original by stan soojung
QCs: Mr Aldo / Teachable / phantom
GPs: A Cake Wearing A Hat / The Dutch Plumberjack
[OVERVIEW]
Bearing a good offensive and defensive typing, above average Speed, access to Swords Dance, and access to useful coverage moves such as Aqua Tail and Earthquake, Drapion carves itself a niche as a decent sweeper and wallbreaker in RU. Its decent Speed allows it to outspeed common Pokemon like Moltres and Meloetta to hit them super effectively with either its STAB attacks or its coverage moves. Drapion is an effective Z-Move user, capable of utilizing Hydro Vortex to break past bulky Ground-types that would otherwise check it such as Mega Steelix and Rhyperior. Furthermore, Drapion is one of the few Pursuit trappers in the tier; it can trap dangerous Ghost- and Psychic-types such as Mismagius, Hoopa, Meloetta, and Bronzong. However, while Drapion does have a few advantages over other Pursuit trappers such as Sneasel or Honchkrow, namely a better defensive typing and much better bulk, which let it more easily switch into the Pokemon it is meant to trap, the higher offensive threat the other Pursuit trappers pose is sometimes appreciated more. Furthermore, despite having decent Speed, Drapion still fails to outpace offensive Pokemon that can threaten it such as Flygon and Shaymin. Due to its low Special Defense, Drapion also is highly susceptible to strong special attackers that outpace it like Salazzle and Swellow. It also struggles a great deal to break through many defensive Pokemon such as Mandibuzz, Pyukumuku, and Milotic. Drapion inherently faces competition from other offensive Dark-types in the tier such as Pangoro and Honchkrow, all of which have more offensive utility and can fit onto teams more easily. Due to its somewhat lackluster Attack stat in comparison to other Choice Band and Swords Dance users, Drapion finds itself being outclassed by a sizeable number of Pokemon in the tier. Drapion relies heavily on Choice Band, Swords Dance, and Z-Moves to boost its damage output, since its base 90 Attack otherwise causes it to be extremely underwhelming as a sweeper and wallbreaker.
[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Knock Off
move 2: Poison Jab
move 3: Aqua Tail / Earthquake
move 4: Pursuit
item: Choice Band
ability: Sniper
nature: Jolly (+Spe, -SpA)
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Knock Off is a spammable and strong STAB move that removes items from foes. Poison Jab is another reliable STAB move that threatens many common switch-ins to Knock Off such as Chesnaught, Florges, and Virizion. Furthermore, it has a 30% chance to poison enemies, which can help in a pinch. Earthquake allows Drapion to hit most Poison-, Ground-, and Rock-types such as Toxicroak, Dragalge, Nidoqueen, and Rhyperior super effectively. Aqua Tail can be used over Earthquake due to its ability to hit Gligar, Moltres, and Aerodactyl on the switch while still damaging most targets that Earthquake hits; however, it misses out on nailing Toxicroak, and none of the aforementioned targets like switching into Knock Off anyway. Aqua Tail also has slightly lower damage output and accuracy than Earthquake does. Pursuit provides utility in trapping many Pokemon, such as Roserade and Bronzong.
Set Details
========
252 Speed EVs with a Jolly nature allow Drapion to outspeed and dispatch of Pokemon such as Roserade and Meloetta. 252 Attack EVs and a Choice Band allow it to maximize its offensive presence and hit as hard as possible. The choice between Drapion's abilities isn't particularly important; Sniper powers up critical hits, which, while not the most reliable way to net KOs, can come in handy in a pinch. Alternatively, Battle Armor could be used over Sniper if you prefer its reliability.
Usage Tips
========
Use Knock Off liberally early-game, as many Pokemon dislike having their item removed. However, try to predict if the opponent tries to send in a Pokemon with an irremovable item or a resistance to Dark, such as Mega Steelix or Florges, and hit them with the appropriate coverage move. Due to its immunity to Toxic, Drapion can switch into predicted uses of Toxic to Pursuit trap and eliminate foes like Bronzong. Drapion's excellent defensive typing allows it to also comfortably switch into Pokemon like Decidueye, Roserade, and variants of Shaymin lacking Earth Power. Despite their relative rarity, burns and paralysis severely limit Drapion's effectiveness as a wallbreaker. Drapion's lacking Special Defense leaves it vulnerable to strong special attackers like Salazzle and Swellow that can outpace Drapion and dent it severely with their STAB attacks, so it's advised to not stay in against these types of foes. However, most special attackers dislike switching into Drapion's attacks.
Team Options
========
Pokemon that appreciate Drapion's ability to Pursuit trap foes are great partners, such as Gardevoir and Linoone. Drapion can form a wallbreaking core with other Pokemon like Mega Abomasnow, Pangoro, and Roserade, as they can break through walls that Drapion is unable to, such as Pyukumuku, Umbreon, and Milotic. Grass-types such as Shaymin and Virizion are good partners for Drapion due to their ability to switch into and hit most Ground-types super effectively. Fighting-types like Medicham and Bewear are excellent teammates, since Drapion can beat Fairy-types with Poison Jab and Pursuit trap Ghost-types. In return, they can beat bulkier walls that Drapion is unable to break, such as Umbreon. Cleaners such as Swellow and Speed Boost Yanmega can take advantage of Drapion's wallbreaking abilities to sweep the opposing team.
[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Poison Jab
move 4: Aqua Tail
item: Waterium Z
ability: Sniper
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Swords Dance boosts Drapion's mediocre Attack to respectable levels, allowing it to wallbreak and sweep efficiently. Knock Off is a spammable and strong STAB move that provides utility even when Drapion hasn't set up by removing items from foes. Poison Jab is a reliable Poison-type STAB attack that threatens many common switch-ins to Knock Off such as Chesnaught, Florges, and Virizion. Furthermore, it has a sizeable 30% chance to poison enemies, which can help in a pinch. Aqua Tail is a crucial coverage move, letting Drapion hit numerous targets such as Mega Steelix, Gligar, and Rhyperior when powered up by Waterium Z, all of which would otherwise counter Drapion. Earthquake can be used over Aqua Tail, since it can hit some Ground-types such as Nidoqueen and Mega Steelix for more damage, as well as hit Toxicroak super effectively, which would otherwise resist all of Drapion's moves.
Set Details
========
252 EVs in Attack and Speed maximize Drapion's offensive presence. A Jolly nature is needed to outspeed Pokemon such as Rotom-H, Roserade, and Gardevoir. Waterium Z in conjunction with Aqua Tail lets Drapion use a 175-Base Power Hydro Vortex, which hits bulky Ground-types like Mega-Steelix. However if there is already a Z-Move user in your team, a Shuca Berry can be used to weaken one hit from the likes of Gligar and Flygon so Drapion can set up on or attack them. This will make Drapion easily countered by bulky Ground-types, though. Sniper powers up critical hits, which, while not the most reliable way to net KOs, can come in handy sometimes. Alternatively, Battle Armor can also be used, preventing Drapion from struck by a critical hit, which can be useful for setting up Swords Dance. Though it is rare, Battle Armor Drapion can use CritDra as setup fodder.
Usage Tips
========
Drapion can be sent early-game to chip at entry hazard setters with Knock Off and Aqua Tail. Once its checks have been eliminated, it can set up in front of a passive wall such as Cresselia and proceed to clean the opposing team. Due to its immunity to Toxic, it can set up on Pokemon that rely on Toxic to damage foes like Bronzong. Drapion's excellent defensive typing allows it to comfortably set up on Pokemon like Decidueye, Roserade and Shaymin not carrying Earth Power. Despite their relative rarity, burns and paralysis severely limit its effectiveness as a wallbreaker and sweeper, respectively. Drapions lacking Special Defense leaves it vulnerable to strong special attackers like Salazzle or Swellow can outpace Drapion and dent it severely with their STAB attacks, so it's advised to not stay in against these types of foes.
Team Options
========
Drapion appreciates wallbreakers like Mega Abomasnow, Pangoro, and Roserade as partners, as they can break through Pokemon such as Pyukumuku, Umbreon, and Milotic that trouble it. Offensive Water-types such as Feraligatr and Bruxish can be utilized well on a team including Drapion, since it can beat common Grass-types like Roserade and Rotom-C for them. In return, these Water-types can beat Ground-types and pressure Poison-resistant Pokemon for Drapion. Pokemon that can beat Steel-types are also good partners for Drapion; Ground-types such as Flygon and Rhyperior, Fighting-types such as Bewear, and Fire-types like Rotom-H are great examples. Rock-types make good partners for Drapion due to their ability to deal with Salazzle and Swellow. Aerodactyl in particular can Pursuit trap both of them and provide additional utility with Taunt.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
A Choice Scarf set is feasible and can operate somewhat well, allowing Drapion to outrun the vast majority of the tier, meaning it can revenge kill frailer mons such as Sneasel, Salazzle, Virizion, Shaymin, and Choice Scarf Gardevoir. An Adamant nature is recommended when using a Choice Scarf, enabling Drapion to hit as hard as possible while still outspeeding the majority of the tier, but a Jolly nature allows it to outspeed Choice Scarf users Roserade, Moltres, and Flygon. Even with an Adamant nature, however, Drapion's low Attack stat doesn't allow it to revenge kill many healthy Pokemon. Drapion is a decent user of Toxic Spikes, as it is able to set them up in front of a Pokemon it forces out such as Bronzong or Hoopa. However, it has an extremely hard time fitting the move on any set, and Toxic Spikes isn't very good due to the high number of relevant Pokemon immune to it such as Cresselia, Bronzong, and Mandibuzz and the prominence of Poison-types that can remove it such as Roserade and Nidoqueen. Ice Fang can be used to lure in Flygon and KO it, which is the only relevant Ground-type other than Zygarde-10% that isn't weak to Aqua Tail, but it is hard to find space for the move, and Ice Fang is not as effective as Aqua Tail and Earthquake due to not being able to hit targets such as Mega Steelix as hard.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Faster Attackers**: Faster and hard-hitting Pokemon can revenge kill Drapion very reliably, for example; Yanmega after a Speed boost, Swellow, Salazzle, Flygon, and Shaymin can all outspeed and OHKO Drapion.
**Status Conditions**: Burns can cripple Drapion's ability to function as a hard hitter. Since Drapion values its Speed to sweep effectively, paralysis can also be extremely detrimental.
**Ground-types**: Even though Hydro Vortex gives Drapion a better matchup against Ground-types, some can still take an unboosted Hydro Vortex, such as Mega Steelix and Rhyperior, and fire back with super effective Ground-type STAB attacks.
**Unaware Pokemon**: Quagsire and Pyukumuku can completely shut down Swords Dance Drapion; the former 2HKOes it with Earthquake or burns it with Scald and the latter cripples it with Soak + Toxic.
**Physically Bulky Pokemon**: Pokemon with sustainable bulk such as Milotic and Umbreon can check Drapion, and offensive Pokemon with high natural physical bulk like Cloyster and Tyrantrum can take Drapion's hits and hit back harder or set up.
**Poison-types**: Poison-types resist Poison Jab, so Drapion can struggle against the likes of Toxicroak and Dragalge if it isn't carrying Earthquake. Salazzle and Chlorophyll-boosted Venusaur can over overwhelm Drapion with their STAB attacks or coverage moves.
QCs: Mr Aldo / Teachable / phantom
GPs: A Cake Wearing A Hat / The Dutch Plumberjack
[OVERVIEW]
Bearing a good offensive and defensive typing, above average Speed, access to Swords Dance, and access to useful coverage moves such as Aqua Tail and Earthquake, Drapion carves itself a niche as a decent sweeper and wallbreaker in RU. Its decent Speed allows it to outspeed common Pokemon like Moltres and Meloetta to hit them super effectively with either its STAB attacks or its coverage moves. Drapion is an effective Z-Move user, capable of utilizing Hydro Vortex to break past bulky Ground-types that would otherwise check it such as Mega Steelix and Rhyperior. Furthermore, Drapion is one of the few Pursuit trappers in the tier; it can trap dangerous Ghost- and Psychic-types such as Mismagius, Hoopa, Meloetta, and Bronzong. However, while Drapion does have a few advantages over other Pursuit trappers such as Sneasel or Honchkrow, namely a better defensive typing and much better bulk, which let it more easily switch into the Pokemon it is meant to trap, the higher offensive threat the other Pursuit trappers pose is sometimes appreciated more. Furthermore, despite having decent Speed, Drapion still fails to outpace offensive Pokemon that can threaten it such as Flygon and Shaymin. Due to its low Special Defense, Drapion also is highly susceptible to strong special attackers that outpace it like Salazzle and Swellow. It also struggles a great deal to break through many defensive Pokemon such as Mandibuzz, Pyukumuku, and Milotic. Drapion inherently faces competition from other offensive Dark-types in the tier such as Pangoro and Honchkrow, all of which have more offensive utility and can fit onto teams more easily. Due to its somewhat lackluster Attack stat in comparison to other Choice Band and Swords Dance users, Drapion finds itself being outclassed by a sizeable number of Pokemon in the tier. Drapion relies heavily on Choice Band, Swords Dance, and Z-Moves to boost its damage output, since its base 90 Attack otherwise causes it to be extremely underwhelming as a sweeper and wallbreaker.
[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Knock Off
move 2: Poison Jab
move 3: Aqua Tail / Earthquake
move 4: Pursuit
item: Choice Band
ability: Sniper
nature: Jolly (+Spe, -SpA)
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Knock Off is a spammable and strong STAB move that removes items from foes. Poison Jab is another reliable STAB move that threatens many common switch-ins to Knock Off such as Chesnaught, Florges, and Virizion. Furthermore, it has a 30% chance to poison enemies, which can help in a pinch. Earthquake allows Drapion to hit most Poison-, Ground-, and Rock-types such as Toxicroak, Dragalge, Nidoqueen, and Rhyperior super effectively. Aqua Tail can be used over Earthquake due to its ability to hit Gligar, Moltres, and Aerodactyl on the switch while still damaging most targets that Earthquake hits; however, it misses out on nailing Toxicroak, and none of the aforementioned targets like switching into Knock Off anyway. Aqua Tail also has slightly lower damage output and accuracy than Earthquake does. Pursuit provides utility in trapping many Pokemon, such as Roserade and Bronzong.
Set Details
========
252 Speed EVs with a Jolly nature allow Drapion to outspeed and dispatch of Pokemon such as Roserade and Meloetta. 252 Attack EVs and a Choice Band allow it to maximize its offensive presence and hit as hard as possible. The choice between Drapion's abilities isn't particularly important; Sniper powers up critical hits, which, while not the most reliable way to net KOs, can come in handy in a pinch. Alternatively, Battle Armor could be used over Sniper if you prefer its reliability.
Usage Tips
========
Use Knock Off liberally early-game, as many Pokemon dislike having their item removed. However, try to predict if the opponent tries to send in a Pokemon with an irremovable item or a resistance to Dark, such as Mega Steelix or Florges, and hit them with the appropriate coverage move. Due to its immunity to Toxic, Drapion can switch into predicted uses of Toxic to Pursuit trap and eliminate foes like Bronzong. Drapion's excellent defensive typing allows it to also comfortably switch into Pokemon like Decidueye, Roserade, and variants of Shaymin lacking Earth Power. Despite their relative rarity, burns and paralysis severely limit Drapion's effectiveness as a wallbreaker. Drapion's lacking Special Defense leaves it vulnerable to strong special attackers like Salazzle and Swellow that can outpace Drapion and dent it severely with their STAB attacks, so it's advised to not stay in against these types of foes. However, most special attackers dislike switching into Drapion's attacks.
Team Options
========
Pokemon that appreciate Drapion's ability to Pursuit trap foes are great partners, such as Gardevoir and Linoone. Drapion can form a wallbreaking core with other Pokemon like Mega Abomasnow, Pangoro, and Roserade, as they can break through walls that Drapion is unable to, such as Pyukumuku, Umbreon, and Milotic. Grass-types such as Shaymin and Virizion are good partners for Drapion due to their ability to switch into and hit most Ground-types super effectively. Fighting-types like Medicham and Bewear are excellent teammates, since Drapion can beat Fairy-types with Poison Jab and Pursuit trap Ghost-types. In return, they can beat bulkier walls that Drapion is unable to break, such as Umbreon. Cleaners such as Swellow and Speed Boost Yanmega can take advantage of Drapion's wallbreaking abilities to sweep the opposing team.
[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Poison Jab
move 4: Aqua Tail
item: Waterium Z
ability: Sniper
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Swords Dance boosts Drapion's mediocre Attack to respectable levels, allowing it to wallbreak and sweep efficiently. Knock Off is a spammable and strong STAB move that provides utility even when Drapion hasn't set up by removing items from foes. Poison Jab is a reliable Poison-type STAB attack that threatens many common switch-ins to Knock Off such as Chesnaught, Florges, and Virizion. Furthermore, it has a sizeable 30% chance to poison enemies, which can help in a pinch. Aqua Tail is a crucial coverage move, letting Drapion hit numerous targets such as Mega Steelix, Gligar, and Rhyperior when powered up by Waterium Z, all of which would otherwise counter Drapion. Earthquake can be used over Aqua Tail, since it can hit some Ground-types such as Nidoqueen and Mega Steelix for more damage, as well as hit Toxicroak super effectively, which would otherwise resist all of Drapion's moves.
Set Details
========
252 EVs in Attack and Speed maximize Drapion's offensive presence. A Jolly nature is needed to outspeed Pokemon such as Rotom-H, Roserade, and Gardevoir. Waterium Z in conjunction with Aqua Tail lets Drapion use a 175-Base Power Hydro Vortex, which hits bulky Ground-types like Mega-Steelix. However if there is already a Z-Move user in your team, a Shuca Berry can be used to weaken one hit from the likes of Gligar and Flygon so Drapion can set up on or attack them. This will make Drapion easily countered by bulky Ground-types, though. Sniper powers up critical hits, which, while not the most reliable way to net KOs, can come in handy sometimes. Alternatively, Battle Armor can also be used, preventing Drapion from struck by a critical hit, which can be useful for setting up Swords Dance. Though it is rare, Battle Armor Drapion can use CritDra as setup fodder.
Usage Tips
========
Drapion can be sent early-game to chip at entry hazard setters with Knock Off and Aqua Tail. Once its checks have been eliminated, it can set up in front of a passive wall such as Cresselia and proceed to clean the opposing team. Due to its immunity to Toxic, it can set up on Pokemon that rely on Toxic to damage foes like Bronzong. Drapion's excellent defensive typing allows it to comfortably set up on Pokemon like Decidueye, Roserade and Shaymin not carrying Earth Power. Despite their relative rarity, burns and paralysis severely limit its effectiveness as a wallbreaker and sweeper, respectively. Drapions lacking Special Defense leaves it vulnerable to strong special attackers like Salazzle or Swellow can outpace Drapion and dent it severely with their STAB attacks, so it's advised to not stay in against these types of foes.
Team Options
========
Drapion appreciates wallbreakers like Mega Abomasnow, Pangoro, and Roserade as partners, as they can break through Pokemon such as Pyukumuku, Umbreon, and Milotic that trouble it. Offensive Water-types such as Feraligatr and Bruxish can be utilized well on a team including Drapion, since it can beat common Grass-types like Roserade and Rotom-C for them. In return, these Water-types can beat Ground-types and pressure Poison-resistant Pokemon for Drapion. Pokemon that can beat Steel-types are also good partners for Drapion; Ground-types such as Flygon and Rhyperior, Fighting-types such as Bewear, and Fire-types like Rotom-H are great examples. Rock-types make good partners for Drapion due to their ability to deal with Salazzle and Swellow. Aerodactyl in particular can Pursuit trap both of them and provide additional utility with Taunt.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
A Choice Scarf set is feasible and can operate somewhat well, allowing Drapion to outrun the vast majority of the tier, meaning it can revenge kill frailer mons such as Sneasel, Salazzle, Virizion, Shaymin, and Choice Scarf Gardevoir. An Adamant nature is recommended when using a Choice Scarf, enabling Drapion to hit as hard as possible while still outspeeding the majority of the tier, but a Jolly nature allows it to outspeed Choice Scarf users Roserade, Moltres, and Flygon. Even with an Adamant nature, however, Drapion's low Attack stat doesn't allow it to revenge kill many healthy Pokemon. Drapion is a decent user of Toxic Spikes, as it is able to set them up in front of a Pokemon it forces out such as Bronzong or Hoopa. However, it has an extremely hard time fitting the move on any set, and Toxic Spikes isn't very good due to the high number of relevant Pokemon immune to it such as Cresselia, Bronzong, and Mandibuzz and the prominence of Poison-types that can remove it such as Roserade and Nidoqueen. Ice Fang can be used to lure in Flygon and KO it, which is the only relevant Ground-type other than Zygarde-10% that isn't weak to Aqua Tail, but it is hard to find space for the move, and Ice Fang is not as effective as Aqua Tail and Earthquake due to not being able to hit targets such as Mega Steelix as hard.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Faster Attackers**: Faster and hard-hitting Pokemon can revenge kill Drapion very reliably, for example; Yanmega after a Speed boost, Swellow, Salazzle, Flygon, and Shaymin can all outspeed and OHKO Drapion.
**Status Conditions**: Burns can cripple Drapion's ability to function as a hard hitter. Since Drapion values its Speed to sweep effectively, paralysis can also be extremely detrimental.
**Ground-types**: Even though Hydro Vortex gives Drapion a better matchup against Ground-types, some can still take an unboosted Hydro Vortex, such as Mega Steelix and Rhyperior, and fire back with super effective Ground-type STAB attacks.
**Unaware Pokemon**: Quagsire and Pyukumuku can completely shut down Swords Dance Drapion; the former 2HKOes it with Earthquake or burns it with Scald and the latter cripples it with Soak + Toxic.
**Physically Bulky Pokemon**: Pokemon with sustainable bulk such as Milotic and Umbreon can check Drapion, and offensive Pokemon with high natural physical bulk like Cloyster and Tyrantrum can take Drapion's hits and hit back harder or set up.
**Poison-types**: Poison-types resist Poison Jab, so Drapion can struggle against the likes of Toxicroak and Dragalge if it isn't carrying Earthquake. Salazzle and Chlorophyll-boosted Venusaur can over overwhelm Drapion with their STAB attacks or coverage moves.
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