[OVERVIEW]
Drednaw stands out as a premier hyper offense and offense option, able to threaten a sweep after a single Shell Smash. With access to Strong Jaw-boosted Ice Fang and Crunch, even typically sturdy physical walls such as Bronzong and Amoonguss can struggle to take its attacks. Drednaw also naturally outspeeds the majority of the tier after a Shell Smash boost, including even +1 Speed Cinccino as well as Choice Scarf Pokemon such as Munkidori and Flamigo. However, Drednaw can struggle with Grass- and Water-types such as Breloom and Paldean Tauros-W, as they can take one of its hits and KO it back with either Seed Bomb or Close Combat, respectively. Furthermore, priority users such as Toxicroak, Barraskewda, and Basculegion-M can revenge kill Drednaw once it has sustained solid chip damage. Drednaw can also struggle to OHKO common walls such as Bellibolt and Amoonguss, even if it carries the right coverage options for them, forcing it to rely on entry hazards. Drednaw also can struggle with four-moveslot syndrome, as Pokemon such as Toxicroak and Paldean Tauros-W can wall Drednaw if it doesn't have Tera Blast Flying or Earthquake, but if it drops Crunch, then Bronzong can be a big problem.
[SET]
name: Shell Smash
move 1: Shell Smash
move 2: Liquidation
move 3: Stone Edge / Rock Blast / Ice Fang
move 4: Crunch / Tera Blast / Earthquake
item: White Herb / Loaded Dice
ability: Strong Jaw / Shell Armor
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
tera type: Dark / Flying / Ground
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Details
====
Stone Edge can be used if Drednaw wants to free up its item slot, while Rock Blast in conjunction with Loaded Dice gives Drednaw a much more reliable STAB move, though at the cost of being revenge killed by priority moves from higher health ranges. Ice Fang hits Pokemon such as Amoonguss, Tsareena, and Flygon for large damage. Crunch allows Drednaw to hit checks such as Galarian Slowbro, Bronzong, and Uxie, while Tera Blast Flying allows Drednaw to snipe usual counters in Breloom, Toxicroak, and Paldean Tauros-W. Alternatively, Earthquake can hit Steel-types such as Copperajah and Klefki while targeting Bellibolt as well. White Herb makes Drednaw much more reliable against common priority users such as Baculegion-M. Shell Armor can be used on sets without Crunch or Ice Fang to give Drednaw security against critical hits while setting up. Tera Dark gives Crunch a chance to OHKO Amoonguss after Stealth Rock and also gives Drednaw an immunity to Klefki's Prankster Thunder Wave, while Tera Flying flips Drednaw's usual weakness to Ground, Grass, and Fighting. Tera Ground gives Drednaw an immunity to Electric-type attacks from Raikou and Kilowattrel and a Thunder Wave immunity against Klefki and boosts the power of Earthquake to OHKO Pokemon such as Bellibolt.
Drednaw fits best on hyper offense and offense teams, which heavily appreciate its ability to easily end games. Pokemon such as Toxicroak and Decidueye that can take advantage of bulky Water- and Grass-types are good teammates, as they can use these typical counters to Drednaw as a setup opportunity. Entry hazard setters like Klefki and Scream Tail can allow Drednaw to beat usual counters such as Vaporeon and Amoonguss. On the other hand, Cincinno can remove hazards on Drednaw's side to allow it to more easily set up, while Drednaw can help overwhelm the Steel-types that Cincinno typically struggles with. Other physical sweepers such as Flamigo, Flygon, and Overqwil pair well with Drednaw, as together they can overwhelm walls that they struggle with such as Bellibolt, Bronzong, and Copperajah, respectively. Special attackers like Toxtricity and Scream Tail also help Drednaw, as they can take advantage of its usual checks such as Grass- and Fighting-types and use them as a setup opportunity. Alolan Ninetales can not only set up Aurora Veil to help aid Drednaw in sweeping, but it can also revenge kill the common Fighting-types that Drednaw struggles against such as Paldean Tauros-W and Flamigo with Moonblast.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
====
Air Balloon can be used to allow Drednaw to set up against common Ground-types such as Rhyperior and Flygon. Focus Sash allows Drednaw to guarantee a setup opportunity even in the face of Pokemon such as Flamigo and Tsareena that might otherwise OHKO it. Tera Ghost gives an immunity to Choice-locked Fighting-type attackers such as Toxicroak and Paldean Tauros-W, allowing Drednaw to potentially set up again on them while also giving it a resistance to Flygon's First Impression.
Checks and Counters
====
**Grass-types**: Grass-types such as Breloom and Amoonguss do quite well against Drednaw, as they can easily take a Liquidation and KO it back with either Seed Bomb or Giga Drain, respectively. However, Tera Blast Flying and Ice Fang variants of Drednaw can easily OHKO them.
**Water-types**: Water-types such as Paldean Tauros-W and Vaporeon can stomach any of Drednaw's attacks and either KO it with Close Combat for the former or phaze it out with Roar for the latter. The former is OHKOed by Tera Blast Flying, though, and Vaporeon can get heavily chipped by a +2 Tera Dark Strong Jaw-boosted Crunch.
**Priority**: Priority users such as Flygon, Toxicroak, and especially Breloom can threaten a weakened Drednaw with good damage through their priority moves, though due to its good natural bulk, the first two need significant chip damage to OHKO Drednaw.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/heatranator.647728/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/powerofmemes.583607/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/hammer798.641404/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sunny004.197240/
Drednaw stands out as a premier hyper offense and offense option, able to threaten a sweep after a single Shell Smash. With access to Strong Jaw-boosted Ice Fang and Crunch, even typically sturdy physical walls such as Bronzong and Amoonguss can struggle to take its attacks. Drednaw also naturally outspeeds the majority of the tier after a Shell Smash boost, including even +1 Speed Cinccino as well as Choice Scarf Pokemon such as Munkidori and Flamigo. However, Drednaw can struggle with Grass- and Water-types such as Breloom and Paldean Tauros-W, as they can take one of its hits and KO it back with either Seed Bomb or Close Combat, respectively. Furthermore, priority users such as Toxicroak, Barraskewda, and Basculegion-M can revenge kill Drednaw once it has sustained solid chip damage. Drednaw can also struggle to OHKO common walls such as Bellibolt and Amoonguss, even if it carries the right coverage options for them, forcing it to rely on entry hazards. Drednaw also can struggle with four-moveslot syndrome, as Pokemon such as Toxicroak and Paldean Tauros-W can wall Drednaw if it doesn't have Tera Blast Flying or Earthquake, but if it drops Crunch, then Bronzong can be a big problem.
[SET]
name: Shell Smash
move 1: Shell Smash
move 2: Liquidation
move 3: Stone Edge / Rock Blast / Ice Fang
move 4: Crunch / Tera Blast / Earthquake
item: White Herb / Loaded Dice
ability: Strong Jaw / Shell Armor
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
tera type: Dark / Flying / Ground
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Details
====
Stone Edge can be used if Drednaw wants to free up its item slot, while Rock Blast in conjunction with Loaded Dice gives Drednaw a much more reliable STAB move, though at the cost of being revenge killed by priority moves from higher health ranges. Ice Fang hits Pokemon such as Amoonguss, Tsareena, and Flygon for large damage. Crunch allows Drednaw to hit checks such as Galarian Slowbro, Bronzong, and Uxie, while Tera Blast Flying allows Drednaw to snipe usual counters in Breloom, Toxicroak, and Paldean Tauros-W. Alternatively, Earthquake can hit Steel-types such as Copperajah and Klefki while targeting Bellibolt as well. White Herb makes Drednaw much more reliable against common priority users such as Baculegion-M. Shell Armor can be used on sets without Crunch or Ice Fang to give Drednaw security against critical hits while setting up. Tera Dark gives Crunch a chance to OHKO Amoonguss after Stealth Rock and also gives Drednaw an immunity to Klefki's Prankster Thunder Wave, while Tera Flying flips Drednaw's usual weakness to Ground, Grass, and Fighting. Tera Ground gives Drednaw an immunity to Electric-type attacks from Raikou and Kilowattrel and a Thunder Wave immunity against Klefki and boosts the power of Earthquake to OHKO Pokemon such as Bellibolt.
Drednaw fits best on hyper offense and offense teams, which heavily appreciate its ability to easily end games. Pokemon such as Toxicroak and Decidueye that can take advantage of bulky Water- and Grass-types are good teammates, as they can use these typical counters to Drednaw as a setup opportunity. Entry hazard setters like Klefki and Scream Tail can allow Drednaw to beat usual counters such as Vaporeon and Amoonguss. On the other hand, Cincinno can remove hazards on Drednaw's side to allow it to more easily set up, while Drednaw can help overwhelm the Steel-types that Cincinno typically struggles with. Other physical sweepers such as Flamigo, Flygon, and Overqwil pair well with Drednaw, as together they can overwhelm walls that they struggle with such as Bellibolt, Bronzong, and Copperajah, respectively. Special attackers like Toxtricity and Scream Tail also help Drednaw, as they can take advantage of its usual checks such as Grass- and Fighting-types and use them as a setup opportunity. Alolan Ninetales can not only set up Aurora Veil to help aid Drednaw in sweeping, but it can also revenge kill the common Fighting-types that Drednaw struggles against such as Paldean Tauros-W and Flamigo with Moonblast.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
====
Air Balloon can be used to allow Drednaw to set up against common Ground-types such as Rhyperior and Flygon. Focus Sash allows Drednaw to guarantee a setup opportunity even in the face of Pokemon such as Flamigo and Tsareena that might otherwise OHKO it. Tera Ghost gives an immunity to Choice-locked Fighting-type attackers such as Toxicroak and Paldean Tauros-W, allowing Drednaw to potentially set up again on them while also giving it a resistance to Flygon's First Impression.
Checks and Counters
====
**Grass-types**: Grass-types such as Breloom and Amoonguss do quite well against Drednaw, as they can easily take a Liquidation and KO it back with either Seed Bomb or Giga Drain, respectively. However, Tera Blast Flying and Ice Fang variants of Drednaw can easily OHKO them.
**Water-types**: Water-types such as Paldean Tauros-W and Vaporeon can stomach any of Drednaw's attacks and either KO it with Close Combat for the former or phaze it out with Roar for the latter. The former is OHKOed by Tera Blast Flying, though, and Vaporeon can get heavily chipped by a +2 Tera Dark Strong Jaw-boosted Crunch.
**Priority**: Priority users such as Flygon, Toxicroak, and especially Breloom can threaten a weakened Drednaw with good damage through their priority moves, though due to its good natural bulk, the first two need significant chip damage to OHKO Drednaw.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/heatranator.647728/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/powerofmemes.583607/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/hammer798.641404/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sunny004.197240/
Last edited:
