Pokémon Hydreigon

[Taptricity]

Enter: Hydreigon!

​

Base Stats:
HP: 92
Atk: 105
Def: 90
SpA: 125
SpD: 90
Spe: 98

Ability: Levitate

Notable Moves:
Nasty Plot
Dark Pulse
Draco Meteor
U-turn
Substitute
Fire Blast
Focus Blast
Flash Cannon
Belch
Dragon Dance
Outrage
Throat Chop

All Moves

[1] Tackle
[1] Double Hit
[1] Tri Attack
[1] Focus Energy
[1] Dragon Breath
[1] Bite
[12] Roar
[16] Assurance
[20] Headbutt
[24] Work Up
[28] Slam
[32] Crunch
[36] Scary Face
[40] Dragon Pulse
[44] Body Slam
[48] Hyper Voice
[54] Dragon Rush
[60] Nasty Plot
[68] Outrage
[76] Hyper Beam

TMs:
TM06 Fly
TM08 Hyper Beam
TM09 Giga Impact
TM13 Fire Spin
TM14 Thunder Wave
TM16 Screech
TM18 Reflect
TM21 Rest
TM22 Rock Slide
TM23 Thief
TM24 Snore
TM25 Protect
TM26 Scary Face
TM30 Steel Wing
TM31 Attract
TM33 Rain Dance
TM34 Sunny Day
TM37 Beat Up
TM39 Facade
TM41 Helping Hand
TM48 Rock Tomb
TM56 U-turn
TM57 Payback
TM58 Assurance
TM66 Thunder Fang
TM67 Ice Fang
TM68 Fire Fang
TM76 Round
TM78 Acrobatics
TM81 Bulldoze
TM85 Snarl
TM97 Brutal Swing
TM99 Breaking Swipe

TRs:
TR01 Body Slam
TR02 Flamethrower
TR03 Hydro Pump
TR04 Surf
TR10 Earthquake
TR13 Focus Energy
TR15 Fire Blast
TR19 Tri Attack
TR20 Substitute
TR24 Outrage
TR26 Endure
TR27 Sleep Talk
TR31 Iron Tail
TR32 Crunch
TR35 Uproar
TR36 Heat Wave
TR37 Taunt
TR39 Superpower
TR42 Hyper Voice
TR51 Dragon Dance
TR58 Dark Pulse
TR62 Dragon Pulse
TR64 Focus Blast
TR67 Earth Power
TR68 Nasty Plot
TR69 Zen Headbutt
TR70 Flash Cannon
TR75 Stone Edge
TR85 Work Up
TR95 Throat Chop

Egg Moves:
Double Hit
Astonish
Head Smash
Belch

Move Tutor:
Draco Meteor

Pros:
-Access to Nasty Plot with base 125 Special Attack makes Hydreigon a highly threatening wallbreaker that can destroy underprepped teams.
-Access to Levitate prevents Hydreigon from taking Spikes and Toxic Spikes chip while avoiding Sticky Web.
-Dark/Dragon with the aforementioned Levitate makes for a decent defensive typing, allowing it to check Aegislash, Excadrill, Indeedee, etc. Hydreigon ends up having an easy time setting up Nasty Plot.
-Wide amount of coverage moves and set versatility makes Hydreigon unpredictable at first glance.

Cons:
-While Hydreigon gained Nasty Plot, it lost Roost in return. Hydreigon now lacks recovery which shrinks its opportunities of switching in safely.
-Hydreigon’s Speed is usable but also quite awkward. Hydreigon is outsped by Gengar, Barraskewda, and Dragapult which are all more than capable of revenge killing Hydreigon.
-Hydreigon is also almost entirely hopeless agaisnt Fairy-types. If the opponent has a Grimmsnarl or Unaware Clefable, chances are Hydreigon isn’t going to do much throughout the match until one of them gets removed.

Dynamax Potential:
Oh hell yeah Hydreigon has a lot of potential. Max Darkness for lowering your opponent’s Special Defense makes it all the easier to breach their defenses. Don’t count out the rest of Hydreigon’s coverage either. Max Wyrmwind and Max Steelspike function similarly in making you more defensive while landing on the corresponding Pokemon for the attack. Max Flare sets powers up your Fire Blast of course. Belch for Max Ooze is something I explain down below as well.

Potential Movesets:

Nasty Plot
Hydreigon @ Life Orb / Blunder Policy
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Dark Pulse
- Draco Meteor
- Flash Cannon / Belch / Fire Blast / Focus Blast

Slapping everything into that 4th slot because Hydreigon has a choice on what it wants to win or have an easier time breaking against. I arranged moves with accuracy checks in conjunction to Blunder Policy for organized reasons running these moves with Life Orb is perfectly fine and I’d recommend in most cases that you stick to Life Orb. Blunder Policy is just that cute cheess in case you miss one of your hard hitting moves to make you fast as fuck. Belch is a really fun tech I’ve been playing around with. Belch becomes Max Ooze under Dynamax and you can easily lure Fairy-types in with it while upping your Special Attack. This is the go-to Hydreigon set and it breaks shit quickly so it’s worth it.

Choice Scarf
Hydreigon @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Dark Pulse
- Draco Meteor
- Focus Blast / Fire Blast / Flash Cannon
- U-turn

Scarf Hydreigon outspeeds Gengar, Scarf Indeedee, and omniboosted Kommo-o so all around solid revenge killer here that in most cases is just gonna spam U-turn and pivot your mons in. Very self explanatory on how this set works and Scarf Hydreigon’s been doing the same shit for a long time so a lengthy explanation isn’t necessary.

Choice Specs
Hydreigon @ Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Dark Pulse
- Draco Meteor
- Focus Blast / Fire Blast / Flash Cannon
- U-turn / Flash Cannon

Most likely the less popular of Hydreigon sets but Specs Hydreigon still hits tremendously hard with proper prediction. And if you’re scared of predicting U-turn is always an easy way out of a bad situation. You could opt for full mono Special Attack over U-turn for perfect coverage that’ll place you and your opponent on your toes. The immediate power has its merits, and that’s that.

Honorable Mention:
Hydreigon received Dragon Dance so perhaps a physical Dragon Dance set could work but its lower Attack stat and reliance on shit like Throat Chop, Outrage, Iron Tail makes this set lean towards inconsistency compared to its Special attacking prowess.

And one more thing, I have a core.

NP Drei+Scarf Deedee

Hydreigon @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Dark Pulse
- Draco Meteor
- Fire Blast / Focus Blast / Flash Cannon

Indeedee (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Dazzling Gleam
- Mystical Fire
- Trick

Indeedee really impresses me and is personally one of the better Scarfers in the metagame. Of course it also enables some breakers with Psychic Terrain and Hydreigon is no different. The two can overwhelm their checks and remove them. Hydreigon can then freely set up and claim a couple KOs while they’re at it. Solid offensive core here if you’d like to try it out.

Final Thoughts:

Hydreigon returns with a new tool at the cost of recovery and can also return to its old Choice item shenanigans. It’s a devastating wallbreaker under the right conditions and rips apart the FerroPex/Corsola cores running around the tier currently. This Pokemon is no joke and definitely deserves more recognition in the tier.

 

[readytolose]

[...] while Hydreigon can evade priority if need be.

It has Levitate.... so no, Psychic Terrain doesn't protect it.

 

[Taptricity]

It has Levitate.... so no, Psychic Terrain doesn't protect it.

I swear I forget the Terrain mechanics all the time when it comes to floating mons thanks for pointing it out.

 

[Leica]

I feel Hydreigon's really good right now without all the Tapus and Magearna's everywhere and is likely to only get better if things like dynamax end up going away and HO becomes slightly less common, getting Roost back with Home should help too.

NP Hydreigon absolutely demolishes some common stall cores you see on the ladder and sets like scarf and specs still feel good enough too, 98 speed isn't really that slow anymore and fast enough to outpace most common scarfers I've seen (Darm, Rotom, Drill till an extent).

tl;dr it's pretty cool.

 

[Ema Skye]

I really wish DDance was more viable here but this guy has pretty awful physical coverage. Boosting out of that awkward speed tier would’ve been awesome.

 

[HydreigonTheChild]

is there a niche for a dd set under veil/screens because it may get 2 opportunities to set up under veil/screen and maybe on a weak mon to or resistances. Unlucky roost no longer a TM so RIP but it gained NP,dd,hydro pump. I think UU may be where hydrei resides again but i dunno im not some pro at competitive i just know it will have a use in OU for sure and UU is where it can be the UU dragon that it always wanted since lati and m-altaria is gone. Also why not use fly for when u dynamax you can get +1 speed also hitting fighting types harder.

Also my fav mon

 

[HedgeLord]

A lot of the relevant Fairies from Gen 7 are gone, things are looking brighter for Hydreigon.
I've made it my designated Dynamaxer for OU and came up with this meme-ish set

Hydreigon @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Dark Pulse
- Draco Meteor
- Fire Blast
- Fly

Use Max Airstream on a chipped Pokemon to speed boost and grab a kill while you're at it and go to town with your coverage moves.

 

[HydreigonTheChild]

A lot of the relevant Fairies from Gen 7 are gone, things are looking brighter for Hydreigon.
I've made it my designated Dynamaxer for OU and came up with this meme-ish set

Hydreigon @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Dark Pulse
- Draco Meteor
- Fire Blast
- Fly

Use Max Airstream on a chipped Pokemon to speed boost and grab a kill while you're at it and go to town with your coverage moves.

put belch as well so u can get +1 attack boost :3. I see that hydrei is your designed dynamaxer u should run lefties cuz it has no recovery and sufferes from it

 

[onatolentino]

How does Hydreigon perform against the very common Dragapult?

 

[HydreigonTheChild]

How does Hydreigon perform against the very common Dragapult?

its ok if scarf otherwise SUBSTITUTE and u beat it :3. dragapult i think maybe a better version of zeraora and that it has good movepool but it strugles with 100 attack or 120 physical inst just not good enough

 

[NotInMyChristianServer]

I have been quite successful against fat teams using Substitute in the fourth slot and Earth Power instead of Draco Meteor to deal with Toxapex and Tyranitar (sadly it doesn't 2HKO at +2 but it's still the best thing to hit ttar aside of U-turn). It also makes Hydrei Imposter-proof.

 

[MrMayhem]

Would anyone recommend running Dragon Pulse over Draco Meteor? Just asking for reasons such as accuracy and the SpAtk drop. I do get the idea of running Blunder Policy to raise speed and using Nasty Plot before using Draco Meteor, but I feel Dragon Pulse could also work.

*I am new to competitive so if anyone with experience wants to pitch ideas, your welcome to as I just need help making a Hydregion set.

 

[Siggu]

Would anyone recommend running Dragon Pulse over Draco Meteor? Just asking for reasons such as accuracy and the SpAtk drop. I do get the idea of running Blunder Policy to raise speed and using Nasty Plot before using Draco Meteor, but I feel Dragon Pulse could also work.

*I am new to competitive so if anyone with experience wants to pitch ideas, your welcome to as I just need help making a Hydregion set.

Two Draco Meteors in a row deal more damage than two Dragon Pulses in a row.

Draco Meteor missing could be bad, sure, but in terms of power it's noticeably stronger.

 

[onatolentino]

I'm finding it hard to decide on the moveset for the Nasty Plot build. If I go with Sub, which attack should I replace with it? I've seen people go with Dark Pulse and Flash Cannon, but is it a good idea to leave Draco Meteor out?

 

[Alyksandr]

Superpower/Draco Meteor eject button pivot?

 

[transwiththeplans]

Superpower/Draco Meteor eject button pivot?

Dunno, benefits more from other items

 

[qways]

Ive had some success using ebelt + Dark pulse/earthpower/flamethrower/flash cannon. This set is really good to put pressure on Ferro, pex, clef, corsola, Corviknigth, aegislash cores. It also isnt weak to Dittos.
You need support against Mandibuzz however.

 

[Ulyssessgrant93]

How do we feel about a special DD set? As has been mentioned, it has underwhelming speed and a bad physical movepool, so DD would essentially be used solely for the Speed boost. Without reliable recovery leftovers may be useful, but personally I'd prefer the power that comes with a life orb. I would run:

Hydreigon @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 SpD / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Dark Pulse
- Draco Meteor
- Fire Blast/Earth Power
- Dragon Dance

And maybe it would be better as naive with superpower over fire blast so the attack boosts don't go wasted. Anyone have thoughts/suggestions on this?

 

[MrHands]

How do we feel about a special DD set? As has been mentioned, it has underwhelming speed and a bad physical movepool, so DD would essentially be used solely for the Speed boost. Without reliable recovery leftovers may be useful, but personally I'd prefer the power that comes with a life orb. I would run:

Hydreigon @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 SpD / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Dark Pulse
- Draco Meteor
- Fire Blast/Earth Power
- Dragon Dance

And maybe it would be better as naive with superpower over fire blast so the attack boosts don't go wasted. Anyone have thoughts/suggestions on this?

I would just use Fly and go full Dynamax setup mode using Max Fly to boost your speed while doing decent damage with Life Orb. If you want a Dragon Dance sweeper just use a different Pokemon.

Imo just stick with Nasty Plot to tear open walls.

 

[Flarowak]

Hydreigon is my favorite old Mon to use atm. This thing can just tear through teams now if used properly. I've been using a Nast plot set, nothing crazy just dark pulse, flash Cannon and fire blast. I had Draco but ditto was proving to be a nuisance with it on so I put flash Cannon there so if I'm copied I can dynamax, live and kill it back. Another huge plus for this mon is you don't need any hp invest to get a huge boost from dynamax thanks to hydra's amazing natural bulk. I've paired this thing up with webs and just wreaked havoc on teams.

 

[Lycanvore]

Would anyone recommend running Dragon Pulse over Draco Meteor? Just asking for reasons such as accuracy and the SpAtk drop. I do get the idea of running Blunder Policy to raise speed and using Nasty Plot before using Draco Meteor, but I feel Dragon Pulse could also work.

*I am new to competitive so if anyone with experience wants to pitch ideas, your welcome to as I just need help making a Hydregion set.

I prefer dragon pulse with a nasty plot set / dynamax. If you absolutely need to break through something without dynamax, then go with meteor, but for the times you need a dragon move, pulse does enough (and is more reliable).

 

[egumption]

I'm finding it hard to decide on the moveset for the Nasty Plot build. If I go with Sub, which attack should I replace with it? I've seen people go with Dark Pulse and Flash Cannon, but is it a good idea to leave Draco Meteor out?

The combined coverage of Pulse/Cannon is better. Notably, Flash Cannon hits Fairy types which are currently everywhere. If you run double STABs and a LO Clefable comes in on you, you are totally hosed and forced to switch, losing a ton of setup/momentum. Running Flash Cannon disincentivizes the free LO Clef switch-in, especially if you've set up your Sub + NP.

Draco Meteor does one-shot Vish but Hydreigon is meh as a Vish check IMO- you'd much rather run something like a Seismitoad to counter, since it can safely switch in and eat Rends for free whereas a Banded Vish will generally two-shot you with Rend and Rocks. If you predict poorly and try to switch Hydreigon into Vish and eat a Low Kick or Ice Fang you'll get basically OHKO (always true after Rocks). Some calcs:

Hydreigon vs Vish:
252 SpA Hydreigon Dark Pulse vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Dracovish: 79-94 (47.8 - 56.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
+2 252 SpA Hydreigon Dark Pulse vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Dracovish: 159-187 (96.3 - 113.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
252 SpA Hydreigon Draco Meteor vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Dracovish: 258-306 (156.3 - 185.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Vish vs Hydreigon:
252+ Atk Choice Band Strong Jaw Dracovish Fishious Rend vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Hydreigon: 76-90 (45.5 - 53.8%) -- 92.2% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Choice Band Dracovish Low Kick (100 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Hydreigon: 160-190 (95.8 - 113.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Choice Band Strong Jaw Dracovish Ice Fang vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Hydreigon: 156-184 (93.4 - 110.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

Hydreigon vs. Clefable:
+2 252 SpA Hydreigon Flash Cannon vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Clefable: 192-228 (95 - 112.8%) -- 75% chance to OHKO
252 SpA Hydreigon Flash Cannon vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Clefable: 98-116 (48.5 - 57.4%) -- 93.4% chance to 2HKO

Clefable vs. Hydreigon:
252+ SpA Life Orb Clefable Moonblast vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Hydreigon: 406-484 (243.1 - 289.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO