QC: Valentine | aim | Jukain
GP: Jukain | The Dutch Plumberjack
Overview
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Volcarona is an interesting Pokemon that has access to one of the best boosting moves in the game, Quiver Dance, making it a truly formidable sweeper. With good STABs, reliable recovery, and a fantastic setup move, one might think Volcarona would be a common OU Pokemon. Sadly, Volcarona has some crippling flaws that hold it back, such as a glaring 4x weakness to Stealth Rock, a case of four-moveslot syndrome, and low physical bulk. In addition, Volcarona matches up poorly against some of the most prominent OU playstyles in the current metagame, such as Flying-type and sand offense, both of which can severely limit its effectiveness. However, with proper team support, Volcarona can easily break teams in two, and can also be used as a reliable win condition.
Offensive Quiver Dance
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name: Offensive Quiver Dance
move 1: Quiver Dance
move 2: Fire Blast
move 3: Giga Drain
move 4: Hidden Power Ground / Bug Buzz
ability: Flame Body
item: Passho Berry / Life Orb / Lum Berry
evs: 96 HP / 252 SpA / 160 Spe
nature: Modest
Moves
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Volcarona was blessed with Quiver Dance, a move that boosts the user's Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed stats by one stage, making it an extremely potent sweeper, as well as making it trickier to revenge kill with a special move. Fire Blast is ridiculously powerful backed up by a Life Orb boost. It rips and tears at +1, breaking down and delivering a 2HKO to specially bulky Pokemon such as Sylveon. Giga Drain is almost necessary, providing a way for Volcarona to defeat bulky Water-types, and has the added bonus of being able to mitigate Life Orb damage. In addition, it can KO Keldeo, Terrakion, Gyarados, and Manaphy after Stealth Rock, which would otherwise be massive threats. Hidden Power Ground is used to KO Heatran and Mega Charizard X, two common Pokemon that resist Fire/Grass coverage. However, Bug Buzz is a viable option to KO Tyranitar, Latios, and Latias at +1, which could otherwise wall Volcarona.
Set Details
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160 Speed EVs let Volcarona outspeed Mega Manectric and Choice Scarf Heatran after a boost as well as Adamant Excadrill outside of sand before. 252 Special Attack EVs with a Modest nature maximize Special Attack, while 96 HP EVs give Volcarona an odd HP stat, giving it three switch-ins to Stealth Rock. Passho Berry allows Volcarona to set up in a pinch or avoid a revenge kill from the likes of Keldeo and Azumarill. Alternatively, Life Orb delivers a large boost to power, while Lum Berry is a good alternative to prevent status.
Usage Tips
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When attempting to finish and clean the opposing team, Volcarona is ideally used late-game, when any checks or counters to it have been defeated or severely weakened, allowing it to set up and mercilessly rampage through the opposing team with no interruption. To make this easier, keeping Stealth Rock off the field is imperative, as otherwise Volcarona will be much easier to check and often won't get as many opportunities to set up. Additionally, Volcarona is countered and checked by commonly used Pokemon such as Heatran, meaning that Volcarona can be used to lure them in and KO them with a super effective Hidden Power. If such a Pokemon is on the opposing team, Volcarona can be sent out earlier to start setting up, which can lure the opponent into sending out their Volcarona check, only to be defeated by a surprise Hidden Power.
Team Options
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Entry hazard removal is the first thing needed when using Volcarona, as being 4x weak to Stealth Rock almost always requires a hazard remover. Pokemon such as bulky Starmie, Excadrill, and Latias are good at this role and remove hazards very efficiently. Physical wallbreakers such as Choice Band Terrakion can regain momentum and force out Volcarona's checks and counters, while being able to demolish anything that stands in their way. Pokemon that can lure in and beat Volcarona's counters such as Knock Off Landorus are fantastic partners, weakening them and allowing Volcarona a much easier time sweeping without interruption. Another solid partner is Keldeo, which can defeat Chansey and Blissey with Secret Sword, while Volcarona can beat bulky Grass-types that stop Keldeo from spamming its Water STAB moves. The two carry decent defensive synergy as well, with Keldeo resisting Rock and Water, and Volcarona resisting Grass. A very common and reliable check to Volcarona is Talonflame, so Pokemon that can force out or KO it such as Rotom-W and Tyranitar make good partners. Tyranitar can also Pursuit trap Latios and Latias, which can check any Volcarona set lacking Bug Buzz.
Bulky Quiver Dance
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name: Bulky Quiver Dance
move 1: Quiver Dance
move 2: Fire Blast / Fiery Dance
move 3: Giga Drain
move 4: Roost
ability: Flame Body
item: Leftovers / Lum Berry
evs: 248 HP / 136 Def / 124 Spe
nature: Bold
Moves
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Quiver Dance is your first and best choice for a setup move, boosting Volcarona's Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed stats by one stage each. This makes Volcarona a terrifying sweeper, while the addition of the move Roost makes it much more difficult to wear down. This gives Volcarona much-needed longevity, which in turn allows it to acquire many more boosts over the course of the match, eventually overwhelming the opponent. Fire Blast is Volcarona's strongest STAB move, pummeling things with its sheer power. However, Volcarona's signature move—Fiery Dance—can be put to good use here, as every time it inflicts damage, there is a 50% chance of raising Volcarona's Special Attack by one stage, making it become more powerful as it starts sweeping, at the cost of quite a bit of power. Giga Drain is absolutely mandatory, as otherwise, Volcarona loses to any Rock- or Water-types that it comes across; it also allows Volcarona to restore its health to some degree.
Set Details
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248 HP EVs are used in order to take hits better and allow three switch-ins with Stealth Rock on the field. 124 Speed EVs are used to outspeed neutral-natured Mega Alakazam and Mega Aerodactyl at +1, with the rest of the EVs put into Defense. To further increase Volcarona's physical bulk, a Bold nature is used. Leftovers is used for slight recovery, whereas Lum Berry offers Volcarona a one-time cure for status.
Usage Tips
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This set Volcarona set plays much differently from the more offensive sets, as it lacks immediate power even after a boost; as such, it must have its checks and counters defeated or weakened to the point where it can handle them. This is because the set plays the roles of both a boosting sweeper and your win condition in most games, so it should be left in reserve until the opponent has nothing that can threaten it and it can use Quiver Dance until it obtains enough boosts to sweep. Using Roost to mitigate Stealth Rock damage is also an option and is often needed when an opportunity to set up presents itself.
Team Options
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As with all Volcarona sets, the first order of business is to have Pokemon that can keep Stealth Rock off the field. Defoggers such as Latios and Latias are great partners due to resisting Water and being able to use Defog quickly thanks to their high Speed stats. Keldeo and Landorus are amazing partners, due to their ability to defeat Chansey and put pressure on most special walls. Tyranitar and Rotom-W are also amazing teammates, being able to handle most Talonflame sets. Tyranitar can also set up Stealth Rock, which can wear down the opposing team, whereas Rotom-W can use Will-O-Wisp to cripple physical attackers, helping Volcarona take neutral or resisted hits much better as it sets up.
Other Options
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Volcarona has a few other options, such as Hidden Power Ice, which it can use to dispatch of Dragonite after Stealth Rock damage and Garchomp, two Pokemon that would otherwise be able to tank Volcarona's Fire STAB moves, with Garchomp also standing a decent chance to survive Bug Buzz from the offensive set. Roost and Fiery Dance are both options for the offensive set, as Fiery Dance can allow Volcarona to become progressively stronger as it sweeps while still doing damage, whereas Roost mitigates Life Orb recoil and can provide Volcarona with more longevity. A more gimmicky set with Rest+Chesto Berry could work, getting boosts in and then using Rest to cure any status and damage done. Finally, Hidden Power Rock is a great move to KO Mega Charizard X and specially defensive Mega Charizard Y, as well as hitting Talonflame on the switch.
Checks & Counters
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**Fire-types**: Specially defensive Fire-types, such as Heatran, Mega Charizard X, Mega Charizard Y, and Talonflame, can handle offensive Volcarona to a good degree, only fearing a stray Hidden Power Ground or Hidden Power Rock. Talonflame is the best check, as Gale Wings allows Brave Bird to ignore Volcarona's Speed Boosts; it only fears Hidden Power Rock on the switch. Specially defensive Fire-types also easily beat the bulky set, which would have to sacrifice a better move to be able to lure and beat them.
**Bulky Special Walls**: Chansey and Blissey are great counters to Volcarona, being able to come in on boosted hits, and use Thunder Wave or Toxic in order to cripple it and prevent a sweep. They can also use Soft-Boiled to heal off any damage taken.
**Rock-types**: While slightly more shaky than Fire-types, faster Rock-types like Mega Aerodactyl and Scarf Terrakion can check both Volcarona sets, with the former being able to survive a +1 Life Orb-boosted Giga Drain after Stealth Rock. Tyranitar beats any set lacking Bug Buzz, making it an ideal check as well.
**Stealth Rock**: Stealth Rock chips away half of Volcarona's health each time it switches in, making it a priority to set it up when Volcarona is on the opposing team.
**Water-types**: Despite it carrying Giga Drain, certain Water-types can check Volcarona, such as Assault Vest Azumarill and defensive Gyarados, both of which can stomach a Giga Drain and KO with Waterfall. Greninja can also KO an unboosted Volcarona with Life Orb Hydro Pump. On the other hand, Choice Scarf Keldeo and Choice Band Azumarill can both revenge kill a boosted Volcarona with Hydro Pump and Aqua Jet respectively. However, the majority of these checks lose to offensive Volcarona sets that run Passho Berry.
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