitar only reaches 13 Speed, meaning that after a boost it Speed ties with 19 Speed Pokemon, such as Ponyta and Abra, and can be outsped by 20 Speed Pokemon, such as Diglett and Elekid.
Usage Tips
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With Eviolite, Larvitar can tank weak neutral or resisted hits, such as Fletchling's and Taillow's STAB moves. Trubbish is great setup bait as well, as it is threatened by a STAB Earthquake. Larvitar must watch out for super effective hits, however. Larvitar is best used mid- or late-game when its checks and counters have been worn down or KOed.
Team Options
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Cottonee is the best partner for Larvitar, resisting Fighting-, Ground-, Water-, and Grass-type moves. In return, Larvitar resists Fire- and Poison-type moves for Cottonee. They both share a Steel weakness, however. Memento support gives Larvitar more opportunities to set up and is an absolute must if you opt for Flame Orb, as Larvitar doesn't have the bulk to take hits without Eviolite and can only reliably set up on Taillow and Fletchling. Knock Off users, such as Pawniard and Mienfoo, are imperative, as they knock off Eviolite and Berry Juice, allowing Larvitar to power through walls that can avoid the OHKO or 2HKO. Entry hazard support is useful for Larvitar, breaking Sturdy and weakening opponents in general. Archen in particular is a good partner as it can Defog away hazards as well as set them. Surskit and Spinarak are good Sticky Web users, and Larvitar appreciates the Speed drop to the opponent.
Other Options
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Rock Polish is great for allowing Larvitar to outspeed common Choice Scarf Pokemon. However, when using Rock Polish, Larvitar has to run Flame Orb to boost its Attack, and it doesn't tend to force as many switches as it would like to get a free boost. Crunch can be used strictly to keep Pumpkaboo in check, as most other Ghost-types are either weak to or hit hard by Larvitar's STAB moves. Poison Jab can be used to hit Fairy-types. However, the most common Fairy-types, Spritzee and Cottonee, both have ways to deal with it, as Spritzee can tank a +1 Poison Jab, and Cottonee can Encore Larvitar into Dragon Dance or OHKO it with Giga Drain. Larvitar can use Stealth Rock as a last-ditch attempt to get hazards up, but there are better hazard setters in LC, and Larvitar would rather be attacking or setting up a sweep.
Checks & Counters
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**Choice Scarf users**: Choice Scarf users, such as Pawniard, Drilbur, and Mienfoo, can outspeed Larvitar even after one Dragon Dance and KO it with their STAB moves.
**Grass-types**: Grass-types, such as Cottonee and Foongus, can OHKO Larvitar, even with Eviolite, while also taking Larvitar's STAB moves with ease.
**Water-types**: Water-types, such as Corphish and Chinchou, can OHKO Eviolite Larvitar with their STAB moves.
**Defensive Fighting-types**: Mienfoo and Timburr can both take a +1 Earthquake and recover the health back with Drain Punch.
**Priority**: Larvitar is weak to many priority moves, including Mach Punch, Vacuum Wave, Aqua Jet, and Bullet Punch, although it resists two important priority attacks in Fletchling's Acrobatics and Zigzagoon's Extreme Speed.
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