QC: p2, Hootie, TDK
GP: The Dutch Plumberjack, Muk
[OVERVIEW]
Volcanion is a strong Pokemon in OU because it has a fantastic offensive typing that cements its status as a powerhouse and notably allows it to check Pokemon like Azumarill, Mega Scizor, Ferrothorn, and Mega Sableye. Volcanion synergizes fantastically with a lot of Pokemon like Fairy-, Grass-, and Dragon-types, as well as offensive Steel-types, due to its ability to threaten most opposing Steel-types. Its signature STAB attack, Steam Eruption, is one of its main selling points, having the same power as Hydro Pump but also the burn chance of Scald to pressure switch-ins. Its good movepool allows it to hit most of the metagame for at least neutral damage, and its STAB combination is already naturally difficult to deal with because Grass-type answers to its Water STAB cannot deal with its Fire attacks. Its ability, Water Absorb, is another reason it is so good, since it discourages opponents from spamming Scald. Notably, Volcanion is also a very solid switch-in to Azumarill, which is a difficult Pokemon to switch into. Volcanion is often paired with a Pursuit trapper–usually Tyranitar–to remove Latios and Latias, since they are some of its best switch-ins. Unfortunately, Volcanion is a bit on the slower side, and this coupled with a weakness to Stealth Rock means that its longevity is not the greatest despite a solid Defense stat. It is also weak to common Ground-, Electric-, and Rock-type moves.
[SET]
name: All-out Attacker
move 1: Steam Eruption
move 2: Flamethrower / Fire Blast
move 3: Sludge Bomb / Earth Power
move 4: Hidden Power Grass / Earth Power
item: Choice Specs / Leftovers
ability: Water Absorb
nature: Modest / Timid
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Steam Eruption is Volcanion's primary STAB move due to its high Base Power, ability to burn, and general lack of drawbacks with its high accuracy. Flamethrower is the secondary STAB option and nukes anything weak to it. Fire Blast is an option for additional power, but it can miss and most of its targets don't appreciate Flamethrower anyway. If you're running a non-Choice Specs set, Fire Blast is preferable for power. Sludge Bomb is coverage for Fairy-types like Clefable, Mega Gardevoir, and Mega Altaria. It is used over Sludge Wave for its higher chance to inflict poison and still guarantees the OHKO on Azumarill. Hidden Power Grass allows Volcanion to hit other Water-types super effectively, especially Water Absorb Pokemon like Gastrodon. Earth Power is an alternative that can hit opposing Volcanion and eases prediction against cores like Volcanion + Tyranitar. Overheat is an option on Choice Specs sets to provide more destructive power, and you will often switch Volcanion out after firing off one or two attacks regardless of a Special Attack drop. Toxic can be used on Leftovers or Mystic Water variants to lure bulky Water-types.
Set Details
========
A Modest nature with maximum Special Attack maximizes Volcanion's wallbreaking prowess. Maximum Speed allows Volcanion to Speed tie Breloom so that it isn't as susceptible to Spore. It's also useful for outspeeding most defensive Landorus-T. A Timid nature is an option to get the jump on Adamant offensive Mega Scizor, Adamant Breloom, and Gliscor. Choice Specs is the best item for this set, since it turns Volcanion into a ridiculous wallbreaker capable of 2HKOing Pokemon that resist its attacks such as Latios and 2HKOing Rotom-W after Stealth Rock. Leftovers is also a nice option on this set to maintain longevity, and Volcanion's nice typing lets it heal against Steel-types pretty well. While Volcanion still retains power with Leftovers, you do lose the ability to bluff Choice Specs. Mystic Water is another option which can be used to bluff a Choice Specs set and take advantage of people trying to play around Volcanion with cores like Heatran + Latias, for example. Volcanion can run bulkier spreads as well because of its solid Defense stat, although generally you will want to max out its Speed.
Usage Tips
========
Steam Eruption is the main move to use if the opponent isn't packing a Water-immune Pokemon like an opposing Volcanion. Its high Base Power and chance to burn put a lot of pressure on the opposing team even if they have a bulky switch-in like Latias. It is notable, though, that Steam Eruption has low PP, so spamming it too much early-game can have an adverse effect on late-game plans. Flamethrower should be used when up against Steel-types like Ferrothorn and Mega Metagross, as well as against Grass-types like Amoonguss and Mega Venusaur. Sludge Bomb can be used for Fairy-types primarily, although it also hits Water- and Dragon-types a little harder than the resisted Steam Eruption. Hidden Power Grass should be used on predicted switches to break Water / Ground types, and Earth Power should be used similarly for opposing Volcanion switch-ins. These moves are primarily for when the opponent has a Water-immune Pokemon. Volcanion can switch into predicted Water-type moves like Scald as well as Fire- and Steel-type moves, which it 4x resists. It is a good idea to figure out how fast opposing Ground- and Rock-types are before staying in with Volcanion against them, since being outsped can result in it being KOed. Double switches and VoltTurn are great ways to bring Volcanion into play, since it is rather slow and does not like switching into repeated hits. If you're using Choice Specs over Leftovers, there's a heavy emphasis on prediction if the opponent has Water Absorb users. Be careful about switching into Pokemon like Scizor and Jirachi if Stealth Rock is up—they may U-turn out, and the entry hazard damage will rack up quickly.
Team Options
========
Tyranitar is an excellent partner because it Pursuit traps many of Volcanion's best checks such as Latias, Mega Latias, and Slowbro. In return, Volcanion threatens Steel-types and some bulky Ground-types for Tyranitar. Latios and Latias are good partners because they provide entry hazard removal for Volcanion, as well as soft checking Electric-types. They also appreciate that Volcanion takes advantage of Steel-types and of Tyranitar locked into Pursuit. Landorus-T is a good partner because it provides Stealth Rock and U-turn support and checks many of the quicker Ground-types that can threaten Volcanion with STAB Earthquake. Garchomp is another nice hazard setter to pair with Volcanion, but it is better as a speedy wallbreaker with the ability to bust past bulky Water-types by utilizing a Swords Dance set. Grass-types like Breloom, Serperior, and Tangrowth are excellent with Volcanion because they can break past or check bulky Water-types, which wall it. They also threaten faster Ground-types; Breloom and Tangrowth in particular are good at this. Mega Sceptile can act as a check to Electric-types as well. Mega Diancie sports strong offensive synergy with Volcanion, which appreciates Magic Bounce to fend off Stealth Rock and Diancie's ability to check Latios, Terrakion, and Tyranitar. Volcanion destroys Steel-types that check Mega Diancie and deters the likes of Choice Scarf Keldeo, Azumarill, and Crawdaunt from trying to revenge kill Diancie with Water-type moves. Mega Scizor is a good partner to Volcanion, since it soft checks many Ground-types and hard checks Rock-types. Volcanion greatly appreciates VoltTurn support to get free switches in, so partners like Tornadus-T and Rotom-W can prove very useful. Jirachi is another good pivot to pair with Volcanion, since it lures in Heatran and Ferrothorn and can use Healing Wish to bring Volcanion back to full HP later. Keldeo can be paired with Volcanion to help wear down Water-resistant Pokemon on the opposing team.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Type resistance Berries like Shuca Berry and Charti Berry can be used on offensive Volcanion to let it function as a lure, but ultimately this is very team dependent. Volcanion can utilize a defensive set with a spread of 232 HP / 176 Def / 4 SpD / 96 Spe with a Bold nature. This outspeeds all Adamant Azumarill while netting an extra point in Defense and avoiding a 4HKO from Stealth Rock. Such a set can run Haze to beat setup sweepers such as the aforementioned Azumarill. Unfortunately, a Stealth Rock weakness and lack of reliable recovery mean it is hard to utilize its defensive utility properly. RestTalk sets are also an option, as they alleviate the lack of recovery, but ultimately they are unreliable. Expert Belt can be used to bluff a Choice set but retain the ability to switch moves. Power Herb + Solar Beam is a niche set but can be a nice lure for bulky Water-types, which are common switch-ins to Volcanion.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Bulky Water-types** Gastrodon and Seismitoad are both immune to Steam Eruption and can comfortably take on any of Volcanion's other attacks except for Hidden Power Grass or Toxic. Volcanion can also check itself due to its immunity to its own Water attacks and a 4x resistance to Fire-type moves, but it does not take Earth Power or Sludge Bomb very well. Slowking, Alomomola, and Suicune have the bulk to take Choice Specs Steam Eruption and can PP stall it as well. Slowbro can take on Volcanion to some extent as well, but because it does not have as much Special Defense as Slowking, it is a much shakier check. Rotom-W is not a great check to Volcanion because Choice Specs-boosted Steam Eruption often 2HKOes, but at full HP Rotom-W does threaten Volcanion with a super effective Volt Switch.
**Bulky Walls** Chansey is one of the best Volcanion switch-ins since it can take any Choice Specs-boosted attacks and doesn't care much about the rare Toxic. Blissey is in the same boat. Mega Latias is a solid switch-in to Volcanion, since it can take most of its attacks comfortably, heal up, and then threaten it with STAB or coverage moves.
**Dragon-types** Dragons like Latias and Latios are some of the most popular switch-ins to Volcanion because they resist its STAB combination and aren't hit super effectively by its coverage moves. They also outspeed Volcanion and can threaten it with their STAB moves, but they are susceptible to Pursuit trapping, which is often found with Volcanion. Dragonite is a decent check to Volcanion especially with Multiscale intact, and it often carries a Lum Berry to guard it against burns. Kyurem-B is an offensive check to Volcanion, as it does not appreciate switching into Choice Specs-boosted Fire-type moves or taking burns from Steam Eruption, but in a one-on-one scenario it can outspeed Volcanion and hit it super effectively with Fusion Bolt.
**Rock-types** Offensive Rock-types such as Mega Diancie, Terrakion, Choice Scarf Tyranitar, and Mega Aerodactyl can all outspeed and check Volcanion.
**Electric-types** Offensive Electric-types such as Thundurus, Mega Manectric, and Raikou all outspeed Volcanion and threaten it with STAB Thunderbolt or Volt Switch.
**Ground-types** Offensive Ground-types such as Garchomp, Excadrill, fast Landorus-T, and Diggersby can all OHKO Volcanion with Earthquake but won't dare switch into it.
GP: The Dutch Plumberjack, Muk
[OVERVIEW]
Volcanion is a strong Pokemon in OU because it has a fantastic offensive typing that cements its status as a powerhouse and notably allows it to check Pokemon like Azumarill, Mega Scizor, Ferrothorn, and Mega Sableye. Volcanion synergizes fantastically with a lot of Pokemon like Fairy-, Grass-, and Dragon-types, as well as offensive Steel-types, due to its ability to threaten most opposing Steel-types. Its signature STAB attack, Steam Eruption, is one of its main selling points, having the same power as Hydro Pump but also the burn chance of Scald to pressure switch-ins. Its good movepool allows it to hit most of the metagame for at least neutral damage, and its STAB combination is already naturally difficult to deal with because Grass-type answers to its Water STAB cannot deal with its Fire attacks. Its ability, Water Absorb, is another reason it is so good, since it discourages opponents from spamming Scald. Notably, Volcanion is also a very solid switch-in to Azumarill, which is a difficult Pokemon to switch into. Volcanion is often paired with a Pursuit trapper–usually Tyranitar–to remove Latios and Latias, since they are some of its best switch-ins. Unfortunately, Volcanion is a bit on the slower side, and this coupled with a weakness to Stealth Rock means that its longevity is not the greatest despite a solid Defense stat. It is also weak to common Ground-, Electric-, and Rock-type moves.
[SET]
name: All-out Attacker
move 1: Steam Eruption
move 2: Flamethrower / Fire Blast
move 3: Sludge Bomb / Earth Power
move 4: Hidden Power Grass / Earth Power
item: Choice Specs / Leftovers
ability: Water Absorb
nature: Modest / Timid
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Steam Eruption is Volcanion's primary STAB move due to its high Base Power, ability to burn, and general lack of drawbacks with its high accuracy. Flamethrower is the secondary STAB option and nukes anything weak to it. Fire Blast is an option for additional power, but it can miss and most of its targets don't appreciate Flamethrower anyway. If you're running a non-Choice Specs set, Fire Blast is preferable for power. Sludge Bomb is coverage for Fairy-types like Clefable, Mega Gardevoir, and Mega Altaria. It is used over Sludge Wave for its higher chance to inflict poison and still guarantees the OHKO on Azumarill. Hidden Power Grass allows Volcanion to hit other Water-types super effectively, especially Water Absorb Pokemon like Gastrodon. Earth Power is an alternative that can hit opposing Volcanion and eases prediction against cores like Volcanion + Tyranitar. Overheat is an option on Choice Specs sets to provide more destructive power, and you will often switch Volcanion out after firing off one or two attacks regardless of a Special Attack drop. Toxic can be used on Leftovers or Mystic Water variants to lure bulky Water-types.
Set Details
========
A Modest nature with maximum Special Attack maximizes Volcanion's wallbreaking prowess. Maximum Speed allows Volcanion to Speed tie Breloom so that it isn't as susceptible to Spore. It's also useful for outspeeding most defensive Landorus-T. A Timid nature is an option to get the jump on Adamant offensive Mega Scizor, Adamant Breloom, and Gliscor. Choice Specs is the best item for this set, since it turns Volcanion into a ridiculous wallbreaker capable of 2HKOing Pokemon that resist its attacks such as Latios and 2HKOing Rotom-W after Stealth Rock. Leftovers is also a nice option on this set to maintain longevity, and Volcanion's nice typing lets it heal against Steel-types pretty well. While Volcanion still retains power with Leftovers, you do lose the ability to bluff Choice Specs. Mystic Water is another option which can be used to bluff a Choice Specs set and take advantage of people trying to play around Volcanion with cores like Heatran + Latias, for example. Volcanion can run bulkier spreads as well because of its solid Defense stat, although generally you will want to max out its Speed.
Usage Tips
========
Steam Eruption is the main move to use if the opponent isn't packing a Water-immune Pokemon like an opposing Volcanion. Its high Base Power and chance to burn put a lot of pressure on the opposing team even if they have a bulky switch-in like Latias. It is notable, though, that Steam Eruption has low PP, so spamming it too much early-game can have an adverse effect on late-game plans. Flamethrower should be used when up against Steel-types like Ferrothorn and Mega Metagross, as well as against Grass-types like Amoonguss and Mega Venusaur. Sludge Bomb can be used for Fairy-types primarily, although it also hits Water- and Dragon-types a little harder than the resisted Steam Eruption. Hidden Power Grass should be used on predicted switches to break Water / Ground types, and Earth Power should be used similarly for opposing Volcanion switch-ins. These moves are primarily for when the opponent has a Water-immune Pokemon. Volcanion can switch into predicted Water-type moves like Scald as well as Fire- and Steel-type moves, which it 4x resists. It is a good idea to figure out how fast opposing Ground- and Rock-types are before staying in with Volcanion against them, since being outsped can result in it being KOed. Double switches and VoltTurn are great ways to bring Volcanion into play, since it is rather slow and does not like switching into repeated hits. If you're using Choice Specs over Leftovers, there's a heavy emphasis on prediction if the opponent has Water Absorb users. Be careful about switching into Pokemon like Scizor and Jirachi if Stealth Rock is up—they may U-turn out, and the entry hazard damage will rack up quickly.
Team Options
========
Tyranitar is an excellent partner because it Pursuit traps many of Volcanion's best checks such as Latias, Mega Latias, and Slowbro. In return, Volcanion threatens Steel-types and some bulky Ground-types for Tyranitar. Latios and Latias are good partners because they provide entry hazard removal for Volcanion, as well as soft checking Electric-types. They also appreciate that Volcanion takes advantage of Steel-types and of Tyranitar locked into Pursuit. Landorus-T is a good partner because it provides Stealth Rock and U-turn support and checks many of the quicker Ground-types that can threaten Volcanion with STAB Earthquake. Garchomp is another nice hazard setter to pair with Volcanion, but it is better as a speedy wallbreaker with the ability to bust past bulky Water-types by utilizing a Swords Dance set. Grass-types like Breloom, Serperior, and Tangrowth are excellent with Volcanion because they can break past or check bulky Water-types, which wall it. They also threaten faster Ground-types; Breloom and Tangrowth in particular are good at this. Mega Sceptile can act as a check to Electric-types as well. Mega Diancie sports strong offensive synergy with Volcanion, which appreciates Magic Bounce to fend off Stealth Rock and Diancie's ability to check Latios, Terrakion, and Tyranitar. Volcanion destroys Steel-types that check Mega Diancie and deters the likes of Choice Scarf Keldeo, Azumarill, and Crawdaunt from trying to revenge kill Diancie with Water-type moves. Mega Scizor is a good partner to Volcanion, since it soft checks many Ground-types and hard checks Rock-types. Volcanion greatly appreciates VoltTurn support to get free switches in, so partners like Tornadus-T and Rotom-W can prove very useful. Jirachi is another good pivot to pair with Volcanion, since it lures in Heatran and Ferrothorn and can use Healing Wish to bring Volcanion back to full HP later. Keldeo can be paired with Volcanion to help wear down Water-resistant Pokemon on the opposing team.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Type resistance Berries like Shuca Berry and Charti Berry can be used on offensive Volcanion to let it function as a lure, but ultimately this is very team dependent. Volcanion can utilize a defensive set with a spread of 232 HP / 176 Def / 4 SpD / 96 Spe with a Bold nature. This outspeeds all Adamant Azumarill while netting an extra point in Defense and avoiding a 4HKO from Stealth Rock. Such a set can run Haze to beat setup sweepers such as the aforementioned Azumarill. Unfortunately, a Stealth Rock weakness and lack of reliable recovery mean it is hard to utilize its defensive utility properly. RestTalk sets are also an option, as they alleviate the lack of recovery, but ultimately they are unreliable. Expert Belt can be used to bluff a Choice set but retain the ability to switch moves. Power Herb + Solar Beam is a niche set but can be a nice lure for bulky Water-types, which are common switch-ins to Volcanion.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Bulky Water-types** Gastrodon and Seismitoad are both immune to Steam Eruption and can comfortably take on any of Volcanion's other attacks except for Hidden Power Grass or Toxic. Volcanion can also check itself due to its immunity to its own Water attacks and a 4x resistance to Fire-type moves, but it does not take Earth Power or Sludge Bomb very well. Slowking, Alomomola, and Suicune have the bulk to take Choice Specs Steam Eruption and can PP stall it as well. Slowbro can take on Volcanion to some extent as well, but because it does not have as much Special Defense as Slowking, it is a much shakier check. Rotom-W is not a great check to Volcanion because Choice Specs-boosted Steam Eruption often 2HKOes, but at full HP Rotom-W does threaten Volcanion with a super effective Volt Switch.
**Bulky Walls** Chansey is one of the best Volcanion switch-ins since it can take any Choice Specs-boosted attacks and doesn't care much about the rare Toxic. Blissey is in the same boat. Mega Latias is a solid switch-in to Volcanion, since it can take most of its attacks comfortably, heal up, and then threaten it with STAB or coverage moves.
**Dragon-types** Dragons like Latias and Latios are some of the most popular switch-ins to Volcanion because they resist its STAB combination and aren't hit super effectively by its coverage moves. They also outspeed Volcanion and can threaten it with their STAB moves, but they are susceptible to Pursuit trapping, which is often found with Volcanion. Dragonite is a decent check to Volcanion especially with Multiscale intact, and it often carries a Lum Berry to guard it against burns. Kyurem-B is an offensive check to Volcanion, as it does not appreciate switching into Choice Specs-boosted Fire-type moves or taking burns from Steam Eruption, but in a one-on-one scenario it can outspeed Volcanion and hit it super effectively with Fusion Bolt.
**Rock-types** Offensive Rock-types such as Mega Diancie, Terrakion, Choice Scarf Tyranitar, and Mega Aerodactyl can all outspeed and check Volcanion.
**Electric-types** Offensive Electric-types such as Thundurus, Mega Manectric, and Raikou all outspeed Volcanion and threaten it with STAB Thunderbolt or Volt Switch.
**Ground-types** Offensive Ground-types such as Garchomp, Excadrill, fast Landorus-T, and Diggersby can all OHKO Volcanion with Earthquake but won't dare switch into it.
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