QC: galbia / 49 / Arikado
GP: GatoDelFuego / Winry.
Overview
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Ever since its introduction to the tier in BW, Drapion has been a great Pokemon in RU. It has immense value as a check to the many Psychic-types in the tier, such as Sigilyph, Reuniclus, Cresselia, and Meloetta; its Specially Defensive set is one of the only things preventing stall teams from being 6-0ed by these threats. Furthermore, its excellent movepool makes a Swords Dance set possible; this tears apart stall and can also do well against offensive and balance teams. While Drapion is a very good Pokemon, there are plenty of ways that it can be defeated. Its base 95 Speed is good, but not great, leaving it outsped by base 100 Speed Pokemon and above such as Cobalion, Durant, and Mega Pidgeot. Furthermore, the Psychic-types it should reliably beat occasionally have ways to get around it; Reuniclus does around 30% with Focus Blast, and Meloetta can decimate it with a Choice Specs Hyper Voice.
Swords Dance
########
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Aqua Tail
move 4: Poison Jab
ability: Battle Armor / Sniper
item: Lum Berry
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
nature: Jolly
Moves
========
Swords Dance boosts Drapion's Attack two stages, giving it tremendous sweeping potential. Knock Off performs two roles for Drapion; it is both Drapion's most powerful STAB attack and a tool to remove items, crippling checks such as Gligar and Quagsire. Aqua Tail is extremely useful on this set, as it hits Gligar and Rhyperior for super effective damage, 2HKOing the former at +2 and OHKOing the latter. Poison Jab hits the Fairy-types found in a variety of playstyles, such as Aromatisse, Whimsicott, and Slurpuff. Taunt can prevent Pokemon such as Alomomola from Wish passing, but is generally less useful than a third attacking move. Finally, Earthquake can also be used over Aqua Tail, as it hits Cobalion and Skuntank harder than anything else; however, Skuntank struggles to do much back, and Gligar and Rhyperior are more relevant targets.
Set Details
========
Maximum Attack and Speed are more important than bulk on this set, as it aims to sweep; walling Psychic-types is a secondary aim. A Jolly nature is preferred, as it enables Drapion to outspeed Meloetta, Moltres, and Jolly Hitmonlee. It still gets all the relevant OHKOs; for example, Jolly Drapion still has a 75% chance to OHKO Choice Specs Dragalge at +2. However, an Adamant nature is still viable on this set to secure OHKOs such as the one on Dragalge at +2. Battle Armor protects Drapion from critical hits, which would bring its sweep to an untimely end. Sniper allows Drapion to potentially OHKO Rhyperior and 2HKO Gligar if it gets a critical hit. Both abilities rarely see use, although Battle Armor is generally superior. Lum Berry allows Drapion to fear crippling status less against stall teams, enabling it to set up against Alomomola. Finally, Shuca Berry allows Drapion to fare better against Rhyperior and Gligar by luring them in and halving damage from their Ground-type attacks.
Usage Tips
========
This set is most effective once its checks, such as Gligar, Quagsire, and Cobalion, have been weakened or KOed. Fortunately, Drapion can wear down its own checks with Knock Off, which can remove their items and whittle away at their HP; this is best done early in the match so that they are as weakened as possible by the time Drapion attempts to sweep. Once its checks are worn down, Drapion can set up on many common Pokemon on stall, such as Cresselia, Alomomola, or Aromatisse, as well as Choice-locked Psychic-type attacks. The only time you should bring out this Drapion set during a match is to wear down its checks and then later to sweep; checking Psychic-types is a secondary objective, so do not bring it in on, say, a Choice Specs Meloetta's Hyper Voice.
Team Options
========
Water- and Grass-types are excellent partners, as they beat Rhyperior, Gligar, Quagsire, and other Ground-types for Drapion. Virizion works particularly well; it beats Ground-types, and Drapion sets up on Psychic-types, such as Cresselia, that Virizion struggles to defeat. In addition, Mega Sceptile and Whimsicott both work very well; the former wears down Cobalion quite effectively with Focus Blast or Hidden Power Fire while also threatening offensive teams with its Speed and power, while the latter can U-turn out of its checks, such as Doublade, to help Drapion set up. In addition, all three of those Pokemon also appreciate Doublade being gone, and Drapion sets up on Doublade. Furthermore, entry hazard setters, such as utility Cobalion and Spikes Mega Glalie, also help wear down Drapion's checks. In addition, Choice Band Pangoro is excellent at luring in and KOing Drapion's checks, such as Cobalion, Gligar, and many others. Finally, Dugtrio can weaken checks such as Cobalion and Rhyperior, as well as using Memento to give Drapion more opportunities to set up.
Specially Defensive
########
name: Specially Defensive
move 1: Knock Off
move 2: Taunt
move 3: Toxic Spikes
move 4: Whirlwind / Poison Jab
ability: Battle Armor
item: Black Sludge
evs: 248 HP / 216 SpD / 44 Spe
nature: Careful
Moves
========
Knock Off is both Drapion's most powerful STAB move and a tool with which to cripple Defoggers such as Gligar and Golbat. Taunt helps block Defog, Spore, and recovery moves, among other things, aiding in Drapion's matchup against stall teams. However, it is important to note that Aromatisse is immune to Taunt by nature of its ability, Aroma Veil. Toxic Spikes help to break down balanced teams, forcing most grounded Pokemon to quickly accumulate chip damage. Whirlwind phases Calm Mind Psychic-types, Doublade, and other sweepers while increasing Toxic Spikes exposure; this is necessary to beat Calm Mind Reuniclus, which does about 30% to Drapion with Focus Blast. Alternatively, Poison Jab is also useful to 2HKO specially defensive variants of Aromatisse, but note that it does a mere 33-40% to physically defensive sets; however, the high poison chance helps Drapion pressure Aromatisse more. Pursuit traps Meloetta, but does very little to the oh-so-common Cresselia and Bronzong, making it generally inferior to the previous two moves. Finally, Protect lets Drapion stall for more poison damage, grants an extra turn of Black Sludge recovery, and lets it scout; Protect can also force Hitmonlee to hurt itself with High Jump Kick.
Set Details
========
The added special bulk helps Drapion check specially-based Grass-, Ghost-, and Psychic-types; it complements Drapion's already high Defense well, giving Drapion great mixed bulk. 44 Speed EVs lets Drapion outspeed max speed Omastar and Taunt it, and max speed Exploud to Knock Off its Choice Specs. Black Sludge provides reliable recovery, and punishes Meloetta and other Psychic-types for Tricking Drapion by removing 1/16th of their HP every turn. A Careful Nature is used because this set's primary aim is to wall specially based Psychic-types, thus Special Defense is boosted. Finally, Battle Armor prevents critical hits that would impair Drapion's ability to check what it should, and none of the other abilities help this set.
Usage Tips
========
It is vital to set up Toxic Spikes early in the match, as that lets teams with this Drapion set begin to pressure the opponent throughout the match. Once Toxic Spikes are set up, use Whirlwind to spread poison to as many Pokemon as possible. Try to eliminate non-grounded Pokemon, Steel-types, spinners, Defoggers, and grounded Poison-types as soon as possible; the former two are unaffected by Toxic Spikes, while the latter three can remove them. Finally, use Knock Off and then Whirlwind to cripple and phaze Calm Mind Psychic-types, which fail to do any significant damage to Drapion.
Team Options
========
The chip damage provided by Toxic Spikes is really helpful on stall teams, where this Draion set fits very well. Alomomola, Aromatisse, and Audino, in particular, provide immense support to this set by passing Wishes to it and curing it of troublesome status conditions such as burns and paralysis. Bronzong checks Dragalge, a Pokemon which can come in and threaten this set while pressuring Poison-types with Earthquake and setting up Stealth Rock to complement Drapion's Toxic Spikes. Finally, slow boosting sweepers on balance and stall teams, such as Braviary, Cresselia, Meloetta, and Registeel, highly appreciate the support Drapion provides.
Other Options
########
Air Balloon lets Drapion avoid Ground-type attacks and set up on Gligar, but is more immediately obvious than Shuca Berry and can be popped by Rhyperior. Ice Fang 2HKOes Gligar after its Eviolite has been Knocked Off, but Aqua Tail damages Gligar while also 2HKOing Rhyperior, which is far more useful. Toxic can be used over Toxic Spikes for immediate status and a hit on levitating Pokemon such as Gligar, but Drapion has five teammates that can potentially status levitating Pokemon. A Choice Band lets Drapion hit harder, but Swords Dance is usually the superior option. Choice Scarf lets it get surprise kills on faster Pokemon, but the very low power makes such a set usually not worth it. A set focused on Pursuit is pretty good, but is done better by Spiritomb, Skuntank, or Houndoom. Finally, bulkier Swords Dance sets do better against stall, but flop when facing offensive teams.
Checks & Counters
########
**Ground-types**: Rhyperior, Dugtrio, Quagsire, and Gligar all handle Drapion very well. Rhyperior can tank most hits besides Aqua Tail and KO Drapion with Earthquake, Dugtrio can trap and KO it, Quagsire can ignore its boosts and 2HKO with Earthquake, and Gligar can take most hits and 2HKO Drapion with Earthquake. However, Gligar should watch out for Knock Off + Aqua Tail or Ice Fang. Mega Camerupt is also a good check to Drapion lacking Aqua Tail, as it takes little damage from Knock Off and can OHKO with Earth Power.
**Faster Pokemon**: Pokemon that can outspeed Drapion, such as Cobalion and Mega Pidgeot, can successfully revenge kill it. However, they must be wary of switching in on one of Drapion's many coverage moves.
**Wallbreakers**: Wallbreakers such as Emboar, Clawitzer, Exploud, and Life Orb Hitmonlee can easily break apart the specially defensive set, but they all fall to the Swords Dance variant of Drapion.
**Pokemon that Resist Dark**: Anything that resists Dark-type attacks, such as Cobalion, Gurdurr, and and Emboar, can set up or KO the specially defensive set and makes a good check to the Swords Dance set.
**Status Absorbers**: Anything that can benefit from or cure status, such as Lickilicky, Audino, and Gurdurr, poses a threat to the Toxic Spikes set.
**Status**: Status is a great way to take down Drapion that lack Lum Berry. Burns halve its Attack, while paralysis slows it down greatly. However, it can obviously not be poisoned!
Overview
########
+ Excellent movepool
+ Great niche in checking almost all Psychic-types
+ Performs well against a variety of play styles
+ Threatening sweeper, especially against stall
- Struggles to beat common walls/pivots like Gligar and Cobalion
- Specially Defensive sets struggle to stand up to Specs Meloetta
Swords Dance
########
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Aqua Tail
move 4: Poison Jab
ability: Battle Armor / Sniper
item: Lum Berry
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
nature: Jolly
Moves
========
- SD boosts Attack 2 stages, giving it excellent power
- Knock Off is both its most powerful STAB and a great tool to cripple Defoggers like Gligar
- Aqua Tail hits Gligar and Rhyperior for super effective damage, preventing them from stopping its sweep
- Earthquake hits Cobalion, which would otherwise wall this set, super effectively; it also hits Registeel, Dragalge, other Drapion, Eviolite Magneton, Tyrantrum, and Skuntank harder than the other moves on this set; however, most of these take a lot from +2 Knock Off
- Poison Jab hits common targets on stall, like Aromatisse and Granbull
- Taunt can prevent Pokemon like Alomomola from Wish-passing, but is generally less useful than a third attacking move
Set Details
========
- Max Attack and Speed give it more sweeping potential
- Jolly helps vs. offense, Adamant vs. stall; note that Jolly misses out on some relevant OHKOs, like Earthquake vs. Dragalge, but outspends Meloetta and Hitmonlee while speed-tying with positive-nature Houndoom
- Battle Armor prevents Drapion from being crit, potentially extending his sweep
- Sniper allows Drapion to break through Rhyperior and Gligar more easily if it gets a fortunate crit
- Lum Berry helps against stall teams by removing status from Pokemon like Alomomola
- Shuca Berry allows Drapion to do better against Rhyperior and Gligar by halving damage from their Ground-type attacks
Usage Tips
========
- Best used once targets the particular set can't hit are removed, like Gligar or Cobalion
- Spamming Knock Off early in the game helps wear down counter, letting Drapion sweep more easily later in the match
- Boost and then break through the opposing team
- Sets up on common stall Pokemon, such as Cresselia, Alomomola, and Aromatisse, or Choice-locked Psychic-type moves
- Predict switch-ins that prevent it from sweeping, like Dugtrio
- Only bring out Drapion when it is able to sweep
Team Options
========
- Water and Grass-types beat Rhyperior, Gligar, Quagsire, and other Ground-types for Drapion
- Virizion works particularly well; it beats Ground-types, and Drapion sets up on Psychic-types
- Mega Sceptile and Whimsicott both work very well; the former wears down Cobalion very well with Focus Blast or HP Fire while also threatening offensive teams with its Speed and power, while the latter can U-turn out of its checks, like Doublade, to help Drapion set up; both also appreciate Doublade being gone
- Hazard setters, like Spikes Mega Glalie, also help wear down Drapion's checks
- Choice Band Pangoro is excellent at luring in and KOing Drapion's checks, such as Cobalion, Gligar, and many others.
Specially Defensive
########
name: Specially Defensive
move 1: Knock Off
move 2: Taunt
move 3: Toxic Spikes
move 4: Whirlwind / Poison Jab
ability: Battle Armor
item: Black Sludge
evs: 248 HP / 216 SpD / 44 Spe
nature: Careful
Moves
========
- Knock Off is powerful STAB, cripples Defoggers like Gligar and Golbat
- Taunt helps block Defog, Spore, and recovery moves, among other things; helps vs. Stall
- Toxic Spikes helps break down balanced teams, forcing most grounded Pokemon to quickly accumulate chip damage
- Whirlwind phases CM Psychic-types, Doublade, and other sweepers while increasing Toxic Spikes exposure; necessary to beat CM Reuniclus, which 3HKOs Drapion with Focus Blast
- Poison Jab is also useful to 2HKO Specially Defensive variants of Aromatisse, but note that it does a mere 33-40% to physically defensive sets; however, the high Poison chance helps it pressure Aromatisse more
- Pursuit traps Meloetta, but does very little to the oh-so-common Cresselia and Bronzong
- Protect stalls for more Poison damage, gives an extra turn of Black Sludge recovery, and scouts; it can also force Hitmonlee to hurt itself with HJK
Set Details
========
- Good mixed bulk; added Special bulk helps it check specially-based Grass, Ghost, and Psychic-types
- 44 Speed EVs outspeeds max speed Omastar, Taunting it, and max speed Exploud, Knocking Off its Choice Specs
- Black Sludge provides reliable recovery, and punishes Meloetta and other Psychic-types for Tricking it
- Battle Armor prevents crits, none of the other abilities help it
Usage Tips
========
- Set up Toxic Spikes early in the match
- Use Whirlwind to spread Poison to as many Pokemon as possible
- Try to eliminate non-grounded Pokemon, Spinners, Defoggers ASAP
- Especially useful on balance/stall teams, which appreciate the chip damage
- Use Knock Off and Whirlwind to eliminate CM Psychic-types, which fail to do any significant damage to you (for the most part)
Team Options
========
- Chip damage is appreciated on stall teams, which can provide clerical support while stalling out Pokemon that Drapion cannot
- Clerics and Wish passers, such as Alomomola, Aromatisse, and Audino, provide immense support to this set.
- Bronzong checks Dragalge, a very threatening Pokemon to this set, while pressuring Poison-types with EQ and setting up Stealth Rock to complement Drapion's TSpikes
- Dugtrio traps opposing Drapion, Skuntank, and Dragalge; while Dugtrio doesn't fit on stall teams, this is still very useful
- Slow boosting sweepers on balance and stall teams, such as Braviary, Cresselia, Meloetta, and Registeel highly appreciate the support Drapion brings
Other Options
########
- Air Balloon lets it avoid Ground-type attacks, but is more immediately obvious than Shuca Berry
- Ice Fang 2HKOs Gligar after its Etiolate has been Knocked Off
- Toxic can be used over Toxic Spikes for immediate status and a hit on Defoggers like Gligar.
- Choice Band lets Drapion hit harder, but SD is usually the superior set.
- Choice Scarf lets it get surprise kills on faster Pokemon, but the incredibly low power makes it usually not worth it.
- A set focused on Pursuit is pretty good, but is done better by Spiritomb or Houndoom
- Bulkier SD sets do better against stall, but flop when facing offensive teams
Checks & Counters
########
**Ground-types**: Rhyperior, Dugtrio, Quagsire, and Gligar all handle Drapion very well. Rhyperior can tank most hits besides Aqua Tail and KO Drapion with Earthquake, Dugtrio can trap and KO it, Quagsire can ignore its boosts and 2HKO with Earthquake, and Gligar can take most hits and 2HKO Drapion with Earthquake. However, Gligar should watch out for Knock Off + Aqua Tail or Ice Fang. Mega Camerupt is also a good check to Drapion that lack Aqua Tail, as it takes little damage from Knock Off and can OHKO with Earth Power.
**Faster Pokemon**: Pokemon that can outspeed Drapion, such as Cobalion and Mega Pidgeot, can successfully revenge kill it. However, they must be wary of switching in on one of Drapion's many coverage moves.
**Wallbreakers**: Wallbreakers such as Emboar, Clawitzer, Exploud, and Life Orb Hitmonlee can easily break apart the specially defensive set, but they all fall to the Swords Dance variant of Drapion.
**Dark-type Resists**: Anything that resists Dark-type attacks, such as Cobalion, Gurdurr, and and Emboar, can set up or kill the Specially Defensive set and make for good checks to the Swords Dance set.
**Status Absorbers**: Anything that can benefit from or cure status, like Lickilicky, Audino, and Gurdurr, poses a threat to the Toxic Spikes set.
**Status**: Status is a great way to take down Drapion that lack Lum Berry. Burns halve its Attack, while paralysis slows it down greatly. However, it can obviously not be poisoned!
########
+ Excellent movepool
+ Great niche in checking almost all Psychic-types
+ Performs well against a variety of play styles
+ Threatening sweeper, especially against stall
- Struggles to beat common walls/pivots like Gligar and Cobalion
- Specially Defensive sets struggle to stand up to Specs Meloetta
Swords Dance
########
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Aqua Tail
move 4: Poison Jab
ability: Battle Armor / Sniper
item: Lum Berry
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
nature: Jolly
Moves
========
- SD boosts Attack 2 stages, giving it excellent power
- Knock Off is both its most powerful STAB and a great tool to cripple Defoggers like Gligar
- Aqua Tail hits Gligar and Rhyperior for super effective damage, preventing them from stopping its sweep
- Earthquake hits Cobalion, which would otherwise wall this set, super effectively; it also hits Registeel, Dragalge, other Drapion, Eviolite Magneton, Tyrantrum, and Skuntank harder than the other moves on this set; however, most of these take a lot from +2 Knock Off
- Poison Jab hits common targets on stall, like Aromatisse and Granbull
- Taunt can prevent Pokemon like Alomomola from Wish-passing, but is generally less useful than a third attacking move
Set Details
========
- Max Attack and Speed give it more sweeping potential
- Jolly helps vs. offense, Adamant vs. stall; note that Jolly misses out on some relevant OHKOs, like Earthquake vs. Dragalge, but outspends Meloetta and Hitmonlee while speed-tying with positive-nature Houndoom
- Battle Armor prevents Drapion from being crit, potentially extending his sweep
- Sniper allows Drapion to break through Rhyperior and Gligar more easily if it gets a fortunate crit
- Lum Berry helps against stall teams by removing status from Pokemon like Alomomola
- Shuca Berry allows Drapion to do better against Rhyperior and Gligar by halving damage from their Ground-type attacks
Usage Tips
========
- Best used once targets the particular set can't hit are removed, like Gligar or Cobalion
- Spamming Knock Off early in the game helps wear down counter, letting Drapion sweep more easily later in the match
- Boost and then break through the opposing team
- Sets up on common stall Pokemon, such as Cresselia, Alomomola, and Aromatisse, or Choice-locked Psychic-type moves
- Predict switch-ins that prevent it from sweeping, like Dugtrio
- Only bring out Drapion when it is able to sweep
Team Options
========
- Water and Grass-types beat Rhyperior, Gligar, Quagsire, and other Ground-types for Drapion
- Virizion works particularly well; it beats Ground-types, and Drapion sets up on Psychic-types
- Mega Sceptile and Whimsicott both work very well; the former wears down Cobalion very well with Focus Blast or HP Fire while also threatening offensive teams with its Speed and power, while the latter can U-turn out of its checks, like Doublade, to help Drapion set up; both also appreciate Doublade being gone
- Hazard setters, like Spikes Mega Glalie, also help wear down Drapion's checks
- Choice Band Pangoro is excellent at luring in and KOing Drapion's checks, such as Cobalion, Gligar, and many others.
Specially Defensive
########
name: Specially Defensive
move 1: Knock Off
move 2: Taunt
move 3: Toxic Spikes
move 4: Whirlwind / Poison Jab
ability: Battle Armor
item: Black Sludge
evs: 248 HP / 216 SpD / 44 Spe
nature: Careful
Moves
========
- Knock Off is powerful STAB, cripples Defoggers like Gligar and Golbat
- Taunt helps block Defog, Spore, and recovery moves, among other things; helps vs. Stall
- Toxic Spikes helps break down balanced teams, forcing most grounded Pokemon to quickly accumulate chip damage
- Whirlwind phases CM Psychic-types, Doublade, and other sweepers while increasing Toxic Spikes exposure; necessary to beat CM Reuniclus, which 3HKOs Drapion with Focus Blast
- Poison Jab is also useful to 2HKO Specially Defensive variants of Aromatisse, but note that it does a mere 33-40% to physically defensive sets; however, the high Poison chance helps it pressure Aromatisse more
- Pursuit traps Meloetta, but does very little to the oh-so-common Cresselia and Bronzong
- Protect stalls for more Poison damage, gives an extra turn of Black Sludge recovery, and scouts; it can also force Hitmonlee to hurt itself with HJK
Set Details
========
- Good mixed bulk; added Special bulk helps it check specially-based Grass, Ghost, and Psychic-types
- 44 Speed EVs outspeeds max speed Omastar, Taunting it, and max speed Exploud, Knocking Off its Choice Specs
- Black Sludge provides reliable recovery, and punishes Meloetta and other Psychic-types for Tricking it
- Battle Armor prevents crits, none of the other abilities help it
Usage Tips
========
- Set up Toxic Spikes early in the match
- Use Whirlwind to spread Poison to as many Pokemon as possible
- Try to eliminate non-grounded Pokemon, Spinners, Defoggers ASAP
- Especially useful on balance/stall teams, which appreciate the chip damage
- Use Knock Off and Whirlwind to eliminate CM Psychic-types, which fail to do any significant damage to you (for the most part)
Team Options
========
- Chip damage is appreciated on stall teams, which can provide clerical support while stalling out Pokemon that Drapion cannot
- Clerics and Wish passers, such as Alomomola, Aromatisse, and Audino, provide immense support to this set.
- Bronzong checks Dragalge, a very threatening Pokemon to this set, while pressuring Poison-types with EQ and setting up Stealth Rock to complement Drapion's TSpikes
- Dugtrio traps opposing Drapion, Skuntank, and Dragalge; while Dugtrio doesn't fit on stall teams, this is still very useful
- Slow boosting sweepers on balance and stall teams, such as Braviary, Cresselia, Meloetta, and Registeel highly appreciate the support Drapion brings
Other Options
########
- Air Balloon lets it avoid Ground-type attacks, but is more immediately obvious than Shuca Berry
- Ice Fang 2HKOs Gligar after its Etiolate has been Knocked Off
- Toxic can be used over Toxic Spikes for immediate status and a hit on Defoggers like Gligar.
- Choice Band lets Drapion hit harder, but SD is usually the superior set.
- Choice Scarf lets it get surprise kills on faster Pokemon, but the incredibly low power makes it usually not worth it.
- A set focused on Pursuit is pretty good, but is done better by Spiritomb or Houndoom
- Bulkier SD sets do better against stall, but flop when facing offensive teams
Checks & Counters
########
**Ground-types**: Rhyperior, Dugtrio, Quagsire, and Gligar all handle Drapion very well. Rhyperior can tank most hits besides Aqua Tail and KO Drapion with Earthquake, Dugtrio can trap and KO it, Quagsire can ignore its boosts and 2HKO with Earthquake, and Gligar can take most hits and 2HKO Drapion with Earthquake. However, Gligar should watch out for Knock Off + Aqua Tail or Ice Fang. Mega Camerupt is also a good check to Drapion that lack Aqua Tail, as it takes little damage from Knock Off and can OHKO with Earth Power.
**Faster Pokemon**: Pokemon that can outspeed Drapion, such as Cobalion and Mega Pidgeot, can successfully revenge kill it. However, they must be wary of switching in on one of Drapion's many coverage moves.
**Wallbreakers**: Wallbreakers such as Emboar, Clawitzer, Exploud, and Life Orb Hitmonlee can easily break apart the specially defensive set, but they all fall to the Swords Dance variant of Drapion.
**Dark-type Resists**: Anything that resists Dark-type attacks, such as Cobalion, Gurdurr, and and Emboar, can set up or kill the Specially Defensive set and make for good checks to the Swords Dance set.
**Status Absorbers**: Anything that can benefit from or cure status, like Lickilicky, Audino, and Gurdurr, poses a threat to the Toxic Spikes set.
**Status**: Status is a great way to take down Drapion that lack Lum Berry. Burns halve its Attack, while paralysis slows it down greatly. However, it can obviously not be poisoned!
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