[SET]
name: Dynamax Sweeper
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Precipice Blades
move 3: Stone Edge
move 4: Aerial Ace
item: Life Orb
ability: Drought
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Groudon is one of the most threatening Dynamax sweepers in AG. With its good Attack stat and solid movepool, Groudon can find many opportunities to force out foes such as Necrozma-DM, Tyranitar, Zekrom, and Ho-Oh and set up for a potential sweep. Swords Dance turns Groudon into a deadly wallbreaker, allowing it to 2HKO Zygarde-C and Giratina as well as and OHKO Lunala and Zygarde after minor chip damage. Stone Edge allows Groudon to hit Flying-types such as Ho-Oh, Yveltal, and Lugia that would otherwise be a nuisance for it. Under Dynamax, Stone Edge turns into Max Rockfall, setting sand that breaks Lugia and Lunala's Multiscale and Shadow Shield, respectively. Aerial Ace turns into Max Airstream, allowing Groudon to outspeed almost the entire metagame after a Speed boost. Maximum Speed investment with a Jolly nature allows Groudon to outpace Calyrex-S after Max Airstream has been used, while Life Orb guarantees several key OHKOs and 2HKOes after a Swords Dance boost.
Groudon's best fit is on hyper offense teams, although it can also fit well on balance and bulky offense teams. On hyper offense, teammates such as Shuckle and Excadrill are able to provide immense support for it through entry hazards such as Sticky Web and Stealth Rock, respectively, enabling it to better break through its extremely limited checks. Groudon can force out common entry hazard setters such as Necrozma-DM, Tyranitar, and Ferrothorn, which is valuable because Shuckle cannot remove opposing entry hazards and Excadrill's Rapid Spin can be blocked by Ghost-types such as Marshadow and Calyrex-S. Zacian-C in particular is a good wallbreaker that can lure in Necrozma-DM and weaken Zygarde-C, and Yveltal can pressure Ghost-types like Lunala, Calyrex-S, and Giratina for Groudon and Excadrill. Teammates like Ho-Oh and Necrozma-DM can Imposter-proof Groudon, stalling out Ditto's Dynamax turns to somewhat reliably check it. Ferrothorn can check Choice Scarf Kyogre and provide Spikes support for Groudon on bulky offense teams. Other setup sweepers such as Xerneas, Nasty Plot Calyrex-S, and Dragon Dance Necrozma-DM appreciate Groudon KOing walls such as Necrozma-DM, Tyranitar, and Ferrothorn for them. In return, they can pressure walls such as Zygarde-C and full health Lunala that Groudon struggles with. To maximize Groudon's sweeping potential, the foe's Dynamax should be wasted by powerful teammates such as Xerneas, Zacian-C, and Kyogre. Groudon should generally be used mid- or late-game once its biggest checks in Zygarde-C and Lunala have been weakened from teammates' offensive pressure.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
An Adamant nature can be usedto have a better chance of OHKOing Giratina after Stealth Rock damage and always OHKO bulky Zygarde with a boosted Max Quake. However, Adamant Groudon fails to outspeed Calyrex-S and Choice Scarf Kyogre after a Max Airstream boost, allowing both to revenge kill it.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Physically Defensive Walls**: Physically defensive walls that aren't weak to any of Groudon's moves, such as defensive Zygarde-C and Lunala, can take hits from unboosted Groudon. Zygarde-C can paralyze it with Glare, remove its stat boosts with Haze, and phaze a non-Dynamaxed Groudon with Dragon Tail. However, Zygarde can get OHKOed by a boosted Max Quake, and it must transform into its Complete forme to consistently check Groudon throughout the match. Lunala can cripple Groudon with Will-O-Wisp or Toxic, but gets overwhelmed after Shadow Shield has been broken. Lugia can stall out Groudon's Stone Edge and Dynamax turns with Multiscale and Roost, phaze it with Whirlwind, and cripple it with Toxic, but its Multiscale can easily be hindered by Max Rockfall. Giratina is a shakier check to Groudon, but can survive a +2 Precipice Blades and can also cripple it with Will-O-Wisp or Toxic.
**Revenge Killers**: Life Orb can wear down Groudon, making it susceptible to revenge killers such as Ditto, Choice Scarf Calyrex-S, and Sucker Punch Yveltal, especially if one's Dynamax has been wasted. Groudon can also struggle to clean if it fails to rack up a Speed boost, in which case Pokemon such as Eternatus, Choice Scarf Kyogre, and Zacian-C can revenge kill it. Eternatus and Zacian-C also ignore the HP boost from Dynamax with Dynamax Cannon and Behemoth Blade, respectively. However, Sticky Web support from Shuckle or offensive pressure from teammates can allow Groudon to deal with these faster threats.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Rotten, 491896]]
- Quality checked by: [[Guard, 360582], [Geysers, 426798]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Finland, 517429]]
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