Hydreigon

hydreigon.gif

He will eat your children

Overview
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  • Strongest specially offensive dragon in the metagame.
  • Gains a Buff to dark typing providing good coverage for everything except a couple of pokemon and Fairy types.
  • Has a variety of coverage moves such as Fire Blast.
  • Typing in conjunction with levitate grants two immunities to psychic and ground type moves.
  • 4x weak to Fairy Moves
  • Has a inadequate base 98 speed, falling short of the major base 100 speed tier.
  • Weak to priority; primarily Mach Punch and Ice Shard.
  • Outclassed by Salamence and Noivern in terms of utility.

Special Hydra
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name: Special Hydra
move 1: Draco Meteor / Dragon Pulse
move 2: Dark Pulse
move 3: Fire Blast / Flamethrower
move 4: Protect
ability: Levitate
item: Life Orb / Focus Sash
evs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd / 4 HP
nature: Timid / Modest

Moves
========

  • Draco Meteor for stab and hits many pokemon hard, outright OHKOing a good portion of the tier.
  • Dark Pulse is secondary stab and provides good coverage with Draco Meteor. It allows Hydreigon to OHKO and 2HKO Chandelure and Aegislash, two big ghost type threats, respectively.
  • Fire Blast is for pokemon such as Ferrothorn and Mawile, the latter of which resists Hydreigon's Stabs.
  • Protect is to punish double target and can give a teammate a free turn to deal damage.
  • Dragon Pulse can also be used if the Special Attack drop is unfavorable.
  • Flamethrower can be used over Fire Blast for perfect accuracy in exchange for power. (Flamethrower will still OHKO standard Ferrothorn but will fail to OHKO Mega Mawile.)

Set Details
========
  • EV spread maximizes offensive power.
  • Life Orb is used to boost Hydreigon's moves.
  • Timid Nature is used to partially negate Hydriegon's awkward speed tier.
  • Focus Sash can be used to guarantee survival from Fairy type attacks and lets it retaliate back with the appropriate coverage move.
  • Modest Nature can be used for more power.

Usage Tips
========

  • Play conservatively with Hydreigon if fairy types are on the field; otherwise, play aggressively.
  • Aim for OHKOs in turn one or the early game to cripple the opponent.

Team Options
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  • Ferrothorn is an amazing teammate that can deal with Fairy Types.
  • Aegislash is also a good teammate, just be careful for Mawile's Sucker Punch.
  • Rotom-Heat or any Rotom form can provide much needed Thunder Wave support and can even provide Light Screen support for Hydreigon.
  • Amoongus can provide Rage Powder support to direct Fighting and Fairy type moves away from Hydreigon.
  • A ground type pokemon can pair well with Hydreigon due to Levitate and allows Earthquake to be more easily spammed.
Scarf Hydra
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name: Scarf Hydra
move 1: Draco Meteor
move 2: Dark Pulse
move 3: Fire Blast / Flamethrower
move 4: U-turn / Dragon Pulse
ability: Levitate
item: Choice Scarf
evs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd / 4 HP
nature: Modest / Timid

Moves
========
  • Draco Meteor for stab and hits many pokemon hard, outright OHKOing a good portion of the tier.
  • Dark Pulse is secondary stab and provides good coverage with Draco Meteor. It allows Hydreigon to OHKO and 2HKO Chandelure and Aegislash, two big ghost type threats, respectively.
  • Fire Blast is for pokemon such as Ferrothorn and Mawile, the latter of which resists Hydreigon's Stabs.
  • U-Turn is used to get out of unfavorable situations.
  • Dragon Pulse can be used over u-turn to clean up weakened teams.
  • Flamethrower can be used over Fire Blast for perfect accuracy in exchange for power. (Flamethrower will not guarantee OHKO on standard Ferrothorn)

Set Details
========

  • EV spread maximizes offensive power.
  • Modest Nature is used for extra power.
  • Choice Scarf is used to outspeed the majority of the unboosted metagame.
  • Timid Nature can be used to partially negate Hydriegon's awkward speed tier; however, keep note that Hydreigon will not outspeed much with a Timid Nature and a Scarf.

Usage Tips
========

  • Play conservatively with Hydreigon if fairy types are on the field; otherwise, play aggressively. Be wary of locking Hydreigon into a dragon move on a fairy type.
  • Use Hydreigon as a pseudo revenge killer to pick off weakened foes.
  • U-turn out if the situation is not in your favor and switch into a appropriate counter.
  • Pick off faster scarf users before aggressively using Hydreigon.

Team Options
========
  • Ferrothorn is an amazing teammate that can deal with Fairy Types.
  • Aegislash is also a good teammate, just be careful for Mawile's Sucker Punch.
  • Rotom-Heat or any Rotom form can provide Light Screen support for Hydreigon. Thunder-Wave support is not as necessary due to the speed boost from Choice Scarf.
  • Amoongus can provide Rage Powder support to direct Fighting and Fairy type moves away from Hydreigon.
  • A ground type pokemon can pair well with Hydreigon due to Levitate and allows Earthquake to be more easily spammed.
  • Gardevoir can be used to pick off opposing Scarfed Dragons (Especially Salamence).
  • Pokemon with intimidate pair well with this set as Hydreigon will be U-turning out.

Other Options
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  • Choice Specs on Hydreigon can provide extra power.
  • A Haban Berry with a spread of 236 SAtk / 140 Spd / 132 SDef with a Modest Nature can be used to tank a Timid Specs Salamence's Draco Meteor and retaliate back with it's own Draco Meteor while still outspeeding invested base 70's and below.
  • A bulkier spread of 68 Def / 216 Spd / 224 SAtk with a Timid can be used to survive Jolly Garchomp's Dragon Claw while still outspeeding invested base 92's and below.
  • A spread of 84 HP / 252 SpA / 172 Spe with a Modest Nature to survive Jolly Garchomp's Dragon Claw 90% while still outspeeding Jolly Smeargle.
  • A mixed set or physical set with U-turn is viable as Hydreigon has the movepool for it.
  • Stone Edge or Rock Slide can be used over U-Turn or Protect depending on the set to OHKO or 2HKO ,respectively, Charizard-Y and Talonflame.
  • Safety Goggles or Lum berry can counter Charizard-Y and Venusaur by being immune/preventing to sleep powder.
  • Earth Power can be used over Fire Blast.
  • Rock Slide can be used over U-turn in conjunction with a Hasty or Mild Nature to 2HKO Charizard-Y and Talonflame. Hydreigon's Typing is more suited for taking Special attacks rather then Physical.


Checks & Counters
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  • Fairy Types deal heavy damage to Hydreigon
  • Salamence and other faster dragon types can outspeed it and deal heavy damage.
  • Assault Vest Conkeldurr can take anything from Hydreigon and can heal off and potentially OHKO with drain punch.
  • Tyranitar in sand can take any hit from Hydreigon and can retaliate back with either a Ice Beam or can set up Dragon Dances against it.
  • Both physical and special variants of Mega Lucario can 2HKO it with Mach Punch and Vacuum Wave respectively but must be careful of Fire Blast.
  • Mamoswine 2HKOs Hydreigon with Ice Shard and can potentially OHKO with Icicle Crash.

Overview
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In the earlier years of VGC, Hydreigon was considered nearly uncounterable, yet it now has a difficult time maintaining this status. Hydreigon gained a 4x weakness with the introduction of Fairy-types, and consequently, it now has a harder time staying alive; its base 98 Speed, which falls short of the 100 base Speed tier, is even more problematic than it was in the last generation. Its Dark typing also brings extra Fighting- and Bug-type weaknesses to the table, including weaknesses to many priority moves such as Mach Punch. On top of all this, it's not the only Dragon available; Hydreigon faces stiff competition from faster and bulkier Dragons, including old rivals such as Salamence and Garchomp, as well as newer Dragons such as Noivern and Goodra.

However, don't count Hydreigon out just yet. Thanks to its base 125 Special Attack stat, Hydreigon is the strongest specially-based Dragon in the metagame. Hydreigon is also able to hit Steel-types with its STAB moves, as Dark-type moves are no longer resisted by Steel-types, giving it great coverage alongside its Dragon-type attacks. Its typing and Levitate ability also give it immunities to both Ground- and Psychic-type moves, which combined with its above average 92/90/90 bulk and slew of resistances means it can take an attack or two along the way. Finally, Hydreigon is quite versatile and has a vast movepool, allowing it to run a physical or even mixed set to surprise its opponent if need be. Even though it's slower than its Dragon brethren, Hydreigon's raw power will not disappoint.


Special Attacker
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name: Special Attacker
move 1: Draco Meteor / Dragon Pulse
move 2: Dark Pulse
move 3: Fire Blast / Flamethrower
move 4: Protect
ability: Levitate
item: Life Orb / Focus Sash
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
nature: Timid / Modest

Moves
========
This set uses Hydreigon's strengths to their fullest, particularly its unparalleled attacking power. Draco Meteor is Hydreigon's main STAB move and does a hefty amount of damage to the majority of the metagame. Alternatively, Dragon Pulse can be used over Draco Meteor if the Special Attack drop is unappealing, though the decrease in power is noticeable. Dark Pulse is Hydreigon's second STAB attack, giving it good coverage against the majority of the tier; between its two STAB moves, Hydreigon only hits Fairy-types and select Pokemon like Bisharp for anything less than neutral damage. Dark Pulse also allows Hydreigon to hit Psychic- and Ghost-types such as Chandelure and Aegislash, which are OHKOed and 2HKOed, respectively, for super effective damage. Fire Blast hits Steel-types for super effective damage and is Hydreigon's best way of getting past them, as while Flamethrower is a more accurate option, it has less power and will not net an OHKO on Ferrothorn or Mega Mawile without a Modest nature. Protect is a useful utility move that allows Hydreigon to avoid getting double attacked.


Set Details
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Full investment in Speed and a Timid nature makes Hydreigon as fast as possible, hopefully negating the impact of its awkward Speed tier, while Special Attack is also maximized for obvious reasons. If you are not concerned about Speed, Hydreigon can run a Modest nature instead to increase the power of its attacks even further. Life Orb is recommended in order to give Hydreigon an extra power boost, but if you're worried about Hydreigon going down too quickly, Focus Sash is another option.

Usage Tips
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Even though Hydreigon's power is unrivaled, it still needs to play conservatively to overcome its weaknesses to Fighting-, Bug-, and Fairy-types, especially as Fairy-types can switch in for free on its Dragon-type attacks. If Fairy-types aren't on the field, then Hydreigon can be played more aggressively to try and obtain early OHKOs.

Team Options
========

Steel-types such as Ferrothorn and Aegislash in particular are tremendously helpful in dealing with Fairy-types. The former is able to stall out threats such as Mawile with the combination of Leech Seed and Protect, and the latter is immune or resistant to all of Hydreigon's weaknesses. However, Aegislash must be careful in order to play around Mawile's Sucker Punch. Amoonguss pairs well with Hydreigon, thanks to its access to Rage Powder, to redirect moves aimed at Hydreigon towards itself, and Spore, to temporarily incapacitate the opponent's Pokemon. This means that it can provide Hydreigon with the free turns it needs in which to deal heavy damage. Any Rotom forme, especially Rotom-H, can provide Thunder Wave support to help Hydreigon overcome its awkward Speed tier; it can also provide dual screens support to help Hydreigon take hits more easily. With its access to Levitate, Hydreigon is a good partner with a Pokemon that spams Ground-type moves.

Choice Scarf
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name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Draco Meteor
move 2: Dark Pulse
move 3: Fire Blast / Flamethrower
move 4: Dragon Pulse / U-turn
ability: Levitate
item: Choice Scarf
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
nature: Modest / Timid

Moves
========

Equipping a Choice Scarf allows Hydreigon to bypass the ill effects of its base 98 Speed tier, allowing it to outspeed threats it otherwise wouldn't be able to. Draco Meteor is Hydreigon's strongest STAB move, and even without a boosting item it hits exceptionally hard off a base 125 Special Attack stat. Dark Pulse is Hydreigon's secondary, reliable STAB attack and can be used where Draco Meteor would be unnecessary. Fire Blast is Hydreigon's main way of getting through Steel-types such as Mega Mawile. Flamethrower can be used over Fire Blast, but without a boosting item, it will not do significant damage to its intended targets. Finally, Dragon Pulse can be used along with Dark Pulse, which makes Hydreigon better at cleaning up weakened teams. However, if Dragon Pulse is not needed to clean up teams, then U-turn can be used to switch out of bad situations while chipping away at the opposing Pokemon's health.

Set Details
========

The EV spread with a Modest nature emphasizes power instead of Speed, because thanks to the Choice Scarf, Hydreigon will not be outspeeding much with a Speed-boosting nature that it couldn't without. If you are worried about Speed tying with opposing Choice Scarf Hydreigon, a Timid nature is a perfectly reasonable choice instead.

Usage Tips
========

Hydreigon needs to be played carefully around Fairy-types, as it could possibly be locked into a Dragon-type move on a Fairy-type. Hydreigon should ideally be used as a pseudo-revenge killer to pick off weakened foes. If the situation is unfavorable, Hydreigon should either switch or U-turn out into an appropriate counter to deal with the threat. Also, you should make use of Hydreigon's immunity to Ground-type attacks to safely switch into predicted Earthquakes. Finally, before using Choice Scarf Hydreigon aggressively, you should pick off faster Choice Scarf users that can knock out Hydreigon before it can move.

Team Options
========

As Fairy-types are especially problematic, a Steel- or Poison-type partner should be used in order to deal with them. Bisharp is especially helpful as it can easily deal with the majority of Fairy-types in the metagame while also providing Knock Off support to remove Choice Scarf from faster opposing Pokemon. With the Speed increase granted by Choice Scarf, Hydreigon can function as a scout with U-turn. Because of this, Intimidate users such as Mawile are quite handy in order to weaken physical attackers. Gardevoir can aid Hydreigon by picking off faster Choice Scarf Dragon-types such as the common Choice Scarf Salamence.

Other Options
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Hydreigon has a versatile movepool and can run a variety of moves to surprise its opponent. For example, it can run a mixed set with Stone Edge or Rock Slide to hit Mega Charizard Y and Talonflame, the former OHKOing and the latter 2HKOing the two. It can also run a physical set with moves such as Acrobatics, Earthquake, and Crunch, but Hydreigon will unfortunately have to rely on the inaccurate Dragon Rush or the unpredictable Outrage for a Dragon-type STAB attack. Hydreigon also has a vast special movepool that it can work with, including attacks such as Earth Power, Focus Blast, and even Surf. Hydreigon can also run Flash Cannon to try to hit Fairy-types, but generally it won't do enough damage to be significant. In addition to having a movepool as vast as the ocean, Hydreigon can run a variety of items and EV spreads to perform a specific niche. The most notable is running Choice Specs to provide even more power for Hydreigon. It can also run Safety Goggles or Lum Berry to counter Mega Charizard Y and Venusaur teams by being immune to Sleep Powder. A Haban Berry with a spread of 236 SpA / 132 SpD / 140 Spe with a Modest nature can be used to tank a Timid Choice Specs Salamence's Draco Meteor so that Hydreigon can retaliate with its own Draco Meteor while still outspeeding invested base 70s. Lastly, a bulkier spread of 68 Def / 224 SpA / 216 Spe with a Timid nature can be used to survive Jolly Garchomp's Dragon Claw while still allowing Hydreigon to outspeed invested base 92s.

Checks & Counters
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**Fairy-types**: Hydreigon really cannot do anything against Fairy-types. Azumarill in particular resists both of Hydreigon's STAB moves as well as Fire Blast and most of its other coverage moves, fearing the rare Hidden Power.

**Faster Dragon-types**: Faster Dragon-types such as Salamence can OHKO Hydreigon before it can do anything.

**Conkeldurr**: Assault Vest Conkeldurr can easily tank a Draco Meteor and OHKO Hydreigon while healing back up with Drain Punch.

**Tyranitar**: Specially defensive Tyranitar can take any move Hydreigon has in store bar a Life Orb Focus Blast and retaliate back with a Brick Break.

**Mega Lucario**: Both physical and special variants of Mega Lucario can 2HKO with Mach Punch and Vacuum Wave respectively, though they should be wary of Fire Blast.

**Mamoswine**: Mamoswine can 2HKO with Ice Shard and potentially OHKO with Icicle Crash, and like Tyranitar, it only fears the rare Focus Blast.
 
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Flash Cannon has no place on a Hydreigon. Take it out.
Also, Roseli Berry isn't recommended without a slightly bulkier spread.
  • 252+ Atk Huge Power Mega Mawile Play Rough vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Roseli Berry Hydreigon: 318-374 (190.4 - 223.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO
  • 252+ Atk Huge Power Azumarill Play Rough vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Roseli Berry Hydreigon: 206-246 (123.3 - 147.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
  • 252+ SpA Mega Gardevoir Dazzling Gleam vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Roseli Berry Hydreigon: 146-174 (86.9 - 103.5%) -- 25% chance to OHKO
The fact that the Azu and Mega Mawile aren't 4HP would make no difference to the fact that they are OHKOs. I would put a bulkier spread of 252 SpA / 36 SpD / 216 Spe in Set Comments that is run with Roseli Berry. This lets you outpace fully invested positive natured Mega Garchomp and the rare Krookadile with the same speed EVs and a positive nature by one point while guaranteeing you to also survive modest Mega Gardevoir's Dazzling Gleam from full health.
  • 252+ SpA Mega Gardevoir Dazzling Gleam vs. 0 HP / 36 SpD Roseli Berry Hydreigon: 138-164 (82.6 - 98.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
 
Thank you gamer boy , I removed Flash Cannon and put your suggested spread in set comments. I replaced Flash Cannon with U-turn and changed set comments.

[EDIT: Moved the Roseli Berry to Other Options as its more situational then I anticipated.]
 
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You arent realizing that Mega Gardevoir will not be using Dazzling Gleam. It would be using Moonblast which is 15 BP stronger. I would slash Surf with Protect instead of U-Turn. I would mention Aegislash in Team Options because perfect coverage. Also, I would not really slash Roseli Berry. Fairy-types are so much of a counter, it isnt really worth it just to survive one hit when you cant retaliate back.
 
You arent realizing that Mega Gardevoir will not be using Dazzling Gleam. It would be using Moonblast which is 15 BP stronger. I would slash Surf with Protect instead of U-Turn. I would mention Aegislash in Team Options because perfect coverage. Also, I would not really slash Roseli Berry. Fairy-types are so much of a counter, it isnt really worth it just to survive one hit when you cant retaliate back.

It would use Dazzling Gleam because it's a spread move, and Surf is inadequate because it also hits your ally.

I think Scarf really needs its own set instead of being OO. It's been so deadly for me once Azumarill and Gardevoir have been removed
 
It would use Dazzling Gleam because it's a spread move, and Surf is inadequate because it also hits your ally.

I think Scarf really needs its own set instead of being OO. It's been so deadly for me once Azumarill and Gardevoir have been removed

Oh yea, forgot its a spread move. Still, you can not retaliate back making the item useless imo.
 
Pokemasta77 This is where protect comes in to scout out which stab MegaVoir has. I will add Aegislash in Team Options when i have time. bwebber I think i'll add choice but Special attacking Hydreigon has the same moves.
 
Figuring out which STAB it has doesnt really help though. I still find Roseli to be pointless just due to the fact that you will not be able to take these threats out in one turn.
 
Oh yea, forgot its a spread move. Still, you can not retaliate back making the item useless imo.

Yep. Out of Mawile, Gardevoir, and Azumarill the first is the only one you can hit because of its Steel typing, but it's just so obnoxiously powerful it's going to OHKO you anyway. :/
 
Pokemasta77 This is where protect comes in to scout out which stab MegaVoir has. I will add Aegislash in Team Options when i have time. bwebber I think i'll add choice but Special attacking Hydreigon has the same moves.

They don't really do the same thing though. Scarf allows Hydreigon to be an excellent late game option because of its coverage and power. And speed, obviously. The set above is just a general attacker.
 
-Remove U-Turn from the main set, it's not worth using over Protect
-Make sure to separate the mentions of Choice Specs and Choice Scarf in OO, the 2 sets play extremely differently.
-Probably mention that Hydreigon is the strongest special attacking Dragon Pokemon in this ruleset in the overview.
-Mence and Noivern overshadow it a lot with the amount of team support the other 2 give off, but Hydreigon has niche with the Dark typing and higher SpA.
-Mention a bulky Haban set in OO as well, being able to take a Specs Draco from Salamence is really nice. It's better than Roseli berry since it can actually capitalize off of taking a hit >_>

I'll look at this more once these changes are made
 
seconding you to get rid of U-Turn on the main set. It is too situational on Hydreigon as it doesn't need it to hit anything and it doesn't enjoy switching out as much as some other pokemon, making it pretty inferior to protect
 
Thank you Biosci for looking at my Analysis, I will add the changes. I was thinking of adding a seperate set to the analysis for choice items, should i add it or no? Also, should i also remove the comment of the Roseli berry as it cannot retailiate against fairy types?
 
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I would be fine with choice scarf getting it's own set, but choice specs can stay in OO. Roseli berry can go too, yea.
 
Choice Scarf and Choice Specs sets play much differently from each other, don't slash them on the same set.
 
Added scarf set. I think I am ready for Q/C checks.

[Edit: Can I add rock slide over u-turn to 2KO Chari-y and Talonflame?]
 
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IMO for Scarf set you should probably go with Modest, at least slash it first. There aren't too many other Scarfers that Timid would help you outspeed, save for other Hydreigon (who is kinda rare) and Modest Salamence (very risky keeping Hydreigon out, since a lot of Salamence are Timid). It might also be a good idea to put a few EVs in bulk to take Garchomp's Dragon Claw since it doesn't take very much investment; it can help against Sash variants and still have the luxury to KO it if it switches in after Hydreigon goes to -2 (-2 and -4 Draco Meteors KO Garchomp). Also, is U-Turn really one of its best options? I've never needed it personally, since I've had most success with Hydreigon when I don't lead with it. U-Turn doesn't do it much good in that case.
 
I will put Modest first and slash Timid; However, I will keep U-turn and I will add intimidating partners in Team Options. I will also put a bulkier spread to take Garchomp's Dragon Claw in OO. Thanks bwebber
 
I feel that there is little-to-no reason to run Flamethrower on the scarf set. I'd remove the slash but leave it in moves (you already stated why it is inferior to Fire Blast). However, on the main set, state that is should always be used if you are running LO as it actually does KO standard Ferrothorn (252 SpA Life Orb Hydreigon Flamethrower vs. 252 HP / 52 SpD Ferrothorn: 224-265 (123.7 - 146.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO). I'd also remove the mention of Modest on the main set as it is too slow without scarf or a boost. Leave it for set details. I'd personally dash Fire Blast after Flamethrower on the main set, if only to 'align' it with Life Orb, making it obvious as to which move to use with each item.
Edit: Change the header of the scarf set to "Choice Scarf". It is mainly to make it obvious for people looking through the sets and what you have atm isn't very clear.
 
gamer boy I'm leaving flamethrower and modest as i already said they are for reliability and extra power respectively. I've changed the name so that it is more evident that it is a scarf set. Also, there are more steel types to worry about then ferrothorn for flamethrower.
252 SpA Life Orb Hydreigon Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Mega Mawile: 166-198 (105.7 - 126.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Life Orb Hydreigon Flamethrower vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Mega Mawile: 135-161 (85.9 - 102.5%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO

In conclusion, i'm leaving fire blast on the set as the main move.
 
gamer boy I'm leaving flamethrower and modest as i already said they are for reliability and extra power respectively. I've changed the name so that it is more evident that it is a scarf set. Also, there are more steel types to worry about then ferrothorn for flamethrower.
252 SpA Life Orb Hydreigon Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Mega Mawile: 166-198 (105.7 - 126.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Life Orb Hydreigon Flamethrower vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Mega Mawile: 135-161 (85.9 - 102.5%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO

In conclusion, i'm leaving fire blast on the set as the main move.
ok. disregard the point about it being always needed with LO. I was directly addressing your point about Ferrothorn there. Sorry if I caused confusion.
 
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