Alright, so the QC team has had quite a bit of discussion on which moves should be listed in Pyroak's set and in what order they should be listed, but we still haven't reached a definite conclusion. The fact is, Pyroak has a LOT of somewhat viable -> very viable options for its utility set, including (but certainly not limited to) Synthesis, Lava Plume, Earth Power, Giga Drain, Stealth Rock, Aromatherapy, Roar, Leech Seed, Substitute, and Ancient Power. As such, we haven't yet reached a clear consensus on what the best way of organizing and slashing these moves would be. However, I'd still like to try and get the ball rolling with this analysis, since we as a team haven't been posting here too much lately, and Pyroak is an important Pokemon we need to get onsite!
Here are the main points the QC team generally seems to be in agreement on:
move 1: Synthesis
move 2: Lava Plume
move 3: Earth Power / Giga Drain
move 4: Stealth Rock / Leech Seed / Aromatherapy / Roar
I think this accurately portrays the many options available to Pyroak, while emphasizing the importance of Synthesis in the current metagame. I'm not set on the exact set order myself quite yet, particularly with the utility options, so this should be discussed further. One of the biggest things to note is that there is the option of running fewer attacks in favor of more utility moves, so this should be clearly emphasized in the Set Comments. This particular set ordering shows Recovery + Attack 1 + Attack 2 + Utility, and it should be noted that Recovery + Attack + Utility 1 + Utility 2 is a perfectly viable option, as it allows Pyroak to provide more support to its teammates, but at the cost of narrowing the range of threats that Pyroak can serve as an offensive check to. I just want to avoid an abomination like...
Anyway, I don't expect this to be the final ordering of Pyroak's moves; I would certainly like to hear your feedback on this, as well as the rest of the QC team's. Pyroak just has such a wide variety of options that there really isn't one "correct" way of doing this.
Here are some of my personal thoughts I'll include in this reply:
Hopefully this post isn't too long or overbearing; I just wanted to get all of the information down. Let me (or another QC peep) know if you had any questions or comments on any of this.
Here are the main points the QC team generally seems to be in agreement on:
- Synthesis is very important for Pyroak's longevity; it's basically a requirement for Pyroak to continuously check the heavy offensive threats of the current metagame, including Mega Metagross, Mega Altaria, and more, throughout the course of a match without being worn down too quickly. Damage piles up quickly on Pyroak due to its SR weakness, as well as the generally high overall power of the threats it's expected to check. Without Synthesis, Pyroak simply finds itself being overwhelmed by wallbreakers and sweepers much too quickly and isn't as effective of a utility counter as it could be. As such, we think it'd be optimal if Synthesis is listed in the first slot with no slashes.
- Lava Plume is generally agreed to be Pyroak's most useful all-around attacking move since it has the added benefit of spreading burns, in addition to being a reliable STAB move. However, Giga Drain allows Pyroak to serve as a much better check to Water-types as mentioned in previous posts, and also significantly improves Pyroak's matchup against Ground-types. Earth Power has the obvious benefit of nailing Heatran and has arguably more solid two-move coverage alongside Lava Plume. Ancient Power is a cool lure to catch stuff like Talonflame and Zard Y on the switch, but isn't necessarily main slash material since we'd like to avoid cluttering up the set with too many options.
- The remaining support and utility moves Pyroak runs are highly dependent on what kind of support is required by its team. Stealth Rock, Aromatherapy, Roar, and Leech Seed are all plenty viable in this regard; some other status moves such as Will-O-Wisp and Toxic also see occasional use.
move 1: Synthesis
move 2: Lava Plume
move 3: Earth Power / Giga Drain
move 4: Stealth Rock / Leech Seed / Aromatherapy / Roar
I think this accurately portrays the many options available to Pyroak, while emphasizing the importance of Synthesis in the current metagame. I'm not set on the exact set order myself quite yet, particularly with the utility options, so this should be discussed further. One of the biggest things to note is that there is the option of running fewer attacks in favor of more utility moves, so this should be clearly emphasized in the Set Comments. This particular set ordering shows Recovery + Attack 1 + Attack 2 + Utility, and it should be noted that Recovery + Attack + Utility 1 + Utility 2 is a perfectly viable option, as it allows Pyroak to provide more support to its teammates, but at the cost of narrowing the range of threats that Pyroak can serve as an offensive check to. I just want to avoid an abomination like...
move 1: Synthesis
move 2: Lava Plume / Earth Power / Giga Drain / Ancient Power
move 3: Stealth Rock / Aromatherapy / Leech Seed / Roar
move 4: Stealth Rock / Aromatherapy / Leech Seed / Roar / Substitute / Will-O-Wisp / Toxic / Earth Power / Giga Drain / Ancient Power / Swagger / Hyper Beam / Dragon Breath
...you get the idea. cbrevan and I had a conversation about Pyroak on a PiratePad a while back, and it devolved into something like this because we couldn't decide how to organize stuff lol
move 2: Lava Plume / Earth Power / Giga Drain / Ancient Power
move 3: Stealth Rock / Aromatherapy / Leech Seed / Roar
move 4: Stealth Rock / Aromatherapy / Leech Seed / Roar / Substitute / Will-O-Wisp / Toxic / Earth Power / Giga Drain / Ancient Power / Swagger / Hyper Beam / Dragon Breath
...you get the idea. cbrevan and I had a conversation about Pyroak on a PiratePad a while back, and it devolved into something like this because we couldn't decide how to organize stuff lol
Here are some of my personal thoughts I'll include in this reply:
- The set name should be changed from "Leech Seed" to "Utility". I think Leech Seed was the main idea of the set earlier on in the generation, but it's been a while, and Pyroak's role as a utility counter + supporter has become much clearer in the current metagame. I think most players would agree Leech Seed is no longer a requirement for Pyroak (but certainly still a great option).
- The current EV spread is fully physically defensive, with a specially defensive spread in Set Details. While this is probably fine, I've been messing around with mixed spreads a lot, and I think one should definitely get a mention (eventually) if it helps to maximize the amount of important threats that Pyroak can handle. I'm still not sure what the "best" spread for this would be, so I'll get back to you on this.
- Once you make the changes to the moveset, these changes should be reflected in your bullet points for Usage Tips, Other Options, Checks and Counters, and any other relevant sections.
- When you mention the Swords Dance set in Other Options, also touch on Rock Head and Flare Blitz / Wood Hammer, since those are the main draws of running the set. SD + two high-powered recoil-less STABs is pretty fun imo, even if the set is kinda unviable :D
- In Checks and Counters, change Toxic to "Residual Damage" and touch on its SR weakness and vulnerability to all entry hazards as well. It should be noted that Toxic damage can be circumvented if Pyroak runs Aromatherapy.
Hopefully this post isn't too long or overbearing; I just wanted to get all of the information down. Let me (or another QC peep) know if you had any questions or comments on any of this.