[OVERVIEW]
Groudon is one of the metagame's most devastating physical attackers and the centerpiece of the sun archetype. On its own, its powerful spread Precipice Blades is capable of dealing incremental damage that adds up over the course of a game. Its high physical bulk and access to Drought patching up its Water weakness means Groudon has longevity that most other restricted Pokemon typically cannot offer. It also pairs extremely well with Charizard and Venusaur, forming a devastating sun core. Unfortunately, Groudon is fairly reliant on sun to keep itself safe from Kyogre, meaning it must approach the matchup with caution. It is also fairly reliant on boosting its stats, so it will struggle in situations where it cannot safely set up Swords Dance or activate its Weakness Policy.
[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Precipice Blades
move 2: Rock Slide / Heat Crash
move 3: Swords Dance
move 4: Protect
item: Weakness Policy / White Herb / Sitrus Berry
ability: Drought
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
* Precipice Blades is used for Groudon's STAB move in order to maximize its damage output. Its access to a powerful Max Quake is useful for bypassing Wide Guard and compensating for its lower Special Defense.
* Rock Slide is great for hitting the numerous Flying-types in the metagame like Zapdos and Ho-Oh. Sun-boosted Heat Crash can be used to hit Grass-types such as Kartana and Rillaboom while also being able to set sun again with Max Flare.
* Swords Dance provides a way for Groudon to counteract opposing Intimidate. When this is combined with speed control from teammates and Special Defense boosts from Max Quake, Groudon becomes capable of winning games entirely on its own.
* Weakness Policy gives Groudon another option to boost its Attack in the face of Water- or Grass-type moves from Kyogre or Kartana. White Herb can be used to cancel out Intimidate drops, making it harder for the opponent to reduce Groudon's damage output. Sitrus Berry helps Groudon from getting worn down too quickly, as it's often prone to taking high amounts of damage before it can attack.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Groudon has access to multiple speed control options such as Rock Tomb, Thunder Wave, and Scary Face, all with their own unique benefits. Rock Tomb is actually able to deal damage but is also the least detrimental, Thunder Wave can cripple foes with paralysis, and Scary Face affects Electric- and Ground-types unlike Thunder Wave. Faster offensive sets with a Life Orb are useful for things like outright OHKOing Incineroar with Precipice Blades, but these sets severely hamper Groudon's bulk, a huge reason of why it's considered a threat in the first place. Substitute is useful for blocking opposing attempts at inflicting status on Groudon or lowering its Attack with Intimidate, but this comes at the cost of giving up its coverage move. Shadow Claw can be used OHKO Calyrex-S. A bulkier Assault Vest set can also be utilized; however, this leaves Groudon unable to boost its Attack with Swords Dance or Weakness Policy.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[zeefable, 501951]]
- Quality checked by: [[Dragonpiley007, 493619], [Raineko, 294287]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Estronic, 240732]]
Groudon is one of the metagame's most devastating physical attackers and the centerpiece of the sun archetype. On its own, its powerful spread Precipice Blades is capable of dealing incremental damage that adds up over the course of a game. Its high physical bulk and access to Drought patching up its Water weakness means Groudon has longevity that most other restricted Pokemon typically cannot offer. It also pairs extremely well with Charizard and Venusaur, forming a devastating sun core. Unfortunately, Groudon is fairly reliant on sun to keep itself safe from Kyogre, meaning it must approach the matchup with caution. It is also fairly reliant on boosting its stats, so it will struggle in situations where it cannot safely set up Swords Dance or activate its Weakness Policy.
[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Precipice Blades
move 2: Rock Slide / Heat Crash
move 3: Swords Dance
move 4: Protect
item: Weakness Policy / White Herb / Sitrus Berry
ability: Drought
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
* Precipice Blades is used for Groudon's STAB move in order to maximize its damage output. Its access to a powerful Max Quake is useful for bypassing Wide Guard and compensating for its lower Special Defense.
* Rock Slide is great for hitting the numerous Flying-types in the metagame like Zapdos and Ho-Oh. Sun-boosted Heat Crash can be used to hit Grass-types such as Kartana and Rillaboom while also being able to set sun again with Max Flare.
* Swords Dance provides a way for Groudon to counteract opposing Intimidate. When this is combined with speed control from teammates and Special Defense boosts from Max Quake, Groudon becomes capable of winning games entirely on its own.
* Weakness Policy gives Groudon another option to boost its Attack in the face of Water- or Grass-type moves from Kyogre or Kartana. White Herb can be used to cancel out Intimidate drops, making it harder for the opponent to reduce Groudon's damage output. Sitrus Berry helps Groudon from getting worn down too quickly, as it's often prone to taking high amounts of damage before it can attack.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Groudon has access to multiple speed control options such as Rock Tomb, Thunder Wave, and Scary Face, all with their own unique benefits. Rock Tomb is actually able to deal damage but is also the least detrimental, Thunder Wave can cripple foes with paralysis, and Scary Face affects Electric- and Ground-types unlike Thunder Wave. Faster offensive sets with a Life Orb are useful for things like outright OHKOing Incineroar with Precipice Blades, but these sets severely hamper Groudon's bulk, a huge reason of why it's considered a threat in the first place. Substitute is useful for blocking opposing attempts at inflicting status on Groudon or lowering its Attack with Intimidate, but this comes at the cost of giving up its coverage move. Shadow Claw can be used OHKO Calyrex-S. A bulkier Assault Vest set can also be utilized; however, this leaves Groudon unable to boost its Attack with Swords Dance or Weakness Policy.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[zeefable, 501951]]
- Quality checked by: [[Dragonpiley007, 493619], [Raineko, 294287]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Estronic, 240732]]
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