Hydreigon @ Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
IVs: 0 Atk
Tera Type: Steel
Timid Nature
- Dark Pulse
- Draco Meteor
- Flash Cannon
- Earth Power
[SET COMMENTS]
By donning a Choice Specs, Hydreigon leverages its blend of a high Special Attack, workable Speed, and unique defensive profile to find its niche as a one-of-a-kind wallbreaker capable of dropping metagame staples like Gholdengo, Great Tusk, and Landorus-T on the spot while remaining unbothered by most entry hazards. Draco Meteor is chosen over Dragon Pulse for its sheer damage output, as one hit spells doom for most neutral targets like non-Assault Vest Alomomola and Rillaboom, while even sturdier foes like Gliscor and Zamazenta are prone to falling with some prior chip damage; Hydreigon's ability to repetitively enter the field throughout a game makes up for its propensity to get forced out due to the ensuing Special Attack drop. Flash Cannon is Hydreigon's best move against the Fairy-types that it dreads, such as Clefable and Hatterene, and it sports the added benefit of achieving an OHKO against faster threats like Iron Valiant and Weavile; it also doubles as a way to pressure common Tera Fairy users in Garganacl, Gholdengo, and Kingambit. Earth Power rounds out the set by smiting the Steel-types that could take Hydreigon's other moves, namely Heatran, Iron Treads, and Kingambit. With a slew of Pokemon being able to absorb STAB moves from Hydreigon, U-turn may be used over Earth Power as a way to safely bring a partner onto the field, score relevant damage on a few of Hydreigon's answers, including Blissey and Ting-Lu, and alleviate the prediction-reliant nature of this set. A Timid nature is almost always preferred to outpace key foes in Gholdengo, Great Tusk, Landorus-T, and Kyurem, but a Modest nature may be used to secure an OHKO on Dragonite, Kingambit, Moltres, and Zapdos; it even gives Hydreigon good odds at an OHKO on Assault Vest Tornadus-T after a round of Stealth Rock. Tera Steel synergizes well with Levitate and allows Hydreigon to freely fire off its attacks against the likes of Dragonite, Enamorus, Gliscor, and Kyurem while turning the tables on Dragon-type attacks from the faster Dragapult and Walking Wake. It also makes up for Flash Cannon's middling power by enabling an OHKO on Clefable along with having a chance to 2HKO Tinkaton; furthermore, it allows Hydreigon to dispose of Kyurem without having to suffer the Special Attack drop from Draco Meteor. It should be noted, however, that shedding its typing impedes Hydreigon's capacity to take Sucker Punch from Kingambit and Thunderclap from Raging Bolt, which can be detrimental, as it often finds itself tasked with revenge killing them.
Hydreigon finds its place on offense and bulky offense teams with little to no entry hazard removal, which can make use of its specific traits and offensive prowess. Entry hazard setters like Landorus-T and Ting-Lu are crucial to Hydreigon's success, as they help make the most out of its ability to force switches by forcing damage on some of its usual answers in Assault Vest Primarina and opposing Ting-Lu. Tinkaton is another great partner capable of both laying Stealth Rock and taking on faster threats like Darkrai, Enamorus, and Weavile, along with punishing any stray U-turn aimed at Hydreigon through the combination of Air Balloon and Pickpocket. Hydreigon can in turn handle some of Tinkaton's main hurdles in Ceruledge, Gholdengo, and Heatran on top of threatening the tier's most common hazard removal options in Galarian Weezing, Great Tusk, and Iron Treads; it can even use the former's utility moves and the latter two's Ground-type attacks as an entry point to start outputting damage. For all its might, Hydreigon finds itself struggling to power through a few specially bulky foes in the form of Blissey, Assault Vest Primarina, Ting-Lu, Tinkaton, and Toxapex. For that reason, physical attackers like Great Tusk, Iron Valiant, and Ogerpon are potent partners, as they are able to weaken or even dispose of the aforementioned switch-ins with their strong STAB moves and access to Knock Off; Hydreigon returns the favor by wrecking walls like Gliscor, Moltres, and Zapdos for them. Ogerpon and Zamazenta stand out as good partners, as they both sport a great matchup into the more offensive teams that Hydreigon struggles against thanks to the former's access to Encore and the Speed-boosting Embody Aspect as well as the latter's elite speed tier and game-closing potential with Iron Defense. Their tendency to draw out the above walls for Hydreigon to dispatch serves as a bonus. This is further exacerbated in the case of Ogerpon, as it is able to use U-turn against its common switch-ins like Dragonite and Pecharunt to pivot Hydreigon in. Hydreigon's middle-of-the-road Speed, tendency to lock itself into resisted moves, and vulnerability to the tier's plethora of Ice, Fairy, and especially Fighting moves mandates the use of defensive pivots like Alomomola, Galarian Slowking, Landorus-T, and Pecharunt; Hydreigon particularly enjoys their tendency to invite targets like Gliscor and Heatran onto the field. Among these, the Ghost-type duo of Gholdengo and Pecharunt make for noteworthy teammates through their faculty to take Moonblast, Close Combat, and Body Press alike, as well as the potency of their Nasty Plot sets when it comes to overwhelming overlapping checks in Blissey and Ting-Lu. Moreover, the combination of their Ghost-typing and Hydreigon's Ground immunity can prove tricky to navigate for any Great Tusk or Iron Treads aiming for a Rapid Spin.
[SET CREDITS]
Written by: https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/disscratch.633027/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/stads.110504/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/kd458.633798/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/ascension-evermore.736762/
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
IVs: 0 Atk
Tera Type: Steel
Timid Nature
- Dark Pulse
- Draco Meteor
- Flash Cannon
- Earth Power
[SET COMMENTS]
By donning a Choice Specs, Hydreigon leverages its blend of a high Special Attack, workable Speed, and unique defensive profile to find its niche as a one-of-a-kind wallbreaker capable of dropping metagame staples like Gholdengo, Great Tusk, and Landorus-T on the spot while remaining unbothered by most entry hazards. Draco Meteor is chosen over Dragon Pulse for its sheer damage output, as one hit spells doom for most neutral targets like non-Assault Vest Alomomola and Rillaboom, while even sturdier foes like Gliscor and Zamazenta are prone to falling with some prior chip damage; Hydreigon's ability to repetitively enter the field throughout a game makes up for its propensity to get forced out due to the ensuing Special Attack drop. Flash Cannon is Hydreigon's best move against the Fairy-types that it dreads, such as Clefable and Hatterene, and it sports the added benefit of achieving an OHKO against faster threats like Iron Valiant and Weavile; it also doubles as a way to pressure common Tera Fairy users in Garganacl, Gholdengo, and Kingambit. Earth Power rounds out the set by smiting the Steel-types that could take Hydreigon's other moves, namely Heatran, Iron Treads, and Kingambit. With a slew of Pokemon being able to absorb STAB moves from Hydreigon, U-turn may be used over Earth Power as a way to safely bring a partner onto the field, score relevant damage on a few of Hydreigon's answers, including Blissey and Ting-Lu, and alleviate the prediction-reliant nature of this set. A Timid nature is almost always preferred to outpace key foes in Gholdengo, Great Tusk, Landorus-T, and Kyurem, but a Modest nature may be used to secure an OHKO on Dragonite, Kingambit, Moltres, and Zapdos; it even gives Hydreigon good odds at an OHKO on Assault Vest Tornadus-T after a round of Stealth Rock. Tera Steel synergizes well with Levitate and allows Hydreigon to freely fire off its attacks against the likes of Dragonite, Enamorus, Gliscor, and Kyurem while turning the tables on Dragon-type attacks from the faster Dragapult and Walking Wake. It also makes up for Flash Cannon's middling power by enabling an OHKO on Clefable along with having a chance to 2HKO Tinkaton; furthermore, it allows Hydreigon to dispose of Kyurem without having to suffer the Special Attack drop from Draco Meteor. It should be noted, however, that shedding its typing impedes Hydreigon's capacity to take Sucker Punch from Kingambit and Thunderclap from Raging Bolt, which can be detrimental, as it often finds itself tasked with revenge killing them.
Hydreigon finds its place on offense and bulky offense teams with little to no entry hazard removal, which can make use of its specific traits and offensive prowess. Entry hazard setters like Landorus-T and Ting-Lu are crucial to Hydreigon's success, as they help make the most out of its ability to force switches by forcing damage on some of its usual answers in Assault Vest Primarina and opposing Ting-Lu. Tinkaton is another great partner capable of both laying Stealth Rock and taking on faster threats like Darkrai, Enamorus, and Weavile, along with punishing any stray U-turn aimed at Hydreigon through the combination of Air Balloon and Pickpocket. Hydreigon can in turn handle some of Tinkaton's main hurdles in Ceruledge, Gholdengo, and Heatran on top of threatening the tier's most common hazard removal options in Galarian Weezing, Great Tusk, and Iron Treads; it can even use the former's utility moves and the latter two's Ground-type attacks as an entry point to start outputting damage. For all its might, Hydreigon finds itself struggling to power through a few specially bulky foes in the form of Blissey, Assault Vest Primarina, Ting-Lu, Tinkaton, and Toxapex. For that reason, physical attackers like Great Tusk, Iron Valiant, and Ogerpon are potent partners, as they are able to weaken or even dispose of the aforementioned switch-ins with their strong STAB moves and access to Knock Off; Hydreigon returns the favor by wrecking walls like Gliscor, Moltres, and Zapdos for them. Ogerpon and Zamazenta stand out as good partners, as they both sport a great matchup into the more offensive teams that Hydreigon struggles against thanks to the former's access to Encore and the Speed-boosting Embody Aspect as well as the latter's elite speed tier and game-closing potential with Iron Defense. Their tendency to draw out the above walls for Hydreigon to dispatch serves as a bonus. This is further exacerbated in the case of Ogerpon, as it is able to use U-turn against its common switch-ins like Dragonite and Pecharunt to pivot Hydreigon in. Hydreigon's middle-of-the-road Speed, tendency to lock itself into resisted moves, and vulnerability to the tier's plethora of Ice, Fairy, and especially Fighting moves mandates the use of defensive pivots like Alomomola, Galarian Slowking, Landorus-T, and Pecharunt; Hydreigon particularly enjoys their tendency to invite targets like Gliscor and Heatran onto the field. Among these, the Ghost-type duo of Gholdengo and Pecharunt make for noteworthy teammates through their faculty to take Moonblast, Close Combat, and Body Press alike, as well as the potency of their Nasty Plot sets when it comes to overwhelming overlapping checks in Blissey and Ting-Lu. Moreover, the combination of their Ghost-typing and Hydreigon's Ground immunity can prove tricky to navigate for any Great Tusk or Iron Treads aiming for a Rapid Spin.
[SET CREDITS]
Written by: https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/disscratch.633027/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/stads.110504/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/kd458.633798/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/ascension-evermore.736762/
Last edited:
