"Ma'am, what would you like to order?"
"I'll have the Saladmence to go, please."
[Overview]
<p>Salamence is one of the more intimidating dragons usable in VGC, and said intimidating quality is naturally one of the main reasons to use it. Great attacking stats and a wide movepool allow it to be very versatile, and its respectable 95 / 80 / 80 defenses give it decent bulk. While its defenses may be undermined by weaknesses to Rock- and Ice-type attacks, this is less of an issue thanks to Intimidate. Similarly, while its base 100 Speed leaves it outsped by Garchomp and Latios, Speed is not as important in VGC due to moves such as the ever-so-common Trick Room and Tailwind twisting turn order around. These are relatively trivial faults, and Intimidate as well as a strong, versatile Dragon STAB is reason enough to seriously consider Salamence on just about any team; just keep it away from Abomasnow and company.</p>
[SET]
name: Physical Attacker
move 1: Dragon Claw
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Tailwind / Crunch
move 4: Protect / Tailwind
item: Life Orb / Yache Berry
ability: Intimidate
nature: Adamant / Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>While this set may not capitalize on Salamence's great type coverage, it makes up for it with the sheer utility of Intimidate and Tailwind. Equipped with a Life Orb and Tailwind at its back, Dragon Claw makes mencemeat (pun intended) out of Latios and Garchomp, Pokemon who normally check Salamence by virtue of only their Speed. Salamence can still OHKO either of them without a Life Orb, though its chances of doing so to Garchomp drops to around 30%. Yache Berry doesn't simply ruin your chances with Garchomp though; it protects Salamence from an unexpected Ice Beam, Blizzard, or Hidden Power Ice, all of which are notorious for dropping Dragon / Flying Pokemon in one hit. As your team may still need Intimidate and Tailwind, keeping Salamence alive and well is important, especially when a KOed Pokemon out of the gate is every VGC player's nightmare.</p>
<p>Earthquake is a generic coverage and spread move, ensuring Salamence isn't caught with its pants down against Pokemon such as Heatran and Metagross. The third slot is flexible; Crunch lets Life Orb Salamence 2HKO specially defensive Cresselia and Dusclops, though you'll have to be on your toes as both of them can cripple Salamence with Thunder Wave and Will-O-Wisp, respectively. Alternatively, Salamence can use Tailwind and Protect in the same set. If you do end up picking an attacking move in the third slot, the fourth move will pose a dilemma. In the end, however, it largely depends on what your team requires—a healthy Salamence ready to Intimidate the opponent into submission, or Tailwind support.<p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Salamence's Special Attack is good enough to use Fire Blast effectively with a hindering nature, as the main targets of Fire Blast are Abomasnow and Ferrothorn, two Pokemon that are otherwise huge threats to Salamence. Besides those two, however, you won't find much use for it, as Earthquake hits Steel-types such as Metagross hard enough already. If you feel Salamence is too frail, use a spread of 140 HP / 252 Atk / 116 Spe; this spread allows Salamence to outspeed Mamoswine and everything below a base Speed of 80, and gives Salamence room to take a few Water-, Fighting-, or even Ice-type moves with Yache Berry.</p>
<p>Fighting-types supporters, such as Hitmontop, Lucario, and Conkeldurr, make great teammates for Salamence. Hitmontop and Conkeldurr protect Salamence from dangerous Blizzards with Wide Guard, and if you're pairing Salamence with Intimidate Hitmontop, your team will take practically nothing from physical attacks bar those such as Metagross, who can negate stat drops. Lucario can utilize Follow Me to draw in Ice-type moves, which is especially useful if you're not using a Yache Berry. Given its subpar Defense, Gallade appreciates Intimidate support, and can reverse Trick Room should the situation arise. Chandelure can also reverse Trick Room, appreciates Tailwind support, and can give hail teams heartburn with its all-powerful Heat Wave. Cresselia is immune to Earthquake, and with Intimidate support, it becomes nigh untouchable, giving it plenty of time to fire off Helping Hand or any other support move.</p>
[SET]
name: Special Choice
move 1: Draco Meteor
move 2: Heat Wave / Flamethrower
move 3: Hidden Power Flying
move 4: Hydro Pump
item: Choice Scarf / Choice Specs
ability: Intimidate
nature: Modest / Timid
evs: 8 HP / 248 SpA / 252 Spe
ivs: 30 HP / 30 Atk / 30 Def / 30 SpA / 30 SpD / 31 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>The main drawback to using a Choice item in VGC is that you have to switch out to change moves. However, when your Choice user has Intimidate, this problem is somewhat mitigated, as you're probably switching in and out anyways to abuse it! Choice Scarf is the main option due to the surprise factor, allowing Salamence to foil Latios's and Garchomp's plans of taking it out before it can move. On the other hand, Choice Specs supplies Salamence's Draco Meteor with enough power to not only OHKO many common Pokemon, such as Zapdos, Rotom-W, and even Haban Berry Kingdra, but also severely dent anything that doesn't resist it or invest heavily in Special Defense.</p>
<p>If you absolutely loathe the Special Attack drops from Draco Meteor, Dragon Pulse is an option, but the drop in power is very apparent as Salamence can now only 2HKO all of the aforementioned threats. Heat Wave is a fairly obvious spread move, as it compliments Salamence's Dragon-type STAB. The 75 Base Power may be unappealing, however, especially as it makes Choice Specs Salamence lose the OHKO on Metagross, so Flamethrower is a suitable replacement. Hidden Power Flying takes advantage of Salamence's resistance to Fighting-type moves, allowing it 2HKO or OHKO bulkier Fighting-types, such as Hitmontop, depending on which Choice item Salamence uses. Finally, Hydro Pump douses Fire-types and erodes Rock-types, 2HKOing Tyranitar in a sandstorm while it cannot OHKO Salamence in return because of Intimidate.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EV spread accommodates for the IV drop for Hidden Power Flying. While using a Modest nature, however, you might find that there isn't much of interest Salamence can outspeed. Given this, you can opt to change Salamence's spread to 144 HP / 248 SpA / 116 Spe to outspeed base 80 Speed Pokemon such as Mamoswine, moving the EVs to HP, going a long way to extend Salamence's longevity.</p>
<p>Choice Salamence works well rain or shine, so it easily fits into a variety of team archetypes. Sun teams don't particularly care for another Rock-type weakness, but they do enjoy Intimidate and another Heat Wave abuser, as well as the added bonus of being able to take care of Tyranitar should it rear its ugly face. Rain teams also enjoy Intimidate, but they particularly love a check to Shedinja and Ferrothorn, two Pokemon they often lack reliable checks for. Again, Lucario, Hitmontop, and Conkeldurr make great partners for Salamence, protecting it from dangerous Blizzards or Ice Beams. The latter two can also use Feint, which can ensure a kill on Latios and Garchomp should they be extra cautious and Protect on Draco Meteor. Taunt and Safeguard are also incredibly useful to keep Salamence from being paralyzed or its Speed turned against in Trick Room. Cresselia is an excellent user of Safeguard, and can use Helping Hand, Icy Wind, and Thunder Wave to alleviate Choice Specs Salamence's Speed problems and power up Draco Meteor to an awe-inspiring 210 Base Power. Terrakion makes short work of a wide variety of Ice-types with Close Combat and Rock Slide, and breathes more easily when it isn't as threatened by Mach Punch.</p>
<p>Defensively speaking, Heatran, Bronzong, and Metagross make great partners for Salamence to switch into, as they resist Ice- and Rock-type attacks while Salamence is immune to Earthquake and resistant to Fire-type attacks. In a similar vein, Water-types such as Suicune and Rotom-W make good partners, though they resist only Ice-type attacks.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Salamence's movepool is quite expansive, so there are quite a few other options you can consider. Roost is useful for preserving Salamence's health, though the main issue is finding a slot for it. Aqua Tail is usable under rain, though it has mostly redundant coverage with Earthquake and Dragon Claw; it only hits Air Balloon Heatran, Gliscor, and similar opponents. Thunder Fang is fairly weak, but if you hate Water-types with a burning passion, it's worth considering. With proper support, Dragon Dance is a great option to bypass both Salamence's Speed and power issues in one turn of setup; however setup usually isn't worth it due to the amount of support it needs, but it can be devastating in the right circumstances. Rock Slide is always a great move to deal consistent damage to the opponent, and perhaps more importantly, flinch a Pokemon in the middle of a game-changing turn. Stone Edge has the same coverage as Rock Slide, but as it hits only one target, it can OHKO standard Thundurus, where it would be a 2HKO with Rock Slide. If you want a powerful Dragon-type move with no recoil or don't want to be locked into one move, Dragon Gem is a perfectly usable item for a quick and deadly Draco Meteor or Dragon Claw. Moxie may be tempting to use, given Salamence's massive Attack stat and access to a powerful Earthquake, but using Moxie means you lose the utility of Intimidate and Tailwind.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>In general, faster Pokemon that carry Hidden Power Ice or Ice Beam make short work of Salamence if it's not holding a Yache Berry. Starmie, Focus Sash Jolteon, Thundurus, and Choice Scarf Rotom-W are great examples of this, and all of them can take a Dragon Claw or Earthquake if worst comes to worst. Hail teams are Salamence's kryptonite, though Salamence always has the option of using a Fire-type move. Mamoswine can OHKO Salamence before it can move with priority Ice Shard and residual hail or Fake Out damage. Weavile is well above Salamence in terms of Speed, and can cut it down to size with Ice Punch. Cresselia and Dusclops are both defensive standbys that provide a full stop to most Salamence, and can cripple it with Thunder Wave, Will-O-Wisp, Trick Room, or in Cresselia's case, simply KO it with Ice Beam. Trick Room teams have no shortage of Pokemon that can deal with Salamence, such as Rhyperior, Glaceon, Slowking, Slowbro, Druddigon, Jellicent, and Gastrodon. Occa Berry Metagross can take anything Salamence can throw at it rather nicely and hit back with Ice Punch or a combination of Meteor Mash and Bullet Punch. Lastly, Latios and Garchomp can check Salamence provided it doesn't have Tailwind or Choice Scarf.</p>