[SET]
Choice Item (Roaring Moon) @ Choice Scarf / Choice Band
Ability: Sword of Ruin / Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Outrage
- U-turn
- Earthquake / Stone Edge
[SET COMMENTS]
Roaring Moon's excellent Attack, Speed, and STAB coverage along with U-turn make it the premiere Choice item attacker. With Choice Scarf, Roaring Moon outspeeds every unboosted Pokemon, even Regieleki, and dangerous threats such as Quiver Dance Volcarona and Choice Scarf Latios and Gholdengo; only Choice Scarf Meowscarada outspeeds it. Choice Band Roaring Moon, on the other hand, is a ferocious wallbreaker that still outspeeds the crowded base 110 Speed tier, forcing out common Pokemon like the Ogerpon formes, Sandy Shocks, and Zapdos. Knock Off threatens to KO most offensive Pokemon while punishing switch-ins like Corviknight and Great Tusk with item removal. Outrage is an excellent late-game sweeping tool once Steel- and Fairy-types like Kingambit and Scream Tail have been weakened or removed. U-turn allows Roaring Moon to pivot out of bad matchups like Corviknight, safely revenge kill weakened offensive threats without prediction, and force switches from the opponent, hopefully through entry hazards after removing their Heavy-Duty Boots. Earthquake hits Iron Hands and Kingambit, while Stone Edge hits Moltres and Zapdos, lets Choice Band sets do non-negligible damage to Fluffy Corviknight, and lets Choice Scarf variants OHKO Volcarona. Sword of Ruin provides the most damage and impacts all of Roaring Moon's moves, while Tough Claws retains its power against opposing Sword of Ruin users, namely Zamazenta, and does not reveal itself on the switch in.
Roaring Moon fits best on balance and offensive teams that can take advantage of its power, Speed, and pivoting abilities and may also appreciate its defensive profile to help slow down certain key threats like Deoxys-S, Hisuian Electrode, and Gholdengo. Due to its frequent pivoting and lack of recovery, Roaring Moon abhors entry hazards, making Corviknight, Iron Treads, or Great Tusk nearly required as a teammate. Special walls like Manaphy can switch into special attacks aimed at Roaring Moon and appreciate its resistances to Electric, Ghost, and Psychic taking some of the pressure off of them as well. On the flip side, Roaring Moon forces frequent switches and removes Heavy-Duty Boots with Knock Off, making hazard-stacking teammates like Sandy Shocks, Great Tusk, and Skarmory excellent options. Fluffy walls, especially Corviknight, can give Roaring Moon a hard time, so strong Fire-type teammates like Cinderace, Iron Moth, and Ceruledge are excellent options. Roaring Moon does not appreciate bulky Fighting-types like Great Tusk, Iron Hands, and Zamazenta, so it appreciates teammates that threaten them like Scream Tail and Deoxys-S. Roaring Moon pairs extremely well with other offensive pivots; it can team with special pivots like Iron Moth and Latios to bring each other in in favorable matchups or with physical pivots like Meowscarada and Cinderace to wear down their shared checks.
[SET CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/ut.523866
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/gambit_gamin.652656/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/gimmicky.540420/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/adorluigi.528364/
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Dragon Dance sets can be run on dual screens hyper offense structures; Fluffy is a good option to aid in setup, and Weakness Policy takes advantage of slow pivots like Corviknight aiming to pivot with U-turn. Acrobatics is an additional option with Weakness Policy or a Terrain Seed to nail Great Tusk and Zamazenta. Lash Out is an option to punish Intimidate users like Corviknight and Skarmory, while Fire Blast and Fire Fang can heavily threaten Fluffy users, but usually, Knock Off and U-turn threaten them enough with entry hazard support. Offensive sets can run Roost to provide longevity and offset chip damage, Taunt to shut down Corviknight, or Iron Head to nail Scream Tail.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Faster Threats**: Zamazenta, Deoxys-S, and Meowscarada outspeed non-Choice Scarf Roaring Moon variants and force it out.
**Bulky Dark-resistant Foes**: Great Tusk, Iron Hands, and Kingambit all can take Roaring Moon's STAB attacks and threaten it back with their STAB moves.
**Entry Hazards**: Non-Magic Guard Roaring Moon variants struggle heavily with chip damage, as they frequently switch and typically lack recovery.
**Burns**: Roaring Moon is crippled by burn and must be exceedingly cautions of switching into Fire-types that may carry Will-O-Wisp such as Heatran and Cinderace, as well as fearing Scald from Manaphy and Steam Eruption from Volcanion. It also fears the rare but punishing Flame Body.
**Paralysis**: Roaring Moon relies heavily on its Speed tier and can be punished by Thunder Wave from Gholdengo and Hisuian Electrode, which it would otherwise switch in freely on. Zapdos can also threaten it with paralysis from Thunder or Zap Cannon. Roaring Moon is also greatly punished by the rare Static.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/ut.523866/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/gambit_gamin.652656/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/gimmicky.540420/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/adorluigi.528364/
Choice Item (Roaring Moon) @ Choice Scarf / Choice Band
Ability: Sword of Ruin / Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Outrage
- U-turn
- Earthquake / Stone Edge
[SET COMMENTS]
Roaring Moon's excellent Attack, Speed, and STAB coverage along with U-turn make it the premiere Choice item attacker. With Choice Scarf, Roaring Moon outspeeds every unboosted Pokemon, even Regieleki, and dangerous threats such as Quiver Dance Volcarona and Choice Scarf Latios and Gholdengo; only Choice Scarf Meowscarada outspeeds it. Choice Band Roaring Moon, on the other hand, is a ferocious wallbreaker that still outspeeds the crowded base 110 Speed tier, forcing out common Pokemon like the Ogerpon formes, Sandy Shocks, and Zapdos. Knock Off threatens to KO most offensive Pokemon while punishing switch-ins like Corviknight and Great Tusk with item removal. Outrage is an excellent late-game sweeping tool once Steel- and Fairy-types like Kingambit and Scream Tail have been weakened or removed. U-turn allows Roaring Moon to pivot out of bad matchups like Corviknight, safely revenge kill weakened offensive threats without prediction, and force switches from the opponent, hopefully through entry hazards after removing their Heavy-Duty Boots. Earthquake hits Iron Hands and Kingambit, while Stone Edge hits Moltres and Zapdos, lets Choice Band sets do non-negligible damage to Fluffy Corviknight, and lets Choice Scarf variants OHKO Volcarona. Sword of Ruin provides the most damage and impacts all of Roaring Moon's moves, while Tough Claws retains its power against opposing Sword of Ruin users, namely Zamazenta, and does not reveal itself on the switch in.
Roaring Moon fits best on balance and offensive teams that can take advantage of its power, Speed, and pivoting abilities and may also appreciate its defensive profile to help slow down certain key threats like Deoxys-S, Hisuian Electrode, and Gholdengo. Due to its frequent pivoting and lack of recovery, Roaring Moon abhors entry hazards, making Corviknight, Iron Treads, or Great Tusk nearly required as a teammate. Special walls like Manaphy can switch into special attacks aimed at Roaring Moon and appreciate its resistances to Electric, Ghost, and Psychic taking some of the pressure off of them as well. On the flip side, Roaring Moon forces frequent switches and removes Heavy-Duty Boots with Knock Off, making hazard-stacking teammates like Sandy Shocks, Great Tusk, and Skarmory excellent options. Fluffy walls, especially Corviknight, can give Roaring Moon a hard time, so strong Fire-type teammates like Cinderace, Iron Moth, and Ceruledge are excellent options. Roaring Moon does not appreciate bulky Fighting-types like Great Tusk, Iron Hands, and Zamazenta, so it appreciates teammates that threaten them like Scream Tail and Deoxys-S. Roaring Moon pairs extremely well with other offensive pivots; it can team with special pivots like Iron Moth and Latios to bring each other in in favorable matchups or with physical pivots like Meowscarada and Cinderace to wear down their shared checks.
[SET CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/ut.523866
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/gambit_gamin.652656/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/gimmicky.540420/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/adorluigi.528364/
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Dragon Dance sets can be run on dual screens hyper offense structures; Fluffy is a good option to aid in setup, and Weakness Policy takes advantage of slow pivots like Corviknight aiming to pivot with U-turn. Acrobatics is an additional option with Weakness Policy or a Terrain Seed to nail Great Tusk and Zamazenta. Lash Out is an option to punish Intimidate users like Corviknight and Skarmory, while Fire Blast and Fire Fang can heavily threaten Fluffy users, but usually, Knock Off and U-turn threaten them enough with entry hazard support. Offensive sets can run Roost to provide longevity and offset chip damage, Taunt to shut down Corviknight, or Iron Head to nail Scream Tail.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Faster Threats**: Zamazenta, Deoxys-S, and Meowscarada outspeed non-Choice Scarf Roaring Moon variants and force it out.
**Bulky Dark-resistant Foes**: Great Tusk, Iron Hands, and Kingambit all can take Roaring Moon's STAB attacks and threaten it back with their STAB moves.
**Entry Hazards**: Non-Magic Guard Roaring Moon variants struggle heavily with chip damage, as they frequently switch and typically lack recovery.
**Burns**: Roaring Moon is crippled by burn and must be exceedingly cautions of switching into Fire-types that may carry Will-O-Wisp such as Heatran and Cinderace, as well as fearing Scald from Manaphy and Steam Eruption from Volcanion. It also fears the rare but punishing Flame Body.
**Paralysis**: Roaring Moon relies heavily on its Speed tier and can be punished by Thunder Wave from Gholdengo and Hisuian Electrode, which it would otherwise switch in freely on. Zapdos can also threaten it with paralysis from Thunder or Zap Cannon. Roaring Moon is also greatly punished by the rare Static.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/ut.523866/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/gambit_gamin.652656/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/gimmicky.540420/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/adorluigi.528364/
Last edited:
