Pokémon Volcarona

[firehusky]

Approved by Aragorn the King

Name: Volcarona (#637)
Typing:

Base Stats: 85 HP / 60 Atk / 65 Def / 135 SpA / 105 SpD / 100 Spe
Abilities: Flame Body: Enemies' contact moves have a 30% chance to burn them.
Swarm: Boosts power of Bug-type moves by 50% when at 1/3 HP or less.

Notable moves: (STAB moves in bold)
Bug Buzz
Fiery Dance
Fire Blast
Flamethrower
Giga Drain
Quiver Dance
Roost
Tailwind
Will-O-Wisp
Hidden Power Ground (credit to Kurona)

Overview:
Volcarona has access to one of the best boosting moves in the game, Quiver Dance. It also has strong STAB moves and reliable recovery in Roost. However, it is 4x weak to Stealth Rock, and has low physical bulk. Volcarona also struggles against common team archetypes such as BirdSpam, sand offense, and rain offense. But with proper team support, Volcarona can be used as strong win condition, and can easily rip teams apart.

Potential movesets:

Offensive Quiver Dance
Volcarona @ Life Orb / Passho Berry / Lum Berry / Sitrus Berry
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 72 HP / 252 SpA / 184 Spe
Timid Nature
- Quiver Dance
- Fire Blast / Fiery Dance
- Giga Drain
- Bug Buzz / Hidden Power Ground

This set takes a more offensive approach to Volcarona. This time, Fire Blast is used over Fiery Dance for a better damage output, although Fiery Dance is still a fine option, as it is more reliable. Giga Drain with a Passho Berry makes for a good lure against offensive Water-types, and helps Volcarona heal itself, as Life Orb recoil combined with entry hazards can easily wear it down. Bug Buzz is Volcarona's secondary STAB move, and hits many Pokemon that would otherwise wall this set, such as Latios and Latias. Heatran walls this set, so HP Ground is also an option to hit it. A Life Orb increases Volcarona's power. A Passho Berry allows for more set up opportunities against Water-types, such as Rotom-W and Keldeo. A Lum Berry allows Volcarona to dodge status attempts, such as Thundurus's Prankster Thunder Wave. A Sitrus Berry is another option in case your team is not packing hazard removal. The EV spread allows Volcarona to outspeed Scarf Landorus-T at +1, with the rest of the EVs invested into Special Attack and HP.

Conclusion:
Volcarona is very underrated in OU. It was blessed with one of the best boosting moves ever, and has the stats and movepool to support it. With the right team support, Volcarona can easily destroy teams. However, it does have flaws - notably it's quadruple weakness to Stealth Rock, and poor physical bulk.

How do you think Volcarona is doing in the current metagame? Also feel free to discuss other potential movesets!

 

[Invok3r]

Volcarona is a fun mon, but it is probably the most matchup-reliant mon I've used in ou. Some games it will sweep well, others it will be death fodder.

 

[bludz]

An alternate EV spread for the Offensive Quiver Dance set is 72 HP / 252 SpA / 184 Spe with Timid Nature to allow Volcarona to outspeed Jolly max speed Landorus-T after a Quiver Dance. I also believe Lum Berry is an option on the offensive set to prevent Klefki / Thundurus from Prankster t-wave stopping a sweep or setting up in the face of something carrying a status move. But Passho Berry is definitely more reliable since almost every team runs a water type and it lets Volcarona eat one Aqua Jet. Actually haven't tried out Life Orb myself but I don't doubt the difference in power allows a few extra KOs.

It might help to add a brief note why Flame Body is used over Swarm, since an unexperienced player might think Swarm is better since it can boost the power of Bug Buzz.

Volcarona is really awesome in the current meta because of Quiver Dance and its unique coverage. Giga Drain is such a boon for smashing past water types. Mega Diancie is a very good partner since it beats the Fire, Flying and Dragon types that Volcarona dislike (particularly Talonflame), and Volcarona returns the favor by burning Steel types which are the primary switch-ins to Diancie. I agree with the above post though - it is very matchup dependent because it has no chance against counters such as Chansey or Charizard X and some offensive teams make hazard removal really difficult.

 

[Kurona]

Glad to see this get a thread here; good timing since it is an extremely underrated threat only recently highlighted. C- to B+ in a month lol.

Anyhow, notable moves. Hidden Power Ground should definitely be inserted, and I see no reason to have Morning Sun when you have Roost.

 

[AD impish john]

For Checks and Counters:

Sap Sipper Azumarill is rare but can trick you easily by going for giga drain and get azu's attack raised.

Stealth Rocks (thats why Rapid Spin and Defog is for).

Lando-T is a threat defense and scarf.

Scarf T-tar is dangerous if you stay in to attack it.

Heatran can have ancient power to kill easily and it has the typing so that volcarona can't touch it (May have air balloon).

Rain Teams are annoying if the have swift swim pokemon and swampert.

IDK I can't think of any more counters and threats, but Volcarona is fun pokemon to use and is underated.

 

[astroboy]

For Checks and Counters:

Sap Sipper Azumarill is rare but can trick you easily by going for giga drain and get azu's attack raised.

Stealth Rocks (thats why Rapid Spin and Defog is for).

Lando-T is a threat defense and scarf.

Scarf T-tar is dangerous if you stay in to attack it.

Heatran can have ancient power to kill easily and it has the typing so that volcarona can't touch it (May have air balloon).

Rain Teams are annoying if the have swift swim pokemon and swampert.

IDK I can't think of any more counters and threats, but Volcarona is fun pokemon to use and is underated.

no one outside of the low ladder uses sap sipper azu
offensive volc outspeeds scarf ttar and landog at +1
ancient power is really weak and i doubt very much that it kills due to volcs good spdef (im on mobile) but if youre really paranoid for scarf tran, stone edge is the thing to look out.

in the op, is overheat really a notable move? i cant think of any situation where id prefer it over fiery dance or fire blast

 

[Karxrida]

Just an FYI that Bulky Quiver Dance was rejected for a spot on the analysis. If you decide to keep it list the offensive set before it because it's the better one.

The bulkarona set got rejected - its not as good anymore. I'm keeping it at OO.

As for other shit:

• Timid > Modest on the offensive set so you don't get outsped by Scarf Lando-T when you're at +1. You need 184 EVs for max speed variants.
  
• Lum Berry needs an Item slash to stop Thundurus from T-Waving you and ending your sweep.
  
• Overheat should be removed from Moves since Volcarona is a sweeper and cannot afford to run a hit-and-run attack like that, especially when it has a double Rock weakness so it can't just come in whenever it wants, let alone more than once.
  
• Morning Sun is strictly inferior to Roost due to being affected by weather on top of having less PP so it should also be removed.
• Team Options and Other Options sections would be nice. Good teammates off the top of my head are Hazard removers like Excadrill, Talonflame checks/counters like Rotom-W (also helps with Azumarill), and Heatran checks/counters if you run Bug Buzz over HP Ground. As for OOs, Jukain mentioned on the analysis about running Sitrus if you can't keep rocks away. The Post in question.

 

[Red King]

List good partners as
Mega Sableye: Well for obvious reasons, mega sabes gives great hazard control and Volc kinda takes on a few fairies for it in return.
232 SpA Pixilate Mega Gardevoir Hyper Voice vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Volcarona: 108-128 (28.9 - 34.3%) -- 99.7% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Choice Specs Pixilate Sylveon Hyper Voice vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Volcarona: 134-158 (35.9 - 42.3%) -- 92.4% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Altaria Hyper Voice vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Volcarona: 69-82 (18.4 - 21.9%) -- possible 6HKO after Leftovers recovery
Pokemon like Skarmory, Hippowdon, Lando t and Gliscor are all great as they absorb powerful rock and ground moves and take on talonflame.
Bulky water absorbs like Ferrothorn, amoonguss, rotom w, tentacruel and starmie are all great partners too.
Starmie stands out as a partner b/c it can take on watertypes like Keldeo that cause problems, remove hazards, and take on heatran, should you not be running hp ground.
Rotom w, Zapdos, and other birdspam absorbs like Scarfttar
Hazard removers, especially rapid spinners are great support because it hates hazards but likes opposing rocks to be up to help it sweep.
Please dear god do not list Sap Sipper Azumarill. Nobody should even have to explain that.

volcarona is a powerful and dangerous sweeper that requires a lot of team support. With said team support and great coverage it isn't really more matchup reliant than anything else. Suicide leads can delay it's field presence for awhile, but if you're using rapid spinners like tenta, exca and starmie bisharp sure won't be blocking you. Invok3r i'm not entirely sure you understand what it means to be match up reliant. Volc preforms relatively well against balance, stall and offense. TR i guess is an issue, but almost all of the tier has a an issue with Trick Room. It's just incredibly reliant on team support, mainly hazard control. Sitrus kinda solves that too. (Thanks Jukain)

Also:
firehusky i liked the bunny better.

 

[firehusky]

An alternate EV spread for the Offensive Quiver Dance set is 72 HP / 252 SpA / 184 Spe with Timid Nature to allow Volcarona to outspeed Jolly max speed Landorus-T after a Quiver Dance. I also believe Lum Berry is an option on the offensive set to prevent Klefki / Thundurus from Prankster t-wave stopping a sweep or setting up in the face of something carrying a status move. But Passho Berry is definitely more reliable since almost every team runs a water type and it lets Volcarona eat one Aqua Jet. Actually haven't tried out Life Orb myself but I don't doubt the difference in power allows a few extra KOs.

It might help to add a brief note why Flame Body is used over Swarm, since an unexperienced player might think Swarm is better since it can boost the power of Bug Buzz.

Volcarona is really awesome in the current meta because of Quiver Dance and its unique coverage. Giga Drain is such a boon for smashing past water types. Mega Diancie is a very good partner since it beats the Fire, Flying and Dragon types that Volcarona dislike (particularly Talonflame), and Volcarona returns the favor by burning Steel types which are the primary switch-ins to Diancie. I agree with the above post though - it is very matchup dependent because it has no chance against counters such as Chansey or Charizard X and some offensive teams make hazard removal really difficult.

Ok I'll add lum berry and I think that EV spread is probs better, now that mega aerodactyl runs jolly. Will make the note about flame body.

Glad to see this get a thread here; good timing since it is an extremely underrated threat only recently highlighted. C- to B+ in a month lol.

Anyhow, notable moves. Hidden Power Ground should definitely be inserted, and I see no reason to have Morning Sun when you have Roost.

I've gone over this before, and HP ground is definitely a great coverage option for volcarona, but it is by no means notable, as pretty much every mon gets it. Will remove morning sun though.

no one outside of the low ladder uses sap sipper azu
offensive volc outspeeds scarf ttar and landog at +1
ancient power is really weak and i doubt very much that it kills due to volcs good spdef (im on mobile) but if youre really paranoid for scarf tran, stone edge is the thing to look out.

in the op, is overheat really a notable move? i cant think of any situation where id prefer it over fiery dance or fire blast

idk, I really just added it there because at like +2 or +1, it hits insanely hard. The downside is that it basically counters the effects of quiver dance, so it's removing it's ability to sweep. I'll probably remove it though.

Just an FYI that Bulky Quiver Dance was rejected for a spot on the analysis. If you decide to keep it list the offensive set before it because it's the better one.


As for other shit:

• Timid > Modest on the offensive set so you don't get outsped by Scarf Lando-T when you're at +1. You need 184 EVs for max speed variants.
  
• Lum Berry needs an Item slash to stop Thundurus from T-Waving you and ending your sweep.
  
• Overheat should be removed from Moves since Volcarona is a sweeper and cannot afford to run a hit-and-run attack like that, especially when it has a double Rock weakness so it can't just come in whenever it wants, let alone more than once.
  
• Morning Sun is strictly inferior to Roost due to being affected by weather on top of having less PP so it should also be removed.
• Team Options and Other Options sections would be nice. Good teammates off the top of my head are Hazard removers like Excadrill, Talonflame checks/counters like Rotom-W (also helps with Azumarill), and Heatran checks/counters if you run Bug Buzz over HP Ground. As for OOs, Jukain mentioned on the analysis about running Sitrus if you can't keep rocks away. The Post in question.

ok I'll remove bulky volcarona
lum berry shall be mentioned
overheat shall be removed
morning sun shall be removed
omg this isn't a real analysis, it's a discussion thread for volcarona!!
but yeah I think I'll just add a checks counters section and a team options section, don't feel like doing OO

List good partners as
Mega Sableye: Well for obvious reasons, mega sabes gives great hazard control and Volc kinda takes on a few fairies for it in return.
232 SpA Pixilate Mega Gardevoir Hyper Voice vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Volcarona: 108-128 (28.9 - 34.3%) -- 99.7% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Choice Specs Pixilate Sylveon Hyper Voice vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Volcarona: 134-158 (35.9 - 42.3%) -- 92.4% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Altaria Hyper Voice vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Volcarona: 69-82 (18.4 - 21.9%) -- possible 6HKO after Leftovers recovery
Pokemon like Skarmory, Hippowdon, Lando t and Gliscor are all great as they absorb powerful rock and ground moves and take on talonflame.
Bulky water absorbs like Ferrothorn, amoonguss, rotom w, tentacruel and starmie are all great partners too.
Starmie stands out as a partner b/c it can take on watertypes like Keldeo that cause problems, remove hazards, and take on heatran, should you not be running hp ground.
Rotom w, Zapdos, and other birdspam absorbs like Scarfttar
Hazard removers, especially rapid spinners are great support because it hates hazards but likes opposing rocks to be up to help it sweep.
Please dear god do not list Sap Sipper Azumarill. Nobody should even have to explain that.

volcarona is a powerful and dangerous sweeper that requires a lot of team support. With said team support and great coverage it isn't really more matchup reliant than anything else. Suicide leads can delay it's field presence for awhile, but if you're using rapid spinners like tenta, exca and starmie bisharp sure won't be blocking you. Invok3r i'm not entirely sure you understand what it means to be match up reliant. Volc preforms relatively well against balance, stall and offense. TR i guess is an issue, but almost all of the tier has a an issue with Trick Room. It's just incredibly reliant on team support, mainly hazard control. Sitrus kinda solves that too. (Thanks Jukain)

Also:
firehusky i liked the bunny better.

k will do the stuff you said
may change back to momo, sticking with cobalion for now because I do not want to become like recreant lol







checks and counters and team options will be added later, too lazy rn

 

[Kurona]

I've gone over this before, and HP ground is definitely a great coverage option for volcarona, but it is by no means notable, as pretty much every mon gets it.

Uh I don't see why that's a reason lol. You could say the same thing about a ton of 'mon getting Flamethrower or Giga Drain; in a competitive sense, is a notable move not that which is one of the moves you should really be considering?

 

[AM]

Lol jesus christ it's an OP for a pokemon thread catered to general discussion not an entire analysis. Get a basic overview down with basic sets and just go with it.

 

[astroboy]

idk, I really just added it there because at like +2 or +1, it hits insanely hard. The downside is that it basically counters the effects of quiver dance, so it's removing it's ability to sweep. I'll probably remove it though.

does it gain any notable kills that fire blast wouldnt be able to get?

 

[Red King]

Lol jesus christ it's an OP for a pokemon thread catered to general discussion not an entire analysis. Get a basic overview down with basic sets and just go with it.

Man, so if the thread is unproductive and sloppy we get in trouble, and if we're too organized we get in trouble. Jeez.
Volc is just so so dangerous and mega sableye makes it easier than ever to use on balance teams. I've got this TGRD manaphy MegaSableye Volc core and it's just great.
Edit: Forgot about Diancie i guess that makes it cool on offense or something.

 

[AM]

Man, so if the thread is unproductive and sloppy we get in trouble, and if we're too organized we get in trouble. Jeez.
Volc is just so so dangerous and mega sableye makes it easier than ever to use on balance teams. I've got this TGRD manaphy MegaSableye Volc core and it's just great.

You're exaggerating my point. The whole idea of these threads is for general discussion to begin with. There is already analysis sections to nitpick every minor detail and list every single check and counter or w/e relevant info applies. A couple of partners is fine but if it gets to the point we're at page 2 and still discussing what to put in the OP you're better off talking through pms.

 

[firehusky]

Going off of AM's point, this is a discussion thread, not the analysis thread. You can just go into the preliminary pokedex and find volcarona, and look at all it's checks and counters / team options there.
Probs not doing Checks + Counters and team options though. Reading through the posts in this thread should give you good partners for volcarona, I don't feel like listing all of them.

 

[Sun King]

I think that WoW has merit for Other Options if not a set in and of itself. I've been testing out a mixed bulk set with Sub/Roost/WoW/Fiery Dance, and it's extremely efficient at luring threats and spreading burns.

Volcarona @ Leftovers
Ability: Flame Body
Timid Nature
EVs: 248 HP/136 Def/ 104 SpDef/20 Spe
-Fiery Dance
-Substitute
-Roost
-Will-o-Wisp

EVs to outspeed base 70

EDIT: Here's a replay of Azumarill getting wrecked and some guy not getting reqs.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/oususpecttest-213586952

 

[Tressed]

I think that WoW has merit for Other Options if not a set in and of itself. I've been testing out a mixed bulk set with Sub/Roost/WoW/Fiery Dance, and it's extremely efficient at luring threats and spreading burns.

Volcarona @ Leftovers
Ability: Flame Body
Timid Nature
EVs: 248 HP/136 Def/ 104 SpDef/20 Spe
-Fiery Dance
-Substitute
-Roost
-Will-o-Wisp

EVs to outspeed base 70

Don't forget your proof!

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/oususpecttest-213006778
So this first replay is actually the most recent one, but it's probably the best replay despite ending in a forfeit. Basically, Volcarona was able to spread a burn on Scizor via Flame Body and then lure and burn the opposing Terrakion (thanks to that nasty Sub WoW combo I talked about).

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/oususpecttest-212965035
This replay shows how Volcarona can really wear down opposing Rotom-W with a little fortune and Fiery Dance. While it's not entirely reliable, you can pretty easily PP stall Hydro Pump with Substitute and Roost (iirc, Hydro does about 68% max). At turn 25, you see the aforementioned Sub WoW on a lured Landorus-Therian.

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/oususpecttest-212969203
Basically just more of the above. Early on, I tried to Sub on the Raikou, but I couldn't get the move change before the turn happened. All that would have done was allowed me to WoW the Medicham rather than burn it with Flame Body. You can also see how Volcarona lures in the BD Azu and neuters it. Not the BEST replay, but it works in the context of this post.

I'm aware that these three replays are low ladder replays; I haven't touched the suspect ladder, so I tried to save the replays that were against legitimate teams. I think that the EV spread could possibly be optimized to tank as much of the relevant metagame as possible, but so far this one works for me.

 

[bludz]

Volcarona smashes some common defensive cores found on balance / bulky offense. For example Slowbro + Ferrothorn is easily taken apart without even Quiver Dancing, while Rotom-W + Lando-T loses after a QD and even CeleTran loses to HP Ground variants. Granted these are only parts of teams but they are intended to be defensive backbones so it's pretty cool how much pressure Volc can apply to some standard team builds

 

[BlazeLatias]

it might be worth noting the more defensive volcarona set thats focuses more on its bulk. It actually pretty good but does require more support due to its rather poor coverage ill leave the set bellow. Also it should be worth noting that serperior is a great teammate for volcarona if its lacking Giga drain due to how serperior removes mons such as azumaril and keldeo as well as helps remove stuff like t-tar. Should also mention that it works nice with mega altaria due to how it resists water type moves and removes stuff like tyrantiar and keldeo.

Volcarona @ Leftovers
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 248 HP / 136 Def / 124 Spe
Bold Nature
- Bug Buzz / Giga Drain / Hidden Power Ground
- Fiery Dance / Fire Blast / Flamethower
- Roost
- Quiver Dance

 

[firehusky]

Bulky quiver dance volcarona was already rejected for an analysis.
Also, thoughts on like a tailwind + 3 attacks set?

 

[bludz]

I'd think the issue with that is that you already outspeed a lot after a Quiver Dance and it gives you a bulk and power boost as well. The only things you'd really outspeed are like Scarfers and weather sweepers which can be achieved if you can get up a 2nd QD anyway. Plus Tailwind does end after 3 turns stopping a sweep short.

Also, while bulky Volc sets seem interesting, I fail to see their effectiveness. I think the main issue is that the offensive set just does it better. Volc is more suited to get up a QD on 1v1 matchup, not so much by tanking hits

 

[AM]

tailwind / 3 attacks is a cool offensive support set I've been trying out but honestly it's just surprise factor with power that can be made up for with Quiver Dance. It's not worth a mention.

 

[Fortune]

i think right now, fire blast is the best fire stab to use with volc. since you are running just enough speed to outpace scarf lando-t, you might as well run the only (viable) move that can ohko it 100% of the time.

+1 252 SpA Volcarona Fire Blast vs. 24 HP / 0 SpD Landorus-T: 333-393 (102.4 - 120.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO

+1 252 SpA Volcarona Flamethrower vs. 24 HP / 0 SpD Landorus-T: 273-322 (84 - 99%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

ofc the miss factor is a big deal for some but through experience i can tell you that the damage output and burn chance is just so useful in sweeping that i dont think i personally would consider running fiery dance ever again unless it was on some modest set. the +1 you get from quiver is usually enough to get off a sweep anyways.

 

[firehusky]

Yes, on offensive sets, Fire Blast is definitely the way to go, because it has a lot of extra power.

 

[bludz]

So I've primarily run Bug Buzz over HP Ground and basically partners that can lure and/or kill fire types are great.

I'm wondering what kind of partners would pair better with HP Ground Volcarona. Pursuit trappers like Bisharp maybe? Since Bug Buzz bops the bulky psychics that could otherwise kinda check it