[OVERVIEW]
Goodra's solid Special Attack and high-Base Power moves with wide coverage give it a niche as a dangerous wallbreaker, capable of dismantling common defensive cores in the metagame. Its decent defensive typing, naturally great special bulk, and Sap Sipper give it good defensive utility and afford it ample opportunities to switch into special attackers such as Raikou, Celebi, and Rotom-C, or defensive Pokemon such as Vileplume. However, because Goodra relies on its array of coverage moves and defensive profile to be threatening, it usually runs Expert Belt over a stronger item such as Life Orb or Choice Specs; as a result, it is not powerful enough to bust through common specially bulky Pokemon such as Umbreon, Snorlax, and Reuniclus, especially since Expert Belt rarely boosts its STAB Draco Meteor. Goodra also often relies on inaccurate moves like Thunder and Hydro Pump to properly wallbreak, making it inconsistent. Finally, while Goodra's Speed tier is good enough to outpace threats such as Nidoqueen and Metagross, it is outpaced by many powerful physical attackers that can prey on its subpar Defense, such as Heracross, Lucario, Mimikyu, and Flygon.
[SET]
name: Wallbreaker
move 1: Draco Meteor
move 2: Fire Blast
move 3: Thunderbolt / Thunder
move 4: Hydro Pump
item: Expert Belt
ability: Sap Sipper
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Fire Blast hits Celebi and bulky Steel-types such as Registeel, Bronzong, and Steelix hard. Thunderbolt hits Milotic and Togekiss, which would otherwise comfortably wall Goodra, along with other Water- and Flying-types such as Starmie and Crobat. Thunder hits Togekiss notably harder and guarantees the 2HKO against Milotic, which Thunderbolt cannot achieve, at the cost of shaky accuracy. Hydro Pump OHKOes Rhyperior and Chandelure and deals excellent damage to Nidoqueen, Diancie, and specially defensive Incineroar. Sap Sipper allows Goodra to absorb Sleep Powder and Grass-type attacks from Roserade, Vileplume, and Rotom-C, giving it more opportunities to switch in safely. Expert Belt increases Goodra's power against the myriad of Pokemon that it can hit super effectively while not harming its versatility or longevity, like Choice Specs or Life Orb would. A Timid nature is necessary to outspeed Nidoqueen and Toxtricity and Speed tie with Chandelure.
Physical attackers that can break down Goodra's specially defensive answers are excellent partners. Heracross and Bewear in particular can obliterate Snorlax, Umbreon, and Registeel with their Fighting-type attacks, and in return Goodra can soften up their checks such as Togekiss and Jellicent. Heracross also can also carry Spikes, which augments Goodra's wallbreaking power greatly. Mimikyu also pairs very well with Goodra, as it can sweep with greater ease once Goodra has weakened their shared switch-ins, such as Steelix, Registeel, and Galarian Weezing. Because of its middling Speed and poor Defense, Goodra is best paired with multiple pivots to enter battle safely. Milotic and Crobat can handle many of the physical attackers that trouble Goodra and pivot it in with Flip Turn and U-turn, respectively. Golisopod can support Goodra with Spikes and Knock Off, revenge kill fast threats such as Flygon and Gardevoir with First Impression, and bring Goodra in for free with Emergency Exit. Electric-type pivots such as Xurkitree and Rotom-C can bait in Grass-types for Goodra to take advantage of, check Milotic, and bother shared checks with Volt Switch and Trick. Finally, Stealth Rock support is valuable to chip Pokemon such as Milotic and Nidoqueen into range of Goodra's attacks; Steelix is a particularly effective partner in this role, as it pressures Registeel, checks Fairy-types such as Mimikyu and Choice Scarf Gardevoir, and benefits from Goodra checking Raikou.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Flamethrower and Surf are fair options for more reliability than Fire Blast and Hydro Pump. However, the drop in power is costly, as Goodra will fail to 3HKO Registeel with the former move or OHKO Rhyperior and Chandelure with the latter. Sludge Bomb is a possible alternative to an Electric-type attack, as it 2HKOes Grimmsnarl and Gardevoir, which otherwise can take two hits from Goodra with ease, and still targets Togekiss. However, Goodra will then miss out on Milotic and be setup fodder for Suicune. Choice Specs can amp up Goodra's wallbreaking power, in particular making its Draco Meteor much more threatening, but makes it very prediction reliant. A Choice Band set with Outrage and coverage moves such as Power Whip and Earthquake can be a nasty surprise for some of Goodra's best checks, scoring 2HKOes on Snorlax, Umbreon, Milotic, and Registeel. However, relying on the very risky Outrage as Goodra's main move leaves it easily revenge killed and makes it far less reliable overall. Choice Scarf is also usable to catch faster Pokemon such as Noivern and Crobat off guard and revenge kill many of Goodra's usual offensive checks, while Assault Vest takes advantage of Goodra's huge natural special bulk to better check Pokemon such as Celebi, Nidoqueen, and Raikou. However, both of these options greatly diminish Goodra's wallbreaking potential.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Special Walls**: Umbreon can take any attack from Goodra and hit back with Foul Play. Though rare, Cresselia and Porygon2 can also wall Goodra with ease and chip it down. If it has specially defensive EVs, Milotic can usually avoid the 2HKO from even Thunder and wear Goodra down with Ice Beam or Toxic.
**Steel-types**: Registeel is only 3HKOed by Goodra's Fire Blast and can put it on a timer with Toxic. Bronzong can also debilitate Goodra with Toxic, but it must be careful when switching in, as Fire Blast has a significant chance to 2HKO it. Metagross can take one Fire Blast and heavily damage Goodra back with Meteor Mash, while Stakataka can survive Hydro Pump and nearly OHKO Goodra with Gyro Ball.
**Physical Attackers**: Flygon OHKOes Goodra with Outrage and can freely pivot with U-turn or use Dragon Dance upon forcing it out. Mimikyu can take two hits from Goodra due to Disguise and its decent special bulk, letting it freely set up Swords Dance and usually OHKO Goodra with +2 Shadow Claw. Powerful Fighting-types such as Heracross, Lucario, and Toxicroak outspeed Goodra and threaten huge damage with Close Combat or Gunk Shot, while Sharpedo can take out a slightly weakened Goodra with Crunch and garner a free activation of Speed Boost.
**Bulky Setup Sweepers**: Snorlax can switch into Goodra and use it as setup fodder with Curse. Reuniclus can't switch in as easily, as Draco Meteor will force it to use Recover, but it can just as easily use Goodra to set up with Calm Mind if it can get in safely. Suicune struggles to switch in safely, but it can similarly use Calm Mind to quickly become near-impossible for Goodra to break through.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[memesketch, 537558]]
- Quality checked by: [[Yourwelcomethanku, 541847], [zizalith, 410251]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Adeleine, 517429]]
Goodra's solid Special Attack and high-Base Power moves with wide coverage give it a niche as a dangerous wallbreaker, capable of dismantling common defensive cores in the metagame. Its decent defensive typing, naturally great special bulk, and Sap Sipper give it good defensive utility and afford it ample opportunities to switch into special attackers such as Raikou, Celebi, and Rotom-C, or defensive Pokemon such as Vileplume. However, because Goodra relies on its array of coverage moves and defensive profile to be threatening, it usually runs Expert Belt over a stronger item such as Life Orb or Choice Specs; as a result, it is not powerful enough to bust through common specially bulky Pokemon such as Umbreon, Snorlax, and Reuniclus, especially since Expert Belt rarely boosts its STAB Draco Meteor. Goodra also often relies on inaccurate moves like Thunder and Hydro Pump to properly wallbreak, making it inconsistent. Finally, while Goodra's Speed tier is good enough to outpace threats such as Nidoqueen and Metagross, it is outpaced by many powerful physical attackers that can prey on its subpar Defense, such as Heracross, Lucario, Mimikyu, and Flygon.
[SET]
name: Wallbreaker
move 1: Draco Meteor
move 2: Fire Blast
move 3: Thunderbolt / Thunder
move 4: Hydro Pump
item: Expert Belt
ability: Sap Sipper
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Fire Blast hits Celebi and bulky Steel-types such as Registeel, Bronzong, and Steelix hard. Thunderbolt hits Milotic and Togekiss, which would otherwise comfortably wall Goodra, along with other Water- and Flying-types such as Starmie and Crobat. Thunder hits Togekiss notably harder and guarantees the 2HKO against Milotic, which Thunderbolt cannot achieve, at the cost of shaky accuracy. Hydro Pump OHKOes Rhyperior and Chandelure and deals excellent damage to Nidoqueen, Diancie, and specially defensive Incineroar. Sap Sipper allows Goodra to absorb Sleep Powder and Grass-type attacks from Roserade, Vileplume, and Rotom-C, giving it more opportunities to switch in safely. Expert Belt increases Goodra's power against the myriad of Pokemon that it can hit super effectively while not harming its versatility or longevity, like Choice Specs or Life Orb would. A Timid nature is necessary to outspeed Nidoqueen and Toxtricity and Speed tie with Chandelure.
Physical attackers that can break down Goodra's specially defensive answers are excellent partners. Heracross and Bewear in particular can obliterate Snorlax, Umbreon, and Registeel with their Fighting-type attacks, and in return Goodra can soften up their checks such as Togekiss and Jellicent. Heracross also can also carry Spikes, which augments Goodra's wallbreaking power greatly. Mimikyu also pairs very well with Goodra, as it can sweep with greater ease once Goodra has weakened their shared switch-ins, such as Steelix, Registeel, and Galarian Weezing. Because of its middling Speed and poor Defense, Goodra is best paired with multiple pivots to enter battle safely. Milotic and Crobat can handle many of the physical attackers that trouble Goodra and pivot it in with Flip Turn and U-turn, respectively. Golisopod can support Goodra with Spikes and Knock Off, revenge kill fast threats such as Flygon and Gardevoir with First Impression, and bring Goodra in for free with Emergency Exit. Electric-type pivots such as Xurkitree and Rotom-C can bait in Grass-types for Goodra to take advantage of, check Milotic, and bother shared checks with Volt Switch and Trick. Finally, Stealth Rock support is valuable to chip Pokemon such as Milotic and Nidoqueen into range of Goodra's attacks; Steelix is a particularly effective partner in this role, as it pressures Registeel, checks Fairy-types such as Mimikyu and Choice Scarf Gardevoir, and benefits from Goodra checking Raikou.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Flamethrower and Surf are fair options for more reliability than Fire Blast and Hydro Pump. However, the drop in power is costly, as Goodra will fail to 3HKO Registeel with the former move or OHKO Rhyperior and Chandelure with the latter. Sludge Bomb is a possible alternative to an Electric-type attack, as it 2HKOes Grimmsnarl and Gardevoir, which otherwise can take two hits from Goodra with ease, and still targets Togekiss. However, Goodra will then miss out on Milotic and be setup fodder for Suicune. Choice Specs can amp up Goodra's wallbreaking power, in particular making its Draco Meteor much more threatening, but makes it very prediction reliant. A Choice Band set with Outrage and coverage moves such as Power Whip and Earthquake can be a nasty surprise for some of Goodra's best checks, scoring 2HKOes on Snorlax, Umbreon, Milotic, and Registeel. However, relying on the very risky Outrage as Goodra's main move leaves it easily revenge killed and makes it far less reliable overall. Choice Scarf is also usable to catch faster Pokemon such as Noivern and Crobat off guard and revenge kill many of Goodra's usual offensive checks, while Assault Vest takes advantage of Goodra's huge natural special bulk to better check Pokemon such as Celebi, Nidoqueen, and Raikou. However, both of these options greatly diminish Goodra's wallbreaking potential.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Special Walls**: Umbreon can take any attack from Goodra and hit back with Foul Play. Though rare, Cresselia and Porygon2 can also wall Goodra with ease and chip it down. If it has specially defensive EVs, Milotic can usually avoid the 2HKO from even Thunder and wear Goodra down with Ice Beam or Toxic.
**Steel-types**: Registeel is only 3HKOed by Goodra's Fire Blast and can put it on a timer with Toxic. Bronzong can also debilitate Goodra with Toxic, but it must be careful when switching in, as Fire Blast has a significant chance to 2HKO it. Metagross can take one Fire Blast and heavily damage Goodra back with Meteor Mash, while Stakataka can survive Hydro Pump and nearly OHKO Goodra with Gyro Ball.
**Physical Attackers**: Flygon OHKOes Goodra with Outrage and can freely pivot with U-turn or use Dragon Dance upon forcing it out. Mimikyu can take two hits from Goodra due to Disguise and its decent special bulk, letting it freely set up Swords Dance and usually OHKO Goodra with +2 Shadow Claw. Powerful Fighting-types such as Heracross, Lucario, and Toxicroak outspeed Goodra and threaten huge damage with Close Combat or Gunk Shot, while Sharpedo can take out a slightly weakened Goodra with Crunch and garner a free activation of Speed Boost.
**Bulky Setup Sweepers**: Snorlax can switch into Goodra and use it as setup fodder with Curse. Reuniclus can't switch in as easily, as Draco Meteor will force it to use Recover, but it can just as easily use Goodra to set up with Calm Mind if it can get in safely. Suicune struggles to switch in safely, but it can similarly use Calm Mind to quickly become near-impossible for Goodra to break through.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[memesketch, 537558]]
- Quality checked by: [[Yourwelcomethanku, 541847], [zizalith, 410251]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Adeleine, 517429]]
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