Zamazenta @ Leftovers / Chesto Berry
Ability: Dauntless Shield
EVs: 132 Atk / 124 Def / 252 Spe OR 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Iron Defense
- Body Press
- Crunch / Stone Edge
- Substitute / Roar / Rest
[SET COMMENTS]
With a nearly unmatched Speed tier and superb bulk further boosted by Dauntless Shield, Zamazenta doubles as both setup weeper and an offensive check to a plethora of dangerous physical attackers, such as Kingambit, Ogerpon-W and Garchomp. Zamazenta can exploit these threats with Iron Defense, simultaneously making it more difficult to revenge kill and boosting the power of Body Press. Crunch targets Gholdengo and Dragapult, which are immune to Body Press, while Stone Edge hits Volcarona, Moltres, and Zapdos while avoiding Flame Body and Static from them. With Substitute, Zamazenta can avoid status moves from passive Pokemon such as Alomomola and Gliscor while also providing a buffer to frail revenge killers such as Iron Valiant. Alternatively, Zamazenta can use Roar to force out Pokemon that attempt to boost alongside it, such as Skarmory, Corviknight, and opposing Zamazenta. Roar also provides a means of making progress into defensive teams Zamazenta generally struggles against when paired with Spikes setters such as Ting-Lu, Ferrothorn, and Gliscor. Rest, with Chesto Berry, provides instant recovery and lets Zamazenta beat checks reliant on status moves such as the aforementioned Alomomola and Gliscor; it also gives Zamazenta another chance to sweep if it had already been afflicted with status eariler in the game, such as through Flame Body from Volcarona. However, this comes with the opportunity cost of losing coverage or utility while making Zamazenta much more vulnerable to Knock Off from the likes of Kingambit and Mega Tyranitar, threats Zamazenta is often tasked with switching into. Finally, with Attack investment, Zamazenta can run Heavy Slam to more immediately threaten Fairy types such as Clefable and particularly Iron Valiant as well as Tapu Lele. Specifically, 200 Atk enables Zamazenta to OHKO Tapu Lele, 2HKO Clefable after Leftovers, and OHKO Iron Valiant after one layer of Spikes. However, other options are generally more useful in most matchups. 132 Atk / 124 Def / 252 Spe guarantees a 2HKO on Offensive Gholdengo with Crunch and an OHKO on Specially Defensive Moltres with Stone Edge, while 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe maximises its mixed bulk. A spread of 4 Atk / 252 Def / 252 Spe can also be run to maximise Body Press damage on resisted targets such as Landorus-T, though this makes Zamazenta more easily revenge killed by special attackers such as Iron Valiant.
Zamazenta's fantastic anti-offense capabilities in its Speed tier and defensive utility enable it to fit on offense and balance teams alike. Zamazenta generally has weaker matchups against balance and defensive teams, which often carry multiple checks and counters such as Toxapex, Gholdengo, and Clefable, sometimes leaving it nearly incapable of making progress on its own. For these reasons, powerful wallbreakers such as Kingambit, Garchomp, Ogerpon-Wellspring, and Raging Bolt are necessary to account for these poor matchups, also benefitting from Zamazenta's capacity to switch into their offensive checks such as Mega Lopunny and Weavile. Pursuit support from Kingambit, Mega Tyranitar, Weavile is highly recommended, especially when dropping Crunch, in order to trap the Psychic- and Ghost-types that may otherwise check or counter Zamazenta such as Slowbro, Gholdengo, and Dragapult. Moreover, despite Zamazenta's solid mixed bulk, it can still be forced out by special attackers such as Raging Bolt, Tapu Lele, Iron Valiant, and Dragapult. As a result, specially defensive Pokemon such as Assault Vest Melmetal, Ting-Lu, and Moltres are great partners, complementing Zamazenta's ability to blanket check most physical attackers. Kingambit is arguably Zamazenta's best partner, enjoying Zamazenta's incredible speed and ability to switch into its checks, such as Great Tusk and Mega Lopunny, while using its highly complementary offensive and defensive profile to check and trap threats to Zamazenta such as Dragapult, Choice-locked Tapu Lele, and Gholdengo not carrying Focus Blast. Kingambit's Knock Off also removes Rocky Helmet from Landorus-T and Heavy Duty-Boots from the likes of Zapdos and Moltres, weakening Zamazenta's checks.
[SET CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/moisture99.573467/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/omarsgarciav.526618/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/red-fintans.637479/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/red-fintans.637479/
Ability: Dauntless Shield
EVs: 132 Atk / 124 Def / 252 Spe OR 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Iron Defense
- Body Press
- Crunch / Stone Edge
- Substitute / Roar / Rest
[SET COMMENTS]
With a nearly unmatched Speed tier and superb bulk further boosted by Dauntless Shield, Zamazenta doubles as both setup weeper and an offensive check to a plethora of dangerous physical attackers, such as Kingambit, Ogerpon-W and Garchomp. Zamazenta can exploit these threats with Iron Defense, simultaneously making it more difficult to revenge kill and boosting the power of Body Press. Crunch targets Gholdengo and Dragapult, which are immune to Body Press, while Stone Edge hits Volcarona, Moltres, and Zapdos while avoiding Flame Body and Static from them. With Substitute, Zamazenta can avoid status moves from passive Pokemon such as Alomomola and Gliscor while also providing a buffer to frail revenge killers such as Iron Valiant. Alternatively, Zamazenta can use Roar to force out Pokemon that attempt to boost alongside it, such as Skarmory, Corviknight, and opposing Zamazenta. Roar also provides a means of making progress into defensive teams Zamazenta generally struggles against when paired with Spikes setters such as Ting-Lu, Ferrothorn, and Gliscor. Rest, with Chesto Berry, provides instant recovery and lets Zamazenta beat checks reliant on status moves such as the aforementioned Alomomola and Gliscor; it also gives Zamazenta another chance to sweep if it had already been afflicted with status eariler in the game, such as through Flame Body from Volcarona. However, this comes with the opportunity cost of losing coverage or utility while making Zamazenta much more vulnerable to Knock Off from the likes of Kingambit and Mega Tyranitar, threats Zamazenta is often tasked with switching into. Finally, with Attack investment, Zamazenta can run Heavy Slam to more immediately threaten Fairy types such as Clefable and particularly Iron Valiant as well as Tapu Lele. Specifically, 200 Atk enables Zamazenta to OHKO Tapu Lele, 2HKO Clefable after Leftovers, and OHKO Iron Valiant after one layer of Spikes. However, other options are generally more useful in most matchups. 132 Atk / 124 Def / 252 Spe guarantees a 2HKO on Offensive Gholdengo with Crunch and an OHKO on Specially Defensive Moltres with Stone Edge, while 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe maximises its mixed bulk. A spread of 4 Atk / 252 Def / 252 Spe can also be run to maximise Body Press damage on resisted targets such as Landorus-T, though this makes Zamazenta more easily revenge killed by special attackers such as Iron Valiant.
Zamazenta's fantastic anti-offense capabilities in its Speed tier and defensive utility enable it to fit on offense and balance teams alike. Zamazenta generally has weaker matchups against balance and defensive teams, which often carry multiple checks and counters such as Toxapex, Gholdengo, and Clefable, sometimes leaving it nearly incapable of making progress on its own. For these reasons, powerful wallbreakers such as Kingambit, Garchomp, Ogerpon-Wellspring, and Raging Bolt are necessary to account for these poor matchups, also benefitting from Zamazenta's capacity to switch into their offensive checks such as Mega Lopunny and Weavile. Pursuit support from Kingambit, Mega Tyranitar, Weavile is highly recommended, especially when dropping Crunch, in order to trap the Psychic- and Ghost-types that may otherwise check or counter Zamazenta such as Slowbro, Gholdengo, and Dragapult. Moreover, despite Zamazenta's solid mixed bulk, it can still be forced out by special attackers such as Raging Bolt, Tapu Lele, Iron Valiant, and Dragapult. As a result, specially defensive Pokemon such as Assault Vest Melmetal, Ting-Lu, and Moltres are great partners, complementing Zamazenta's ability to blanket check most physical attackers. Kingambit is arguably Zamazenta's best partner, enjoying Zamazenta's incredible speed and ability to switch into its checks, such as Great Tusk and Mega Lopunny, while using its highly complementary offensive and defensive profile to check and trap threats to Zamazenta such as Dragapult, Choice-locked Tapu Lele, and Gholdengo not carrying Focus Blast. Kingambit's Knock Off also removes Rocky Helmet from Landorus-T and Heavy Duty-Boots from the likes of Zapdos and Moltres, weakening Zamazenta's checks.
[SET CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/moisture99.573467/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/omarsgarciav.526618/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/red-fintans.637479/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/red-fintans.637479/
Last edited:
