[SET]
name: Bulky Dragon Dance
move 1: Dragon Dance
move 2: Outrage / Dragon Claw
move 3: Rest
move 4: Sleep Talk
item: Eviolite
ability: Overcoat
nature: Impish
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
A premier stallbreaker and cleaner of the tier, bulky Shelgon is a literal ball of stats that will run over unprepared teams, becoming progressively harder to remove as it accrues boosts. As the best user of Dragon Dance with a great offensive and defensive typing in Dragon, Shelgon is able to effectively run a single attack. Outrage synergizes particularly well with RestTalk, not locking Shelgon into it if it is called by Sleep Talk. Dragon Claw can be used over Outrage for reliability mid-game, but Shelgon is quite weak without accruing multiple boosts and usually wants to commit very hard to a sweep attempt. Rest keeps Shelgon healthy and allows it to set up without worrying about status from the likes of ordinary checks like Solrock and Frillish. The effectiveness of Dragon as a sole attacking type allows Shelgon to run Sleep Talk, making it very risky to try and take advantage of it while it is asleep, especially thanks to Sleep Talk Outrage not confusing it or locking it into it. Running maximum HP and Defense with an Impish nature allows Shelgon to set up on many physical attackers like Kingler, Leafeon, and Muk while also making it much harder to KO while asleep.
Shelgon is best used as a bulky setup sweeper on either balance or offense teams that attempts to sweep the opposing team in one go. For this reason, it's important that Shelgon's team is relatively self-sufficient without Shelgon before it can go for the win. Meganium is a great all-purpose wall that notably can force damage on Pokemon that can beat Shelgon one-on-one by dragging them in with Dragon Tail, racking up entry hazard damage. Lairon and Walrein are examples of Pokemon that need their HP as high as possible to try and beat Shelgon and may be forced to take damage by Meganium. Grumpig and Mr. Mime are also great supporters of Shelgon, regardless of team style. Grumpig is excellent at forcing in Wormadam-S for Shelgon to potentially exploit while either being competent speed control with a Choice Scarf or another wallbreaker on offense. Choice Scarf Mr. Mime notably anchors its team against faster offense while providing Healing Wish for Shelgon, giving it another attempt after a prior failed sweep. Dual screens Mr. Mime on hyper offense takes this strategy to its extreme, making Shelgon borderline invincible while it accrues boosts. Emolga and Persian are very splashable speed control options on almost any team, with the added bonus of being excellent Lairon lures with Hidden Power Fighting and special attacking sets. Physically defensive Mienfoo and Vibrava complement Shelgon's primary weakness well, offering reliable counters to Lairon and wearing down the opposing team with Stealth Rock, status, and U-turn. Strong wallbreakers are great for Shelgon, as the turns the foe spends defensively checking them can afford Shelgon opportunities against a weakened team. Muk, Walrein, Kingler, and Lopunny are great self-sufficient wallbreakers that open Shelgon up for a sweep. Shelgon itself is not ruined by status, but it cannot afford to switch into status-inflicting moves before it is ready to sweep due to BW's sleep mechanics. Pokemon that can absorb and clear status such as Meganium, Clefairy, defensive Leafeon, and defensive Grumpig fulfill this role well.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Shelgon can run 36 Speed EVs to outrun Persian after three uses of Dragon Dance, but Persian is not the most threatening Pokemon to Shelgon, so maximum bulk is preferred. It can make use of special attacks to lure physically defensive walls and make use of the incredible base power of Draco Meteor, but it's not particularly impressive coming from its poor Special Attack with no boosting item. Shelgon could use Iron Defense over Sleep Talk with a specially defensive spread to become a truly invincible sweeper, but this faces extreme passivity issues while asleep and will lead to Shelgon likely being KOed more easily or phazed. Shelgon could also make use of Stone Edge to reliably KO Walrein after Stealth Rock at +1, but this forces it to drop coverage for either Lairon or Wormadam-S, which are very important Pokemon to be able to hit.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Lairon**: Shelgon's counters tend to change based on what set it is running, but Lairon consistently can take even a boosted Brick Break from Shelgon and threaten it back with an incredibly strong Head Smash, phaze it with Roar, or use Toxic on it.
**Disruption and Status**: Shelgon is very susceptible to many forms of utility, as it is reliant on boosting multiple times and cannot reliably set up more than once. Solrock stands out as a very consistent counter to everything but Rest, surviving a boosted Outrage and hindering Shelgon with Will-O-Wisp. Getting forced out by a phazing move from Meganium and Hippopotas usually results in Shelgon being unable to sweep after the multiple rounds of Stealth Rock it is likely to have taken. Encore from Emolga and Clefairy forces Shelgon to continuously use Dragon Dance, leaving it at the mercy of whatever attacker switches in to handle it. Finally, Taunt and Icy Wind shuts down Shelgon's attempts to boost, allowing Pokemon like Persian, Emolga, and Granbull to prevent Shelgon from getting out of hand. Frillish is particularly good at this, as it can reasonably take and heal off even a boosted Outrage, shut Shelgon down with Will-O-Wisp, and block Sleep Talk with Taunt.
**Special Attackers**: While Shelgon's physical bulk is impressive, its Special Defense remains mediocre even after Eviolite. Strong special attackers that have appropriate attacks such as Mr. Mime, Walrein, Glaceon, and Exploud can push through Shelgon before it accrues enough boosts, although they must either be faster or have enough HP to survive a boosted Outrage.
**Ice-types**: Although they're unable to consistently contend with a boosted Shelgon, especially after Stealth Rock, a super effective hit on Shelgon can usually KO it even through Eviolite. Glaceon and Walrein both threaten OHKOs on Shelgon and often run sufficient bulk to survive an Outrage without Stealth Rock. Beartic under rain can outrun most Shelgon, even after two uses of Dragon Dance, and threaten a KO with Icicle Crash.
[SET CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/monai.482455/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/gangsta-spongebob.535530/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sleid.601970/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/solarbeam.470115/
name: Bulky Dragon Dance
move 1: Dragon Dance
move 2: Outrage / Dragon Claw
move 3: Rest
move 4: Sleep Talk
item: Eviolite
ability: Overcoat
nature: Impish
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
A premier stallbreaker and cleaner of the tier, bulky Shelgon is a literal ball of stats that will run over unprepared teams, becoming progressively harder to remove as it accrues boosts. As the best user of Dragon Dance with a great offensive and defensive typing in Dragon, Shelgon is able to effectively run a single attack. Outrage synergizes particularly well with RestTalk, not locking Shelgon into it if it is called by Sleep Talk. Dragon Claw can be used over Outrage for reliability mid-game, but Shelgon is quite weak without accruing multiple boosts and usually wants to commit very hard to a sweep attempt. Rest keeps Shelgon healthy and allows it to set up without worrying about status from the likes of ordinary checks like Solrock and Frillish. The effectiveness of Dragon as a sole attacking type allows Shelgon to run Sleep Talk, making it very risky to try and take advantage of it while it is asleep, especially thanks to Sleep Talk Outrage not confusing it or locking it into it. Running maximum HP and Defense with an Impish nature allows Shelgon to set up on many physical attackers like Kingler, Leafeon, and Muk while also making it much harder to KO while asleep.
Shelgon is best used as a bulky setup sweeper on either balance or offense teams that attempts to sweep the opposing team in one go. For this reason, it's important that Shelgon's team is relatively self-sufficient without Shelgon before it can go for the win. Meganium is a great all-purpose wall that notably can force damage on Pokemon that can beat Shelgon one-on-one by dragging them in with Dragon Tail, racking up entry hazard damage. Lairon and Walrein are examples of Pokemon that need their HP as high as possible to try and beat Shelgon and may be forced to take damage by Meganium. Grumpig and Mr. Mime are also great supporters of Shelgon, regardless of team style. Grumpig is excellent at forcing in Wormadam-S for Shelgon to potentially exploit while either being competent speed control with a Choice Scarf or another wallbreaker on offense. Choice Scarf Mr. Mime notably anchors its team against faster offense while providing Healing Wish for Shelgon, giving it another attempt after a prior failed sweep. Dual screens Mr. Mime on hyper offense takes this strategy to its extreme, making Shelgon borderline invincible while it accrues boosts. Emolga and Persian are very splashable speed control options on almost any team, with the added bonus of being excellent Lairon lures with Hidden Power Fighting and special attacking sets. Physically defensive Mienfoo and Vibrava complement Shelgon's primary weakness well, offering reliable counters to Lairon and wearing down the opposing team with Stealth Rock, status, and U-turn. Strong wallbreakers are great for Shelgon, as the turns the foe spends defensively checking them can afford Shelgon opportunities against a weakened team. Muk, Walrein, Kingler, and Lopunny are great self-sufficient wallbreakers that open Shelgon up for a sweep. Shelgon itself is not ruined by status, but it cannot afford to switch into status-inflicting moves before it is ready to sweep due to BW's sleep mechanics. Pokemon that can absorb and clear status such as Meganium, Clefairy, defensive Leafeon, and defensive Grumpig fulfill this role well.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Shelgon can run 36 Speed EVs to outrun Persian after three uses of Dragon Dance, but Persian is not the most threatening Pokemon to Shelgon, so maximum bulk is preferred. It can make use of special attacks to lure physically defensive walls and make use of the incredible base power of Draco Meteor, but it's not particularly impressive coming from its poor Special Attack with no boosting item. Shelgon could use Iron Defense over Sleep Talk with a specially defensive spread to become a truly invincible sweeper, but this faces extreme passivity issues while asleep and will lead to Shelgon likely being KOed more easily or phazed. Shelgon could also make use of Stone Edge to reliably KO Walrein after Stealth Rock at +1, but this forces it to drop coverage for either Lairon or Wormadam-S, which are very important Pokemon to be able to hit.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Lairon**: Shelgon's counters tend to change based on what set it is running, but Lairon consistently can take even a boosted Brick Break from Shelgon and threaten it back with an incredibly strong Head Smash, phaze it with Roar, or use Toxic on it.
**Disruption and Status**: Shelgon is very susceptible to many forms of utility, as it is reliant on boosting multiple times and cannot reliably set up more than once. Solrock stands out as a very consistent counter to everything but Rest, surviving a boosted Outrage and hindering Shelgon with Will-O-Wisp. Getting forced out by a phazing move from Meganium and Hippopotas usually results in Shelgon being unable to sweep after the multiple rounds of Stealth Rock it is likely to have taken. Encore from Emolga and Clefairy forces Shelgon to continuously use Dragon Dance, leaving it at the mercy of whatever attacker switches in to handle it. Finally, Taunt and Icy Wind shuts down Shelgon's attempts to boost, allowing Pokemon like Persian, Emolga, and Granbull to prevent Shelgon from getting out of hand. Frillish is particularly good at this, as it can reasonably take and heal off even a boosted Outrage, shut Shelgon down with Will-O-Wisp, and block Sleep Talk with Taunt.
**Special Attackers**: While Shelgon's physical bulk is impressive, its Special Defense remains mediocre even after Eviolite. Strong special attackers that have appropriate attacks such as Mr. Mime, Walrein, Glaceon, and Exploud can push through Shelgon before it accrues enough boosts, although they must either be faster or have enough HP to survive a boosted Outrage.
**Ice-types**: Although they're unable to consistently contend with a boosted Shelgon, especially after Stealth Rock, a super effective hit on Shelgon can usually KO it even through Eviolite. Glaceon and Walrein both threaten OHKOs on Shelgon and often run sufficient bulk to survive an Outrage without Stealth Rock. Beartic under rain can outrun most Shelgon, even after two uses of Dragon Dance, and threaten a KO with Icicle Crash.
[SET CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/monai.482455/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/gangsta-spongebob.535530/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sleid.601970/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/solarbeam.470115/
Last edited by a moderator:
