AG Zekrom

bigtalk

Banned deucer.
:zekrom:

[SET]
name: Dragon Dance
move 1: Dragon Dance
move 2: Substitute
move 3: Bolt Strike
move 4: Outrage
item: Leftovers
ability: Teravolt
nature: Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Zekrom is a major threat to balance and stall teams in Anything Goes, as it's able to take advantage of common defensive Pokemon and lacks consistent defensive counterplay outside of Arceus-Ground and Lunala. Substitute allows Zekrom to safely set up on Pokemon that cannot break it in a single hit, including Ferrothorn, Ho-Oh, and Stealth Rock Necrozma-DM. It also prevents Choice Scarf users like Ditto and Mega Rayquaza from revenge killing it, eases prediction if the opponent tries to pivot around Zekrom's STAB moves, and stalls out foes' Dynamax turns. Outrage is needed for its high damage output, allowing Zekrom to OHKO base forme Zygarde at +1, although it has the detrimental side effect of locking Zekrom into the move if it doesn't Dynamax. Dragon Claw gives Zekrom a safer Dragon-type STAB move to use, but it's extremely weak and doesn't OHKO base forme Zygarde at +1 even when boosted by Life Orb; it also makes Ditto more dangerous, since it can Dynamax to break its Choice lock after it revenge kills Zekrom. A Jolly nature allows Zekrom to outspeed Zacian-C at +1 and Modest Xerneas and Yveltal unboosted. Leftovers increases the number of times Zekrom is able to use Substitute, helping it to break through foes like Ferrothorn more easily. Haban Berry is an option that lets Zekrom survive a boosted Outrage from Ditto while Dynamaxed, as well as Draco Meteor from Choice Scarf Mega Rayquaza and Dynamax Cannon from Eternatus, in order to KO these threats back; however, Leftovers is hard to give up, and a Ditto that's locked into Outrage is already easy to exploit with partners like Xerneas. Life Orb is another option that gives a nice boost to Zekrom's damage output, but it can severely hurt its longevity in tandem with Substitute. Teravolt notably allows Zekrom to bypass abilities like Multiscale, Sturdy, Unaware, and Wonder Guard, although it doesn't ignore Lunala's Shadow Shield.

Zekrom has great Dynamaxing potential. Under Dynamax, Bolt Strike turns into Max Lightning, powering up Zekrom's Electric-type moves even further by setting Electric Terrain; Zekrom can potentially break past defensive Lunala with two boosted Max Lightnings if it manages to play around Will-O-Wisp correctly. Max Wyrmwind allows Zekrom to break through Ground-types without being forced to lock into a move; it 2HKOes Arceus-Ground and defensive Primal Groudon at +1. It also helpfully lowers Primal Groudon's Attack stat, rendering said foe unable to deal much damage to Zekrom when also accounting for the extra bulk from Dynamax. However, it's important to note that Dynamaxing will cause Zekrom to lose its Substitute, leaving it susceptible to revenge killing from the likes of Ditto. Also, Zekrom cannot Dynamax or change moves while it's locked into Outrage, so in the meantime, it can be taken advantage of by foes like Geomancy Xerneas.

Zekrom fits best on bulky offense teams that can make up for the momentum loss it creates when it uses Outrage. Defensive Necrozma-DM is a strongly recommended partner, as it's able to handle Xerneas and Zacian-C if they try to take advantage of Zekrom while it's locked into the move. Ditto can also revenge kill these threats, but it needs prior chip damage on Xerneas to KO it, especially if Xerneas can still Dynamax. Ho-Oh is a fantastic teammate that shuts down Zekrom's most reliable checks in support Arceus-Ground and Lunala, while Zekrom can pressure teams with Zygarde-C for Ho-Oh. Similarly, Arceus-Ground checks Primal Groudon for Zekrom, while Zekrom can pressure teams with Ho-Oh for Arceus-Ground. Xerneas and Zacian-C are helpful partners to revenge kill opposing Ditto; if Ditto has locked into Outrage, it won't be able to Dynamax to break its Choice lock. Zacian-C can also weaken shared checks like Primal Groudon, Arceus-Ground, and Lunala for Zekrom. Yveltal is a strong offensive partner that can switch into Ground-type attacks and clean late-game once Zekrom has weakened the opposition.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[bigtalk, 466663]]
- Quality checked by: [[Guardsweeper, 360582], [ice-master-523, 464176]]
- Grammar checked by: [[The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216]]
 
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The analysis provides almost no commentary on Zekrom's immense Dynamax potential, which can allow it to overpower almost any counter, information that is completely absent from this analysis. I'm going to try to describe this in as much detail as I can.

First, add Haban Berry to the analysis. It trades a somewhat easier setup for a significantly more robust Dynamax that beats Ditto as long as it has more than 50% HP remaining, and it can do it at higher boost values if Zekrom is at a correspondingly high amount of HP. This makes ditto-proofing it significantly less important, especially when Outrage is Ditto's only method of defeating Zekrom.
+1 252 Atk Teravolt Zekrom (Imposter Ditto) Outrage vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Dynamax Haban Berry Zekrom: 280-330 (41 - 48.3%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
Meanwhile Bolt Strike is not an option to break through even undynamaxed Zekrom, dealing a maximum of 33.7% at +1 in Electric Terrain.
+2 252 Atk Teravolt Zekrom Outrage vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Dynamax Haban Berry Zekrom: 373-439 (54.6 - 64.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+3 252 Atk Teravolt Zekrom Outrage vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Dynamax Haban Berry Zekrom: 466-549 (68.3 - 80.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
4 SpA Rayquaza-Mega Draco Meteor vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Haban Berry Zekrom: 234-276 (68.6 - 80.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Life Orb Eternatus Dynamax Cannon vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Haban Berry Zekrom: 230-270 (67.4 - 79.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Eternatus Dynamax Cannon vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Haban Berry Zekrom: 177-208 (51.9 - 60.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Life Orb Palkia Spacial Rend vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Haban Berry Zekrom: 235-278 (68.9 - 81.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
TLDR Haban Berry is just as good if not better than running Leftovers especially given how hard in practice it is to actually set up a Substitute, and the ability to consistently defeat Ditto is huge.

Second, it should be explicitly noted that Max Wyrmwind lets it actually defeat Primal Groudon 1v1 consistently thanks to the -Atk and forces Arceus-Ground to recover stall Zekrom's Dynamax or Dynamax itself.
+1 252 Atk Teravolt Zekrom Max Wyrmwind (140 BP) vs. 252 HP / 56+ Def Groudon-Primal: 220-261 (54.4 - 64.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
-1 252 Atk Groudon-Primal Precipice Blades vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Dynamaxed Zekrom: 288-338 (42.2 - 49.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
+1 252 Atk Teravolt Zekrom Max Wyrmwind (140 BP) vs. 252 HP / 240+ Def Arceus-Ground: 244-288 (54.9 - 64.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 SpA Earth Plate Arceus-Ground Judgment vs. 124 HP / 4 SpD Zekrom: 302-356 (44.2 - 52.1%) -- 16% chance to 2HKO

+1 252 Atk Teravolt Zekrom Outrage vs. 252 HP / 240+ Def Arceus-Ground: 210-247 (47.2 - 55.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
Clearly Arceus-Ground has a significantly better matchup here, and if it wants to spend its dynamax it'll always win.
The biggest issue I've had with Zekrom is that it struggles hugely against teams with both a Ground-type and a Fairy-type since they can easily stall out its Dynamax thanks to the extremely high stakes associated with clicking Max Lightning against a Ground-type. Without its Dynamax, Zekrom cannot defeat any Ground-type unless it is behind a Substitute, and doing so forces it into Outrage, which then can be exploited by either the opponent's Xerneas or Zacian-C, both threats that you really do not want to let in. Unfortunately for Zekrom, however, those teams are common thanks to how good both Primal Groudon and Zacian-C are in the metagame.

  • I've found that Zekrom somewhat appreciates trapper support from Mega Gengar and the niche Dugtrio thanks to their respective abilities to remove the offending Ground-type from the opposing team, though this point is not nearly as important as the above.
  • Kyogre in general heavily appreciates the fact that Zekrom double resists Electric while also resisting Water, which can make opposing Ditto think twice before clicking Thunder. Overall makes it significantly more complicated for an Imposter Kyogre to sweep if you lack Primal Groudon for whatever reason.
  • Choice Scarf Kyogre is a respectable teammate for Zekrom, especially if Zekrom does end up using its Dynamax to overpower Primal Groudon, for much of the same reasons that Primal Kyogre fits well (minus dealing with pdon). Scarf Kyogre can also directly deal with Zacian-Crowned if it manages to get the chance.
I'm not really sure if other options are allowed be added, but I'm just going to mention some for the hell of it.
  • Life Orb can be used for more power to Outrage and Max Wyrmwind, notably causing Max Wyrmwind to outright OHKO offensive varients of Primal Groudon and consistently break through Arceus-Ground. The extra power allows Fusion Bolt to be viably used over Bolt Strike for those that are afraid of Bolt Strike's accuracy, with only a 10 BP drop in Max Lightning that is more than offset by the Life Orb boost. However, it has extreme difficulty setting up, anti-synergizes with substitute (a move that is almost required on Zekrom to properly set up on Ferrothorn and Ho-Oh/Lugia lacking Whirlwind), and is overall much less consistent. It's also even more ditto-prone than the listed set.
  • Dragon Tail can be used to completely neuter Ditto, but only as long as you can force their dynamax earlier in the match. In addition, it makes the matchup against Primal Groudon a lot more complicated, requiring a bit of chip in order to overcome defensive variants while making it completely impossible to win against support Arceus-Ground.
 
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add comment
bigtalk said:
:zekrom:

[SET]
name: Dragon Dance
move 1: Dragon Dance
move 2: Substitute
move 3: Bolt Strike
move 4: Outrage
item: Leftovers
ability: Teravolt
nature: Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Zekrom is a major threat to balance and stall teams in Anything Goes, as it's able to take advantage of common defensive Pokemon and lacks consistent defensive counterplay outside of Arceus-Ground and Lunala. Substitute allows Zekrom to safely set up on Pokemon that cannot break it in a single hit, including Ferrothorn, Ho-Oh, and defensive Necrozma-DM. It also prevents Ditto and Scarf Mega Rayquaza from revenge killing it, eases prediction if the opponent tries to pivot around Zekrom's STAB moves, and stalls out Dynamax turns. Outrage is needed over Dragon Claw for the extra damage output, allowing Zekrom to OHKO base forme Zygarde at +1 (and 2OHKO Arceus-Ground after Stealth Rock damage), although it has the detrimental side effect of locking Zekrom into the move if it doesn't Dynamax. A Jolly nature allows Zekrom to outspeed Zacian-C at +1 and Modest Xerneas and Yveltal unboosted. Leftovers increases the number of times Zekrom is able to use Substitute, helping it to break through foes like Ferrothorn more easily. Teravolt notably allows Zekrom to bypass abilities like Lugia's Multiscale and Skarmory's Sturdy (also ignores Unaware), although it doesn't ignore Lunala's Shadow Shield.
Definitely stress its Dynamaxing potential

Primal Kyogre is a great teammate, as it's able to put immense pressure on Primal Groudon and Arceus-Ground (add the fact that it breaks through Lunala as well), weakening them for Zekrom to break through later or outright eliminating them. Necrozma-DM and Ditto are good partners to handle Xerneas and Zacian-C if they try to take advantage of Zekrom while it's locked into Outrage. Conversely, Xerneas and Zacian-C can revenge kill opposing Ditto locked into Outrage, though note that Ditto can Dynamax to break its Choice lock. On hyper offensive teams, suicide leads such as Excadrill and Deoxys-S can provide entry hazard support to help Zekrom pick up more KOs.
Add late-game cleaners that can take advantage of Zekrom's wallbreaking
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[bigtalk, 466663]]
- Quality checked by: [[username1, userid1], [username2, userid2]]
- Grammar checked by: [[username1, userid1]]
Click to expand...
Well done, I had relatively little to add
1/2
 
Implemented!

Zrp200 Thanks for the feedback. I read through your post, took all of your suggestions into account and asked for input from some QC members.
  • We did not put Life Orb because we feel like that sacrifices too much longevity along with Substitute.
  • Haban Berry isn't slashed either because we feel like the best way to handle Ditto is revenge killing it with a Fairy-type rather than trying to 1v1 it yourself, but it's been given a mention.
  • The fact that Max Wyrmwind lets you break through Primal Groudon / Arceus-Ground has been noted.
  • Mega Gengar has been added to team options, Primal Kyogre is already there, regular Kyogre / Dugtrio are not that viable.
  • As you basically said yourself, Dragon Tail is a bad option.
 
bigtalk said:
Implemented!

Zrp200 Thanks for the feedback. I read through your post, took all of your suggestions into account and asked for input from some QC members.
  • We did not put Life Orb because we feel like that sacrifices too much longevity along with Substitute.
  • Haban Berry isn't slashed either because we feel like the best way to handle Ditto is revenge killing it with a Fairy-type rather than trying to 1v1 it yourself, but it's been given a mention.
  • The fact that Max Wyrmwind lets you break through Primal Groudon / Arceus-Ground has been noted.
  • Mega Gengar has been added to team options, Primal Kyogre is already there, regular Kyogre / Dugtrio are not that viable.
  • As you basically said yourself, Dragon Tail is a bad option.
Click to expand...
Well, you hit all the important points. I included Life Orb and Dragon Tail just to be complete, I'm fully aware that they are not that good.
I think Guardsweeper summed up what I wanted to say about team options in his check; Kyogre is just a late-game cleaner that synergizes excellently with Zekrom's ability to defeat Lugia, Mray, opposing Kyogre, Ferrothorn, and Eternatus. But seriously most things benefit from Zekrom's ability to do those things.

As to Haban Berry:
A better argument against Haban Berry is that it makes Zekrom even more reliant on Dynamax to break thanks to the very limited amount of subs it can do with Haban Berry (literally just 1, or else Zekrom folds to Pdon and Ditto anyway after hazard damage). Zekrom only has 3 turns of Dynamax, and if whiffed (something that is not hard to do), Zekrom suffers hugely in effectiveness. That said, however, the ability to defeat Ditto by itself is important in that it defeats Ditto. If they don't have a ditto anymore and you have a second setup sweeper, that setup sweeper is probably going to appreciate the removal of Ditto.
In contrast, Leftovers gives Zekrom significantly more flexibility regarding setup and dynamax, as already mentioned. If Zekrom is not being considered as a sweeper, I totally agree that Leftovers is generally better; Outrage is indeed super easy to improof.
Something to keep in mind is that being revenge killed by ditto means losing your zekrom. If the zekrom was still there afterwards, it can just continue to wreck havoc; It's just a matter of killing 1 mon and getting revenge killed by Ditto or killing 2-6 mons, possibly including Ditto.

I noticed people considering Magnet in Galar Dex, but I haven't tested it enough to give an opinion on it.
 
bigtalk said:
:zekrom:

[SET]
name: Dragon Dance
move 1: Dragon Dance
move 2: Substitute
move 3: Bolt Strike
move 4: Outrage / Dragon Claw
item: Leftovers / Life Orb (this is a must with dclaw, otherwise niche)
ability: Teravolt
nature: Jolly / Adamant
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Zekrom is a major threat to balance and stall teams in Anything Goes, as it's able to take advantage of common defensive Pokemon and lacks consistent defensive counterplay outside of Arceus-Ground and Lunala. Substitute allows Zekrom to safely set up on Pokemon that cannot break it in a single hit, including Ferrothorn, Ho-Oh, and defensive Necrozma-DM. It also prevents Choice Scarf users like Ditto and Mega Rayquaza from revenge killing it, eases prediction if the opponent tries to pivot around Zekrom's STAB moves, and stalls out foes' Dynamax turns. Outrage is needed over Dragon Claw for the extra damage output when running Leftovers, allowing Zekrom to OHKO base forme Zygarde at +1, although it has the detrimental side effect of locking Zekrom into the move if it doesn't Dynamax. However, one can opt for a set of Dragon Claw and Life Orb, trading survivability for a much safer dragon stab, and more powerful Bolt Strike, allowing you to use dynamax more conservatively (also avoids being locked which may end the sweep). A Jolly nature allows Zekrom to outspeed Zacian-C at +1 and Modest Xerneas and Yveltal unboosted. Leftovers increases the number of times Zekrom is able to use Substitute, helping it to break through foes like Ferrothorn more easily. Haban Berry is an option that lets Zekrom survive a boosted Outrage from Ditto while Dynamaxed, as well as Draco Meteor from Choice Scarf Mega Rayquaza and Dynamax Cannon from Eternatus, in order to KO these threats back; however, Leftovers is hard to give up, and a Ditto that's locked into Outrage is already easy to exploit with a Fairy-type partner. Teravolt notably allows Zekrom to bypass abilities like Lugia's Multiscale and Skarmory's Sturdy, although it doesn't ignore Lunala's Shadow Shield. Might be worth mentioning quagsire?

Zekrom has great Dynamaxing potential. Under Dynamax, Bolt Strike turns into Max Lightning, powering up Zekrom's Electric-type moves even further by setting Electric Terrain; Zekrom can potentially break past defensive Lunala with two boosted Max Lightnings if it manages to play correctly around Will-O-Wisp. Max Wyrmwind allows Zekrom to break through Ground-types without being forced to lock into a move; it 2HKOes Arceus-Ground and defensive Primal Groudon at +1. It also helpfully lowers the Attack stat of foes like Primal Groudon, rendering said foe unable to deal much damage to Zekrom when also accounting for the extra bulk from Dynamax. However, it's important to note that Dynamaxing will cause Zekrom to lose its Substitute, leaving it susceptible to revenge killing from the likes of Ditto. Might be worth saying Zekrom cannot dmax when locked in outrage, making it vulnerable to revenge killing/walling by Fairies/NDM.

Primal Kyogre is a great teammate, as it's able to put immense pressure on Primal Groudon, Arceus-Ground, and Lunala, weakening them for Zekrom to break through later or outright eliminating them. Necrozma-DM and Ditto are good partners to handle Xerneas and Zacian-C if they try to take advantage of Zekrom while it's locked into Outrage. Conversely, Xerneas and Zacian-C are helpful partners to revenge kill opposing Ditto; if Ditto has locked into Outrage, it won't be able to Dynamax to break its Choice lock. Indeed, Zacian-Crowned is a particularly good non dmax reliant teammate due to its ability to break down Groudon, groundceus while inviting in potential setup bait such as NDM. On hyper offensive teams, suicide leads such as Excadrill and Deoxys-S can provide entry hazard support to help Zekrom pick up more KOs. Late-game cleaners such as Yveltal and Kartana can take advantage of Zekrom's wallbreaking. Mega Gengar with Destiny Bond can remove Ground-types like Primal Groudon, Arceus-Ground, and Zygarde-C, letting Zekrom use Bolt Strike more freely and potentially preserve Dynamax for one of its teammates. Might be worth saying Hooh acts as a reliable switchin to defensive checks eg non rock move pdon, groundceus, lunala and can status or chip them.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[bigtalk, 466663]]
- Quality checked by: [[Guardsweeper, 360582], [username2, userid2]]
- Grammar checked by: [[username1, userid1]]
Click to expand...

QC 2/2, good job
 
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ice-master-523 said:
QC 2/2, good job
Click to expand...
Wouldn't running Life Orb be an excuse to run Fusion Bolt over Bolt Strike much more than one to run Dragon Claw over Outrage? Still hits exactly as hard but doesn't miss. Really, LO-boosted Outrage is more intriguing than a LO-boosted Bolt Strike.

Where did you get LO Dragon Claw from? This seems totally out of the blue. Did you have that much of a good experience with it?
even LO-boosted dragon claw doesn't hit as hard as Lefties Outrage, and Outrage has enough trouble as is getting KOs on important Ground-types.

Life Orb makes you even more Dynamax-happy in my experience thanks to the really strong motivator of Electric Terrain + Life Orb Max Lightning and that reliable Dragon-type STAB in Max Wyrmwind that is boosted even further by Life Orb.

Lefties is the most dynamax-independent set that I've worked with; you can set up on a passive mon and keep the sub up while you attempt to wallbreak.

Personally, I've had a terrible experience with Life Orb, hard loses to ditto and has a really bad time setting up.
 
Zrp200 said:
Wouldn't running Life Orb be an excuse to run Fusion Bolt over Bolt Strike much more than one to run Dragon Claw over Outrage? Still hits exactly as hard but doesn't miss. Really, LO-boosted Outrage is more intriguing than a LO-boosted Bolt Strike.

Where did you get LO Dragon Claw from? This seems totally out of the blue. Did you have that much of a good experience with it?
even LO-boosted dragon claw doesn't hit as hard as Lefties Outrage, and Outrage has enough trouble as is getting KOs on important Ground-types.

Life Orb makes you even more Dynamax-happy in my experience thanks to the really strong motivator of Electric Terrain + Life Orb Max Lightning and that reliable Dragon-type STAB in Max Wyrmwind that is boosted even further by Life Orb.

Lefties is the most dynamax-independent set that I've worked with; you can set up on a passive mon and keep the sub up while you attempt to wallbreak.

Personally, I've had a terrible experience with Life Orb, hard loses to ditto and has a really bad time setting up.
Click to expand...
Bolt Strike does more damage in general eg guaranteeing the 2HKO on Shadow Shield Lunala, Ferrothorn and just doing more damage to Dynamaxes - the most common defensive counterplay in general. 15% accuracy isn't really worth going for a weaker move especially with opposing dmaxers. Life Orb also produces a much more powerful dmax. And while dragon claw is slightly more reliant on dmaxing to break grounds if it gets an unfavourable roll, outrage locks you out of dynamaxing, often ending Zekrom's sweep and making your dmax much more predictable.

One of my main issues with using Zekrom was against zygod, pdon, supportceus etc, being locked into outrage which makes you much more susceptible to being abused by zacian/xern or walled by a steel, while LO dragon claw still has a favourable roll on Supportceus, offensive zygod and defensive zygod which isnt complete (while it doesnt kill defensive zygod, it does do around 65%, often enough as zygod is rarely at full HP). Most setup sweepers/dmax abusers lose out to ditto, non haban berry zekrom does too. Life orb and dragon claw's merits definitely deserve slash, if not that at least a mention.
 
Made a couple of changes after using this mon some more:
  • Unfortunately, I learned that the Knock Off boost still applies even if the target is behind a sub and its item isn't actually removed. What this means is that Dusk Mane can still break your subs if it's running Knock Off or if you're still holding Leftovers (although thankfully Ferrothorn still can't). Accordingly, I've changed the mentions of "defensive Necrozma-DM" to "Stealth Rock Necrozma-DM."
  • I don't think Zekrom is a good fit on hyper offense anymore, as being forced to use Outrage often results in a huge momentum loss such as giving free setup to Xerneas. I've revamped the team options to emphasize more of a bulky offense structure instead, putting Dusk Mane as a partner first.
 
remove add / fix (comments); (AC=add comma; RC=remove comma; SC=semicolon)
GP 1/1
[SET]
name: Dragon Dance
move 1: Dragon Dance
move 2: Substitute
move 3: Bolt Strike
move 4: Outrage
item: Leftovers
ability: Teravolt
nature: Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Zekrom is a major threat to balance and stall teams in Anything Goes, as it's able to take advantage of common defensive Pokemon and lacks consistent defensive counterplay outside of Arceus-Ground and Lunala. Substitute allows Zekrom to safely set up on Pokemon that cannot break it in a single hit, including Ferrothorn, Ho-Oh, and Stealth Rock Necrozma-DM. It also prevents Choice Scarf users like Ditto and Mega Rayquaza from revenge killing it, eases prediction if the opponent tries to pivot around Zekrom's STAB moves, and stalls out foes' Dynamax turns. Outrage is needed for its extra damage output (over?), allowing Zekrom to OHKO base forme Zygarde at +1, although it has the detrimental side effect of locking Zekrom into the move if it doesn't Dynamax. Dragon Claw gives Zekrom a safer Dragon-type STAB move to use, but it's extremely weak and doesn't OHKO base forme Zygarde at +1 even when boosted by Life Orb; it also makes Ditto more dangerous, since it can Dynamax to break its Choice lock after it revenge kills Zekrom. A Jolly nature allows Zekrom to outspeed Zacian-C at +1 and Modest Xerneas and Yveltal unboosted. Leftovers increases the number of times Zekrom is able to use Substitute, helping it to break through foes like Ferrothorn more easily. Haban Berry is an option that lets Zekrom survive a boosted Outrage from Ditto while Dynamaxed, as well as Draco Meteor from Choice Scarf Mega Rayquaza and Dynamax Cannon from Eternatus, in order to KO these threats back; however, Leftovers is hard to give up, and a Ditto that's locked into Outrage is already easy to exploit with partners like Xerneas. Life Orb is another option that gives a nice boost to Zekrom's damage output, but it can severely hurt its longevity in tandem with Substitute. Teravolt notably allows Zekrom to bypass abilities like Multiscale, Sturdy, Unaware, and Wonder Guard, although it doesn't ignore Lunala's Shadow Shield.

Zekrom has great Dynamaxing potential. Under Dynamax, Bolt Strike turns into Max Lightning, powering up Zekrom's Electric-type moves even further by setting Electric Terrain; Zekrom can potentially break past defensive Lunala with two boosted Max Lightnings if it manages to play around Will-O-Wisp correctly. Max Wyrmwind allows Zekrom to break through Ground-types without being forced to lock into a move; it 2HKOes Arceus-Ground and defensive Primal Groudon at +1. It also helpfully lowers Primal Groudon's Attack stat, rendering said foe unable to deal much damage to Zekrom when also accounting for the extra bulk from Dynamax. However, it's important to note that Dynamaxing will cause Zekrom to lose its Substitute, leaving it susceptible to revenge killing from the likes of Ditto. Also, Zekrom cannot Dynamax or change moves while it's locked into Outrage, so in the meantime, it can be taken advantage of by foes like Geomancy Xerneas.

Zekrom fits best on bulky offense teams that can make up for the momentum loss it creates when it uses Outrage. Defensive Necrozma-DM is a strongly recommended partner, as it's able to handle Xerneas and Zacian-C if they try to take advantage of Zekrom while it's locked into the move. Ditto can also revenge kill these threats, but it needs prior chip damage on Xerneas to KO it, especially if Xerneas can still Dynamax. Ho-Oh is a fantastic teammate that shuts down Zekrom's most reliable checks in support Arceus-Ground and Lunala, while Zekrom can pressure teams with Zygarde-C for Ho-Oh. Similarly, Arceus-Ground checks Primal Groudon for Zekrom, while Zekrom can pressure teams with Ho-Oh for Arceus-Ground. Xerneas and Zacian-C are helpful partners to revenge kill opposing Ditto; if Ditto has locked into Outrage, it won't be able to Dynamax to break its Choice lock. Zacian-C can also weaken shared checks like Primal Groudon, Arceus-Ground, and Lunala for Zekrom. Yveltal is a strong offensive partner that can switch into Ground-type attacks and clean late-game once Zekrom has weakened the opposition.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[bigtalk, 466663]]
- Quality checked by: [[Guardsweeper, 360582], [ice-master-523, 464176]]
- Grammar checked by: [[username1, userid1]]
 
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