Pokémon: Rawa
Franchise/Origin: GigaBash
Type: Dragon/Ghost
Ability: Perish Body, Flame Body, Sturdy (Hidden)
Notable moves: Breaking Swipe, Draco Meteor, Dragon Breath, Dragon Claw, Dragon Dance, Dragon Hammer, Dragon Pulse, Dragon Rage, Dragon Rush, Dragon Tail, Outrage, Scale Shot, Twister, Astonish, Confuse Ray, Curse, Hex, Night Shade, Phantom Force, Poltergeist, Shadow Ball, Shadow Claw, Shadow Punch, Spite, Gyro Ball, Hard Press, Heavy Slam, Iron Defense, Iron Head, Iron Tail, Metal Burst, Metal Claw, Metal Sound, Mirror Shot, Smart Strike, Burn Up, Burning Jealousy, Ember, Eruption, Fire Blast, Fire Fang, Fire Lash, Fire Spin, Flame Burst, Flame Charge, Flamethrower, Flare Blitz, Heat Crash, Heat Wave, Incinerate, Inferno, Overheat, Raging Fury, Sunny Day, Temper Flare, Will-O-Wisp, Bulldoze, Earthquake, Fissure, Stomping Tantrum, Earth Power, Leer, Bite, Crunch, Scary Face, Double-Edge, Take Down, Stomp, Ancient Power, Smack Down, Stealth Rock, Stone Edge, Glare, Endure, Brick Break, Hyper Voice, Roar, Thrash
Custom Elements:
- Extinction Beam (Ghost, Special, 100 BP, 24 PP max, 100% accuracy) - Ghost-type Beak Blast clone. In this two-turn move based on his S-Class special, Rawa erupts into blue-green flames on his first turn; any contact move used against him on the first turn will reduce his attacker's Defense and Special Defense by one stage each. Then, Rawa unleashes a massive stream of spirit-fire from his mouth which concentrates into a tremendously powerful beam of destruction that damages a single enemy, with a 20% chance to burn them as well.
Mega Evolution: Rawa's S-Class form wreathes him in flame and gives him fiery wings on his shoulders, as seen above, so for this mod, his Mega Evolution exchanges his Ghost-type for Fire. It also has a custom ability called
Ethereal Flame, which grants the same burn-upon-contact effect as Flame Body, but also gives all attacking Ghost-type moves a 30% chance to inflict a burn if applicable. Extinction Beam (and any other Ghost-attacking type move that can inflict a burn) will have an additional 30% chance to burn the target.
Stats:
- Regular: 100 HP/135 Atk/90 Def/135 SpA/90 SpD/50 Spe = 600
- Mega: 100 HP/165 Atk/75 Def/165 SpA/75 SpD/120 Spe = 700
Reasoning:
My first choice for Rawa's type combination was actually Dragon/Fire with Steelworker, for reasons which should be obvious given his moveset in
GigaBash proper. That said, however, what I had in mind for him was considerably more defensive in nature than a type combo with only five resistances and three weaknesses, so my second choice was Dragon/Steel, going by his being referred to as a literal dragon, his design being based on southeast Asian naga sculptures, and a lot of his scales being golden and highly prized. Ultimately, though, I decided on Dragon/Ghost for this slate specifically because of his lore stating how he was killed and resurrected in 1960 along with his extinction theme and his fire breath having a ghostly quality, though for this slate I brought back the Dragon/Fire type combo for his Mega Evolution. His custom ability makes up for Ghost no longer gaining STAB when Mega-Evolving by giving him a reason to use Ghost attacks anyway, while Perish Body refers to his undead and almost mystical status, and Sturdy and the Steel-type moves he can learn is due to the golden armor as well as his being as durable as any other building-smashing bipedal saurian that
looks like Gojira, but due to international copyright laws, isn't.
Competitive Info:
Rawa is very slow, but very deadly. Combining pseudo-legendary-tier stats, six resistances, two immunities, and three different types with a same-type bonus (even if one isn't exactly STAB), the Dragon King is built to take it hard and hit back even harder. Given that his moveset in
GigaBash involves a combination of both melee and ranged combat options, I decided to stat him up as a mixed offensive tank with speed as his dump stat to fit his slow, lumbering figure belying immense power and deceptive versatility: if you want to go for a physical set, run him with Dragon Dance, Outrage, and two coverage moves such as Flare Blitz and Heavy Slam to ensure maximum damage output and utterly crush any unsuspecting Fairy-types besides (alternatively, use Smart Strike if you want to make sure he gets a hit in); if you'd rather use special attacks, Mega-Evolve him and use Flamethrower or Fire Blast, Draco Meteor, and an Ethereal Flame-buffed Extinction Beam (or Shadow Ball if you'd rather not waste a turn); and for more defensive sets, Perish Body synergizes with his solid bulk and excellent defensive typing while still allowing you to max out offensive EVs and mix and match whatever moves you think would work for him - you can even stack him with Stealth Rock, Glare, Roar, and Dragon Tail so he can seriously screw with enemy strategies while whittling away at his opponents' health at the same time. Care must be taken not to get too greedy with him, though: his low speed and lack of recovery options on his own can leave him struggling when faced with a counter, and while his coverage can deal with most of his type weaknesses, his only response to Dark is Brick Break which, while certainly useful, leaves much to be desired in terms of raw damage output. Mega Evolution meanwhile sacrifices his bulk for speed and offense, turning him into a glass cannon with tremendous destructive power but little counterplay against his newfound weaknesses to Ground and Rock. Even if The Extinction Dragon may not be as invincible as he seems, though, the right team support and workarounds for his faults can make him a force to be reckoned with.