[SET]
name: Dragon Dance
move 1: Dragon Dance
move 2: Thousand Arrows
move 3: Substitute
move 4: Dragon Tail
item: Leftovers
ability: Power Construct
nature: Adamant
evs: 12 HP / 216 Atk / 48 SpD / 232 Spe
tera type: Ground
[SET COMMENTS]
* With its colossal bulk, Dragon Dance Zygarde is one of the tier's most powerful setup sweepers, due to being difficult to stop compared to other setup sweepers such as Swords Dance Primal Groudon and Mega Salamence. It is notoriously potent against defensive structures that use Pokemon such as Ferrothorn, defensive Ho-Oh, and Alomomola, since they lack the ability to punish Zygarde meaningfully. However, Dragon Dance Zygarde faces opportunity cost with its Coil variant, since it gives up the ability to blanket check most physical attackers in the tier, which may be a liability against hyper offense teams. Despite this, Dragon Dance Zygarde is a fantastic win condition for balance and bulky offense teams alike.
* Substitute allows Zygarde to setup on passive Pokemon, blocking moves such as Toxic, Leech Seed, and Salt Cure from Alomomola, Ferrothorn, and Garganacl respectively. It additionally allows Zygarde to activate Power Construct more easily, which is essential for handling revenge killers such as Choice Scarf Yveltal, that would otherwise pick off Zygarde with ease. Substitute helps against specially offense variants of Giratina-O too, since it cannot break Zygarde's Substitute after Power Construct via unboosted Hex, and is thus forced to waste power using Draco Meteor instead, eventually giving Zygarde a free setup opportunity once it is forced to switch.
* Dragon Tail punishes phazing attempts against Whirlwind Ho-Oh and opposing Dragon Tail Zygarde; it prevents Zygarde and Garganacl from setting up alongside it, unless they use Tera Fairy. It also forces unnecessary damage against defensive walls such as Dondozo and defensive Arceus-Dark, maintaining its offensive pressure by wearing them down repeatedly.
* The given EV spread allows Zygarde to survive an Ice Beam from uninvested Arceus formes, to outspeed Eternatus and Mewtwo at +1 after Power Construct, and maximise Leftovers recovery.
* Tera Ground powers up Thousand Arrows, further improving Zygarde's otherwise mediocre damage. It notably allows boosted Zygarde to OHKO Marshadow, offensive Primal Kyogre, and Dragon Dance Necrozma-DM, all after Stealth Rock. Additionally, Dragon Dance Zygarde can now 2HKO Giratina-O after Stealth Rock, as well as defensive Ho-Oh and Lunala. Tera Ground also provides defensive benefits to Zygarde too, allowing it to get easier setup opportunities by dropping its Dragon- and Fairy-type weaknesses, notably allowing Zygarde to setup against Mega Diancie and unboosted offensive Eternatus.
* Despite Zygarde typically being able to handle physical threats such as Arceus, Mega Salamence, and Marshadow, this variant is unable to check most of these threats barring defensive Primal Groudon, meaning it is ideal to keep Zygarde out of harms way. Keeping this set as a surprise to the opponent is a major factor in what makes Dragon Dance Zygarde powerful, because most people would expect Coil Zygarde on balance and bulky offense teams; setting up on predicted switches against Pokemon such as the aforementioned defensive Primal Groudon is key.
* Although it is ridiculously bulky after completion, the lack of recovery means Dragon Dance Zygarde typically only gets one chance to setup and break through an opposing team. It is ideal to wear down teams before going in with Zygarde, even with the intent of using Tera Ground. Additionally, scouting against opposing Zygarde may be ideal before committing to Tera Ground, since Tera Fairy Coil Zygarde counters Dragon Dance Zygarde.
* As said before, Zygarde requires the opposing team to be worn down before attempting to sweep, which can be done in multiple ways. Hazard support from defensive Primal Groudon and Ferrothorn can help wear down Arceus formes and opposing Zygarde in the late-game, where Dragon Dance Zygarde performs best. Additionally, defensive Primal Groudon can threaten opposing Tera Fairy Zygarde with Overheat, punishing it for trying to check Zygarde. On the other hand, Ferrothorn can check defensive Primal Kyogre and Arceus-Water for Dragon Dance Zygarde, two threats that may attempt to trade with it. In return, Dragon Dance Zygarde threatens the Ground- and Fire-types that threaten Primal Groudon and Ferrothorn respectively, such as opposing Primal Groudon and Ho-Oh.
* There are a lot of Pokemon that synergise with Zygarde offensively. Swords Dance Primal Groudon, Marshadow, and Dragon Dance Arceus-Ground are all able to overwhelm opposing Coil Zygarde in conjunction with Dragon Dance Zygarde. Zacian-C and Necrozma-DM are able to punish opposing Tera Fairy Zygarde after phazing from Ho-Oh, while Dragon Dance Zygarde can use their checks in opposing Tera Water Zygarde and defensive Primal Groudon as setup fodder.
* Special attackers such as Primal Kyogre, Eternatus, and Calm Mind Arceus formes appreciate Dragon Dance Zygarde breaking past specially defensive walls such as Ferrothorn, Chansey, and defensive Ho-Oh, while they handle checks to Zygarde such as opposing Tera Fairy Zygarde, Tera Fairy IronPress Garganacl, and Dondozo. Eternatus is notable because it absorbs Toxic Spikes, maintaining Zygarde's longevity for it to have a better chance at sweeping.
* Although it is best on balance and bulky offense teams due to its Tera reliance, Dragon Dance Zygarde can be used on hyper offense teams that want to utilise Extreme Killer Arceus over Arceus-Ground. Dedicated leads such as Deoxys-S and Glimmora can help wear down checks such as opposing Zygarde and Arceus formes, similarly to Ferrothorn and defensive Primal Groudon. Grimmsnarl can provide dual screens support, allowing Zygarde to setup on more threats such as offensive Primal Groudon, unboosted Mega Salamence, and Rayquaza.
[SET CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sami.604820/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user2.102/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user3.103/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user4.104/
name: Dragon Dance
move 1: Dragon Dance
move 2: Thousand Arrows
move 3: Substitute
move 4: Dragon Tail
item: Leftovers
ability: Power Construct
nature: Adamant
evs: 12 HP / 216 Atk / 48 SpD / 232 Spe
tera type: Ground
[SET COMMENTS]
* With its colossal bulk, Dragon Dance Zygarde is one of the tier's most powerful setup sweepers, due to being difficult to stop compared to other setup sweepers such as Swords Dance Primal Groudon and Mega Salamence. It is notoriously potent against defensive structures that use Pokemon such as Ferrothorn, defensive Ho-Oh, and Alomomola, since they lack the ability to punish Zygarde meaningfully. However, Dragon Dance Zygarde faces opportunity cost with its Coil variant, since it gives up the ability to blanket check most physical attackers in the tier, which may be a liability against hyper offense teams. Despite this, Dragon Dance Zygarde is a fantastic win condition for balance and bulky offense teams alike.
* Substitute allows Zygarde to setup on passive Pokemon, blocking moves such as Toxic, Leech Seed, and Salt Cure from Alomomola, Ferrothorn, and Garganacl respectively. It additionally allows Zygarde to activate Power Construct more easily, which is essential for handling revenge killers such as Choice Scarf Yveltal, that would otherwise pick off Zygarde with ease. Substitute helps against specially offense variants of Giratina-O too, since it cannot break Zygarde's Substitute after Power Construct via unboosted Hex, and is thus forced to waste power using Draco Meteor instead, eventually giving Zygarde a free setup opportunity once it is forced to switch.
* Dragon Tail punishes phazing attempts against Whirlwind Ho-Oh and opposing Dragon Tail Zygarde; it prevents Zygarde and Garganacl from setting up alongside it, unless they use Tera Fairy. It also forces unnecessary damage against defensive walls such as Dondozo and defensive Arceus-Dark, maintaining its offensive pressure by wearing them down repeatedly.
* The given EV spread allows Zygarde to survive an Ice Beam from uninvested Arceus formes, to outspeed Eternatus and Mewtwo at +1 after Power Construct, and maximise Leftovers recovery.
* Tera Ground powers up Thousand Arrows, further improving Zygarde's otherwise mediocre damage. It notably allows boosted Zygarde to OHKO Marshadow, offensive Primal Kyogre, and Dragon Dance Necrozma-DM, all after Stealth Rock. Additionally, Dragon Dance Zygarde can now 2HKO Giratina-O after Stealth Rock, as well as defensive Ho-Oh and Lunala. Tera Ground also provides defensive benefits to Zygarde too, allowing it to get easier setup opportunities by dropping its Dragon- and Fairy-type weaknesses, notably allowing Zygarde to setup against Mega Diancie and unboosted offensive Eternatus.
* Despite Zygarde typically being able to handle physical threats such as Arceus, Mega Salamence, and Marshadow, this variant is unable to check most of these threats barring defensive Primal Groudon, meaning it is ideal to keep Zygarde out of harms way. Keeping this set as a surprise to the opponent is a major factor in what makes Dragon Dance Zygarde powerful, because most people would expect Coil Zygarde on balance and bulky offense teams; setting up on predicted switches against Pokemon such as the aforementioned defensive Primal Groudon is key.
* Although it is ridiculously bulky after completion, the lack of recovery means Dragon Dance Zygarde typically only gets one chance to setup and break through an opposing team. It is ideal to wear down teams before going in with Zygarde, even with the intent of using Tera Ground. Additionally, scouting against opposing Zygarde may be ideal before committing to Tera Ground, since Tera Fairy Coil Zygarde counters Dragon Dance Zygarde.
* As said before, Zygarde requires the opposing team to be worn down before attempting to sweep, which can be done in multiple ways. Hazard support from defensive Primal Groudon and Ferrothorn can help wear down Arceus formes and opposing Zygarde in the late-game, where Dragon Dance Zygarde performs best. Additionally, defensive Primal Groudon can threaten opposing Tera Fairy Zygarde with Overheat, punishing it for trying to check Zygarde. On the other hand, Ferrothorn can check defensive Primal Kyogre and Arceus-Water for Dragon Dance Zygarde, two threats that may attempt to trade with it. In return, Dragon Dance Zygarde threatens the Ground- and Fire-types that threaten Primal Groudon and Ferrothorn respectively, such as opposing Primal Groudon and Ho-Oh.
* There are a lot of Pokemon that synergise with Zygarde offensively. Swords Dance Primal Groudon, Marshadow, and Dragon Dance Arceus-Ground are all able to overwhelm opposing Coil Zygarde in conjunction with Dragon Dance Zygarde. Zacian-C and Necrozma-DM are able to punish opposing Tera Fairy Zygarde after phazing from Ho-Oh, while Dragon Dance Zygarde can use their checks in opposing Tera Water Zygarde and defensive Primal Groudon as setup fodder.
* Special attackers such as Primal Kyogre, Eternatus, and Calm Mind Arceus formes appreciate Dragon Dance Zygarde breaking past specially defensive walls such as Ferrothorn, Chansey, and defensive Ho-Oh, while they handle checks to Zygarde such as opposing Tera Fairy Zygarde, Tera Fairy IronPress Garganacl, and Dondozo. Eternatus is notable because it absorbs Toxic Spikes, maintaining Zygarde's longevity for it to have a better chance at sweeping.
* Although it is best on balance and bulky offense teams due to its Tera reliance, Dragon Dance Zygarde can be used on hyper offense teams that want to utilise Extreme Killer Arceus over Arceus-Ground. Dedicated leads such as Deoxys-S and Glimmora can help wear down checks such as opposing Zygarde and Arceus formes, similarly to Ferrothorn and defensive Primal Groudon. Grimmsnarl can provide dual screens support, allowing Zygarde to setup on more threats such as offensive Primal Groudon, unboosted Mega Salamence, and Rayquaza.
[SET CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sami.604820/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user2.102/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user3.103/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user4.104/
Last edited: