[OVERVIEW]
Gyarados also has access to Supersonic Skystrike to complement its Water typing quite nicely, allowing it to lure in and break through typical Mega Gyarados checks like Mega Venusaur, slow Kommo-o, and Kartana. Flyinium Z Gyarados does have many flaws, however, including the inability to change its typing and the loss of Mold Breaker. This leaves it vulnerable to Pokemon like Dragonite, Golem, Mew, Aegislash, and Magnezone because it cannot change its typing. Flyinium Z Gyarados also overrelies on Bounce and Supersonic Skystrike, which means that once its Z-Move is spent, it has to use its unreliable two-turn Bounce, which can easily be taken advantage of, particularly by Protect and Substitute users like Serperior.
[SET]
name: Flyinium Z
move 1: Bounce
move 2: Taunt
move 3: Dragon Dance
move 4: Waterfall
item: Flyinium Z
ability: Intimidate
nature: Jolly
evs: 8 HP / 208 Atk / 84 SpD / 208 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Bounce allows Gyarados to execute a powerful Supersonic Skystrike, which hits Pokemon like Mega Venusaur and slow Kommo-o for super effective damage and after a Dragon Dance hits hard enough to take out the likes of Mega Charizard X. Taunt is particularly useful against Pokemon like Jumpluff, Ferrothorn, and Substitute Primarina. Dragon Dance allows Gyarados to outspeed threats like Greninja and Mega Lopunny after a single boost. Waterfall lets Gyarados deal with Heatran and Donphan. Bulldoze is an interesting move option over Waterfall that allows Flyinium Z Gyarados to bypass faster Taunt users like Kee Berry Mew and stall Deoxys-S by slowing them down enough so that Gyarados can Taunt them first.
Set Details
========
208 Speed investment with a Jolly nature allows Gyarados to outspeed common threats like Smeargle, non-Hasty Kommo-o, and, after a Dragon Dance, Garchomp and Jumpluff. 8 HP EVs with 84 Special Defense EVs enable Gyarados to survive a Hidden Power Electric from Mega Charizard Y. The rest is invested into Attack to allow it to hit as hard as possible and help with rolls against bulky Mega Charizard X. Intimidate increases Gyarados's survivability against physical threats such as Choice Band Garchomp, Kartana, and Mega Lopunny. Flyinium Z turns Bounce into Supersonic Skystrike, not only boosting its power but also allowing Gyarados to use a Flying-type attack immediately.
Alternatively, the set can be varied to better take on bulky Mega Charizard X. 252 Atk / 84 Def / 172 Spe with an Adamant nature lets Gyarados OHKO Mega Charizard X with +1 Supersonic Skystrike while also tanking an Outrage after a Dragon Dance. However, this means it underspeeds Pokemon like Smeargle and Tapu Bulu, as well as Mega Lopunny even after a Dragon Dance. A spread of 120 HP / 120 Atk / 12 Def / 4 SpD / 252 Spe with a Jolly nature allows Gyarados to outspeed Smeargle and tank an Outrage from Mega Charizard X after a Dragon Dance as well as Hidden Power Electric from Mega Charizard Y. However, this set fails to KO bulky Mega Charizard X, which is the more common variant.
Usage Tips
========
Against offensive Mega Venusaur and slow Kommo-o, use Supersonic Skystrike to finish them immediately. However, against defensive Mega Venusaur, it is better to use Taunt before using Supersonic Skystrike. Against foes that outspeed Gyarados or that it cannot OHKO, such as Garchomp, Mega Lopunny, Mega Charizard Y, and Kartana, it is recommended that you use Dragon Dance first to outspeed them the following turn and fire back. Against Greninja, use Dragon Dance turn one in case they are running Torrent. Follow up with Supersonic Skystrike if they do not use Substitute; if they do, use Taunt, and use Waterfall to break their Substitute before unleashing Gyarados's Z-Move. You will want to use Taunt on foes that rely on status moves as their win condition, such as Type: Null, Jumpluff, bulky Mega Venusaur, and Ferrothorn. From here, if you cannot OHKO them, it is best to use Dragon Dance until you can reliably OHKO them. Against Primarina, it is best to test the waters to see if they are running Substitute. Use Dragon Dance first, and if they use Substitute, use Taunt to prevent them from using Substitute again. Then, use Bounce to break their Substitute, and finish them off with a Supersonic Skystrike. If they do not have Substitute, just set up Dragon Dance twice and then use Supersonic Skystrike. Despite Gyarados's ability to lure in and take out most Grass-types, Serperior in particular is a tricky matchup, as Gyarados overrelies on Bounce. As long as Serperior baits out the Z-Move and uses Protect on Supersonic Skystrike, it has the upper hand, particularly as Leaf Storm 2HKOes Gyarados. The best play for Gyarados is to use Dragon Dance first and Taunt Serperior after. If they have a Substitute up, use Waterfall to break the Substitute, then go for Supersonic Skystrike.
Team Options
========
Flyinium Z Gyarados appreciates teammates that lure in the likes of Mega Venusaur, Kommo-o, and Mega Charizard Y. Serperior is a great partner for this reason, as it is vulnerable to opposing Grass-, Dragon-, and Fire-types and appreciates Gyarados's coverage, in particular its ability to handle both Mega Charizard X and Y. On the other hand, Serperior deals with threats like most Sturdy Pokemon, Zeraora, Mew, and Magearna, in addition to Mega Gyarados. Magearna is another good partner that lures in Mega Venusaur while also dealing with Sturdy Pokemon that Gyarados has trouble taking on, such as Golem, Crustle, and Donphan. It also sufficiently deals with Dragonite and Porygon-Z. Gyarados beats Fire-types like Mega Charizard Y and Heatran in return. Bulky Ground-types like Zygarde and Landorus-T aid Gyarados by taking care of most Sturdy Pokemon, as well as providing an immunity to Electric-type moves, which Gyarados is 4x weak to, allowing them to beat Pokemon like Zeraora and Victini. They also beat pesky Steel-types like Magearna and Mega Mawile. Gyarados helps with Greninja and Jumpluff, Pokemon that Landorus-T and Zygarde struggle against. Taunt Air Balloon Heatran is very useful in taking out SubSeed users like Serperior that Gyarados has unreliable matchups against, as well as providing a decent check to Sturdy Pokemon like Donphan and Golem. In return, Gyarados covers Kommo-o, Garchomp, and Mega Lopunny.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Chickenpie2, 305552]]
- Quality checked by: [[Alakazam, 276708], [pqs, 425798], [Osra, 239997]]
- Grammar checked by: [[The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216], [Rabia, 336073]]
Gyarados also has access to Supersonic Skystrike to complement its Water typing quite nicely, allowing it to lure in and break through typical Mega Gyarados checks like Mega Venusaur, slow Kommo-o, and Kartana. Flyinium Z Gyarados does have many flaws, however, including the inability to change its typing and the loss of Mold Breaker. This leaves it vulnerable to Pokemon like Dragonite, Golem, Mew, Aegislash, and Magnezone because it cannot change its typing. Flyinium Z Gyarados also overrelies on Bounce and Supersonic Skystrike, which means that once its Z-Move is spent, it has to use its unreliable two-turn Bounce, which can easily be taken advantage of, particularly by Protect and Substitute users like Serperior.
[SET]
name: Flyinium Z
move 1: Bounce
move 2: Taunt
move 3: Dragon Dance
move 4: Waterfall
item: Flyinium Z
ability: Intimidate
nature: Jolly
evs: 8 HP / 208 Atk / 84 SpD / 208 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Bounce allows Gyarados to execute a powerful Supersonic Skystrike, which hits Pokemon like Mega Venusaur and slow Kommo-o for super effective damage and after a Dragon Dance hits hard enough to take out the likes of Mega Charizard X. Taunt is particularly useful against Pokemon like Jumpluff, Ferrothorn, and Substitute Primarina. Dragon Dance allows Gyarados to outspeed threats like Greninja and Mega Lopunny after a single boost. Waterfall lets Gyarados deal with Heatran and Donphan. Bulldoze is an interesting move option over Waterfall that allows Flyinium Z Gyarados to bypass faster Taunt users like Kee Berry Mew and stall Deoxys-S by slowing them down enough so that Gyarados can Taunt them first.
Set Details
========
208 Speed investment with a Jolly nature allows Gyarados to outspeed common threats like Smeargle, non-Hasty Kommo-o, and, after a Dragon Dance, Garchomp and Jumpluff. 8 HP EVs with 84 Special Defense EVs enable Gyarados to survive a Hidden Power Electric from Mega Charizard Y. The rest is invested into Attack to allow it to hit as hard as possible and help with rolls against bulky Mega Charizard X. Intimidate increases Gyarados's survivability against physical threats such as Choice Band Garchomp, Kartana, and Mega Lopunny. Flyinium Z turns Bounce into Supersonic Skystrike, not only boosting its power but also allowing Gyarados to use a Flying-type attack immediately.
Alternatively, the set can be varied to better take on bulky Mega Charizard X. 252 Atk / 84 Def / 172 Spe with an Adamant nature lets Gyarados OHKO Mega Charizard X with +1 Supersonic Skystrike while also tanking an Outrage after a Dragon Dance. However, this means it underspeeds Pokemon like Smeargle and Tapu Bulu, as well as Mega Lopunny even after a Dragon Dance. A spread of 120 HP / 120 Atk / 12 Def / 4 SpD / 252 Spe with a Jolly nature allows Gyarados to outspeed Smeargle and tank an Outrage from Mega Charizard X after a Dragon Dance as well as Hidden Power Electric from Mega Charizard Y. However, this set fails to KO bulky Mega Charizard X, which is the more common variant.
Usage Tips
========
Against offensive Mega Venusaur and slow Kommo-o, use Supersonic Skystrike to finish them immediately. However, against defensive Mega Venusaur, it is better to use Taunt before using Supersonic Skystrike. Against foes that outspeed Gyarados or that it cannot OHKO, such as Garchomp, Mega Lopunny, Mega Charizard Y, and Kartana, it is recommended that you use Dragon Dance first to outspeed them the following turn and fire back. Against Greninja, use Dragon Dance turn one in case they are running Torrent. Follow up with Supersonic Skystrike if they do not use Substitute; if they do, use Taunt, and use Waterfall to break their Substitute before unleashing Gyarados's Z-Move. You will want to use Taunt on foes that rely on status moves as their win condition, such as Type: Null, Jumpluff, bulky Mega Venusaur, and Ferrothorn. From here, if you cannot OHKO them, it is best to use Dragon Dance until you can reliably OHKO them. Against Primarina, it is best to test the waters to see if they are running Substitute. Use Dragon Dance first, and if they use Substitute, use Taunt to prevent them from using Substitute again. Then, use Bounce to break their Substitute, and finish them off with a Supersonic Skystrike. If they do not have Substitute, just set up Dragon Dance twice and then use Supersonic Skystrike. Despite Gyarados's ability to lure in and take out most Grass-types, Serperior in particular is a tricky matchup, as Gyarados overrelies on Bounce. As long as Serperior baits out the Z-Move and uses Protect on Supersonic Skystrike, it has the upper hand, particularly as Leaf Storm 2HKOes Gyarados. The best play for Gyarados is to use Dragon Dance first and Taunt Serperior after. If they have a Substitute up, use Waterfall to break the Substitute, then go for Supersonic Skystrike.
Team Options
========
Flyinium Z Gyarados appreciates teammates that lure in the likes of Mega Venusaur, Kommo-o, and Mega Charizard Y. Serperior is a great partner for this reason, as it is vulnerable to opposing Grass-, Dragon-, and Fire-types and appreciates Gyarados's coverage, in particular its ability to handle both Mega Charizard X and Y. On the other hand, Serperior deals with threats like most Sturdy Pokemon, Zeraora, Mew, and Magearna, in addition to Mega Gyarados. Magearna is another good partner that lures in Mega Venusaur while also dealing with Sturdy Pokemon that Gyarados has trouble taking on, such as Golem, Crustle, and Donphan. It also sufficiently deals with Dragonite and Porygon-Z. Gyarados beats Fire-types like Mega Charizard Y and Heatran in return. Bulky Ground-types like Zygarde and Landorus-T aid Gyarados by taking care of most Sturdy Pokemon, as well as providing an immunity to Electric-type moves, which Gyarados is 4x weak to, allowing them to beat Pokemon like Zeraora and Victini. They also beat pesky Steel-types like Magearna and Mega Mawile. Gyarados helps with Greninja and Jumpluff, Pokemon that Landorus-T and Zygarde struggle against. Taunt Air Balloon Heatran is very useful in taking out SubSeed users like Serperior that Gyarados has unreliable matchups against, as well as providing a decent check to Sturdy Pokemon like Donphan and Golem. In return, Gyarados covers Kommo-o, Garchomp, and Mega Lopunny.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Chickenpie2, 305552]]
- Quality checked by: [[Alakazam, 276708], [pqs, 425798], [Osra, 239997]]
- Grammar checked by: [[The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216], [Rabia, 336073]]
Last edited: