double dragon
[Overview]
- cool typing with lots of resistances that makes it pair up against slowking in particular really well.
- hustle is a cool ability
- limited movepool but outrage is strong enough even then and it gets perfect coverage
- bad speed
- hustle will piss you off
- some common weaknesses
- Takes advantage of its bulk and unique typing in order to be an effective tank.
- Outrage hits hard
- Crunch gets the job done against Slowking and other Psychics and hits hard when you don't want to be locked into Outrage.
- Superpower is for Steels and notably destroys Aggron
- Substitute is preferred because it blocks status and gives Zweious a barrier in case it misses due to Hustle
- Toxic can be used instead to cripple walls like Tangrowth
- Max attack and it outspeeds Lanturn, the rest for bulk to take hits better
- Thunder Wave is a mildly cool option in the last slot, allowing it to cripple a faster Pokemon and then smack it with a coverage move, although usually a Substitute eases the prediction enough.
- Fire Fang because screw you Escavalier and Ferroseed and Durant
- As with any other Dragon, Magneton support is suggested in order to get rid of Pokemon that would otherwise take an Outrage with ease, such as Steelix.
- Zweilous is prone to getting worn down due to a lack of recovery and the usage of substitutes, so a Pokemon with Wish, Pokemon such as Alomomola, work well. Alomomola has a high enough bulk to take Megahorns and Close Combats from most Pokemon.
- Another strong Dragon such as Druddigon is nice to create even more pressure for the opponent, especially since their coverage moves will generally wear down Steel-types so then one of them can use Outrage to their heart's content.
- Slowking and Golurk make good partners for Zweilous as they have a good synergy. The former takes on Ice and Figthing-types well and the latter takes on Fighting and Bug types well. Both put pressure on Steel types, and Zweilous takes Grass, Water, Electric, Dark, and Ghost-type moves that threaten them and can get off a free Substitute possibly.
- Zweilous provides a switch into Slowking and can set up a Sub on it pretty easily. A strong Fighting-type such as Hitmonlee or Gallade that may otherwise have a somewhat difficult time with Slowking makes a good partner, especially if it can provoke Slowking into using its Psychic STAB.
- Choice Band makes it very hard to switch into but Druddigon is usually more reliable at this.
- Taunt but Substitute is generally better as it still prevents status from happening.
- Roar or Dragon Tail for phazing shenanigans
- Head Smash is extremely tempting for things like Moltres... but its not worth all the recoil
- Work Up for boosting but it doesn't have many chances to do that
- Escavalier can tanks hits and then OHKO it back with a Megahorn. Durant too except its not as bulky - its faster though.
- Steelix can take a Superpower or two and do damage back to it (especially when Superpower lowers Zwei's stats)
- Ferroseed can't do much back to it but it can set up hazards and wear down Zweilous as it keeps attacking it.
- Tangrowth walls it but it needs HP Ice in order to hit it back generally.
- It can't hit Crustle very hard and it can X-Scissor or hazard it up. Same with Rhydon except it can Megahorn but it needs to be careful about Superpowers.
- Any Fighting-type that can take a Crunch (Hariyama, Hitmonchan, Emboar, etc.) can smash it with their STAB moves.
- Provided its not behind a Subsitute it can be revenge killed by something like Galvantula, Accelgor, Jynx, or Scolipede.
[Overview]
<p>Despite its NFE status, Zweilous is worth considering due to its unique Dark / Dragon typing. Thanks to this, it gets six resistances, including ones to Water and Fire, as well as a Psychic immunity, meaning that it often resists everything that the ever-popular Slowking carries. Hustle also ensures that it will hit hard regardless of whether it has a boosting item. Finally, despite its limited movepool, Zweilous obtains perfect coverage, and a Dragon-type STAB is very nice to have in a tier where Steel-types are somewhat rare. In spite of this, Zweilous has a rather poor Speed stat that results in it being outpaced rather often, and Hustle can be irritating at times due to the fact that it drops accuracy and can cause Zweilous to miss at a crucial moment. In addition, despite all its resistances, Zweilous still has weaknesses to some common types such as Fighting and Bug.</p>
[SET]
name: Bulky Attacker
move 1: Outrage
move 2: Crunch
move 3: Superpower
move 4: Substitute / Toxic
item: Eviolite
nature: Adamant
evs: 180 HP / 252 Atk / 76 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>With the ability to hold an Eviolite and a unique typing, Zweilous can be an effective bulky attacker, hitting hard while taking advantage of its numerous resistances. Although it might initially seem a bit weak without a boosting item, Hustle raises its Attack to high levels to make up for it. Outrage is a powerful STAB move that hits hard against the majority of the tier and is difficult for teams to wall without one of the tier's few Steel-types. Crunch gets the job done against Slowking and other Psychic-types, and it is a solid alternative in the case that Zweilous doesn't want to be locked into Outrage. Superpower is Zweilous's best move against most Steel-type Pokemon, hitting Aggron especially hard.</p>
<p>Zweilous's extremely limited movepool almost forces it to run a non-attacking move in the last moveslot, but that doesn't mean each move doesn't have its distinct advantages. Substitute is the preferred option, as it blocks status moves, which can otherwise render Zweilous useless. More importantly, however, it gives Zweilous a barrier in case it were to miss a move due to Hustle, and because Zweilous forces out quite a few Pokemon and can take resisted hits, it is not very hard to set up. However, Toxic can be used as an alternative to cripple physical walls, such as Tangrowth, that Zweilous cannot hit very hard.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The given EVs maximize Zweilous's Attack stat while allowing it to outspeed Lanturn, and the rest are thrown into HP to make it as bulky as possible. As mentioned before, an Eviolite helps Zweilous take a multitude of hits from the opponent, as well as allowing its Substitutes to survive more attacks. Thunder Wave is an interesting option for the last slot, as it allows Zweilous to cripple a faster Pokemon and then hit it with an attack, potentially easing a switch-in against a faster Pokemon. However, a Substitute is generally more helpful, and many of the things that can switch into Zweilous and threaten it are fairly slow in the first place. Fire Fang can be used in order to hit Escavalier and Durant, but be warned that Durant will still outspeed and OHKO Zweilous, so the switch in will have to be predicted. The move is therefore only really useful for one Pokemon, which makes it somewhat difficult to place on Zweilous.</p>
<p>As with any other Dragon-type Pokemon, Zweilous dislikes Steel-types, as they prevent it from using Outrage without a risk of a free switch in. Therefore, support from Magneton is a good idea, as it is capable of trapping and killing Pokemon such as Steelix. Zweilous has a tendency of getting worn down over the course of the match due to its lack of recovery and usage of Substitutes, so Pokemon with Wish such as Alomomola make good partners; Alomomola in particular has the advantage of having high enough physical bulk to take even most STAB Megahorns and Close Combats that target Zweilous. Another strong Dragon-type, such as Druddigon, can make a good partner to bring even more offensive pressure against the opponent. Because their coverage moves will tend to wear down the opponent's walls and Steel-types, often one of them will be able to use Outrage without as many Pokemon being able to outright wall the move.</p>
<p>Golurk and Slowking also make good partners for Zweilous due to the good synergy that they have together. To be specific, Zweilous's Ice weakness is covered by Slowking, Golurk resists Bug, and both Pokemon are capable of taking Fighting-type hits due to their resistance and immunity, respectively, to these moves. Both also put pressure on Steel-types, and Zweilous can take Grass-, Water-, Electric-, Dark-, and Ghost-type moves that threaten at least one of them and possibly use the opportunity to set up a Substitute or pull off an attack. Speaking of Slowking, the fact that Zweilous can switch into all of Slowking's attacking moves makes it a valuable teammate for strong Fighting-type Pokemon such as Hitmonlee and Gallade that tend to struggle against Slowking. Especially when they provoke Slowking into using its Psychic-type STAB moves, Zweilous can freely switch into it and then either set up a Substitute that it is typically incapable of breaking, use Toxic against it to severely cripple it, or just attack it with Crunch.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Zweilous doesn't even get Dragon Claw despite its claws and Dragon typing, which is already a bad sign. Considering how strong Zweilous can be thanks to Hustle, it is extremely tempting to use a Choice Band to attempt to absolutely rip things apart. However, Druddigon is ultimately more reliable, as it won't miss, isn't all that much weaker, and has a wider movepool to utilize. Zweilous can bump up its Speed with a Choice Scarf, but even with that item, it is a bit slow though it does outspeed Archeops, and furthermore, it is an unreliable revenge killer due to Hustle. Zweilous has access to Taunt, but a Substitute still prevents status moves from affecting it while simultaneously giving it a barrier for a Hustle miss. Zweilous has access to both Dragon Tail and Roar to phaze opponents, but the prevalence of Rapid Spin makes racking up entry hazard damage rather difficult, and Dragon Tail has a horrid accuracy due to Hustle. Head Smash is extremely tempting to outright destroy Moltres, but it's not worth all the recoil; even if it were worth the recoil, it's less accurate than even Focus Blast due to Hustle. Finally, Work Up can boost Zweilous's Attack stat, but its low Speed and accuracy rule out the idea of a sweep.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Arguably the best check to Zweilous is Escavalier. Outside of Fire Fang, there is not much Zweilous can do back to it, and Escavalier can easily OHKO with Megahorn. Durant is a similar case thanks to its typing. It's not as bulky, but it is at least faster than Zweilous, meaning it can land a KO before Zweilous can do anything back to it. Crustle and Rhydon have high enough Defense to sponge hits, and they can use X-Scissor and Megahorn, respectively, to dispatch of Zweilous. Although Ferroseed cannot do much back directly, it can set up many hazards while Zweilous gets hurt touching it. However, it must be careful about Superpower and the rare Fire Fang. Tangrowth can almost outright wall Zweilous but must carry something that can hit it for at least neutral damage, such as Focus Blast, in order to do damage back to it. All Fighting-types must beware of Outrage, but many of them can take a Crunch and then OHKO, such as Emboar and Hariyama. Finally, provided that Zweilous is not behind a Substitute, many Pokemon that carry a super effective STAB, such as Accelgor, Jynx, and Galvantula, can revenge kill it.</p>
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