[OVERVIEW]
Galarian Moltres is both an offensive and defensive threat in UU. Because its fantastic bulk and defensive typing make it exceptionally hard to take down when screens are set up, Galarian Moltres is a staple on screen-based hyper offense teams, taking advantage of great setup moves in Nasty Plot and Agility. Coupled with STAB attacks that provide near-perfect coverage, Galarian Moltres can be remarkably hard to stop after it sets up. Galarian Moltres can also fill a defensive role by using a RestTalk set that is one of the few Pokemon capable of defeating Psychic-types utilizing the Grassy Seed and Calm Mind combination such as Reuniclus. Such sets can almost singlehandedly defeat stall teams and, against more offensive teams, even function as a decent pivot into Pokemon such as Tapu Bulu if running Hurricane as well as perform as a great status absorber to the omnipresent Amoonguss and Tangrowth. However, having only base 100 Special Attack can prevent Galarian Moltres from breaking through specially bulky Pokemon such as Rhyperior, even when boosted. Galarian Moltres also requires two turns to set up if a Weakness Policy is not used or activated, which leaves it vulnerable to Taunt and status afflictions. Using RestTalk can make Galarian Moltres too passive when first entering a battle, so the set can be challenging to fit onto teams due to how often it invites wallbreakers such as Terrakion, Azumarill, and Kommo-o to come in. Lastly, despite an overall good defensive typing, Galarian Moltres is weak to common priority moves such as Lycanroc-D's Accelerock and Mamoswine's Ice Shard.
[SET]
name: Double Dance
move 1: Nasty Plot
move 2: Fiery Wrath
move 3: Hurricane
move 4: Agility
item: Weakness Policy / Heavy-Duty Boots
ability: Berserk
nature: Modest
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Galarian Moltres is an excellent sweeper that gets multiple setup opportunities on teams that utilize dual screens or Aurora Veil. After using both Nasty Plot and Agility, Galarian Moltres can OHKO most the metagame and outspeeds the entirety of it. The only attacks here needed here are STAB attacks Fiery Wrath and Hurricane, as the only UU-relevant Pokemon they miss out on are Bisharp and the rare Klefki and Diancie. Fiery Wrath's flinch chance also can give Galarian Moltres chances to break through bulkier Pokemon that can tank its attacks such as Chansey. Air Slash is an option over Hurricane if accuracy concerns arise, but beware that it misses out on OHKOs on crucial Pokemon such as Terrakion, even when boosted. Weakness Policy is the optimal item for this set, as the most effective way to take down Galarian Moltres behind screens is a super effective attack, meaning it activates a decent amount of the time and gives Galarian Moltres exceptional power when coupled with Nasty Plot. Using Weakness Policy can also create opportunities for Galarian Moltres to set up in one turn by using Agility as a super effective attack hits it. Heavy-Duty Boots is also a viable item choice, as preventing Stealth Rock damage can make it much more challenging for an opponent to take down Galarian Moltres at all. Heavy-Duty Boots also can give Galarian Moltres a better shot at setting up without screens, as it has enough bulk at full health to set up a respectable amount of the time. Weakness Policy is the far better choice the majority of the time, however, because of how often Galarian Moltres take super effective attacks behind screens.
Double Dance Galarian Moltres fits almost exclusively on screens-based hyper offense teams because its bulk behind screens is crucial to its success. As a result, Grimmsnarl and Alolan Ninetales are virtually essential screen-setting teammates. They have different advantages to them, as the former can almost always guarantee at least one screen thanks to Prankster, while the latter is the quickest Aurora Veil setter in the tier and requires only one turn to essentially set up both screens. Stealth Rock setters on hyper offense teams rack up chip damage on Pokemon that check Galarian Moltres such as Diancie. Krookodile is the most notable one, as it provides Stealth Rock, an Electric-type immunity, Intimidate, and a good enough Speed tier to shut down most opposing entry hazard setters with Taunt. Azelf is an alternative that take advantage of its much better Speed tier to set up Stealth Rock and Taunt at the cost of defensive utility. Physical sweepers that fit well on hyper offense teams and can break through or soften up specially bulky Pokemon able to halt a Galarian Moltres sweep—such as Chansey and Nihilego—are appreciated as partners. Belly Drum Azumarill can fill this role; in return, Galarian Moltres has a great matchup against Grass-types that trouble Azumarill. Swords Dance Terrakion and Swords Dance Scizor are also decent picks on hyper offense teams that can break through special tanks.
[SET]
name: Tank
move 1: Fiery Wrath
move 2: Nasty Plot / Hurricane
move 3: Rest
move 4: Sleep Talk
item: Heavy-Duty Boots
ability: Berserk
nature: Calm
evs: 248 HP / 160 SpD / 100 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
RestTalk Galarian Moltres can provide a lot of utility to a team by breaking through Grassy Seed Psychic-types such as Reuniclus and Galarian Slowbro. This set also has an exceptional matchup versus stall teams and is still able to check many offensive Pokemon such as Alakazam. Fiery Wrath is the main attack on this set, as it has acceptable coverage and is reliable. Nasty Plot is the optimal choice for the second slot, as it provides the necessary power to overwhelm the aforementioned Psychic-types; without it, Galarian Moltres loses to these Pokemon. Nasty Plot also prevents Galarian Moltres from being too passive when first entering the battle. If the team has another answer for Grassy Seed Psychic-types, Hurricane is an option for more offensive longevity, especially when facing stall teams that Galarian Moltres succeeds against. Hurricane also prevents Terrakion from freely switching into Fiery Wrath and getting a boost to its Attack. Rest and Sleep Talk allow Galarian Moltres to effectively stallbreak by healing status and accruing Berserk boosts, with the latter being what primarily enables it to stallbreak without Nasty Plot. The Speed EVs let Galarian Moltres outspeed maximum Speed Primarina and Adamant Bisharp in a pinch, while the rest of the EVs with a Calm nature go towards special bulk to help Galarian Moltres against Grassy Seed users and generally check special attackers such as Nidoqueen and special Salamence. Maximum HP also means Galarian Moltres can check Krookodile, although this can lead to Galarian Moltres losing its item to Knock Off and failing to properly check other special threats due to Stealth Rock damage. Heavy-Duty Boots prevents Galarian Moltres from taking Stealth Rock damage, easing the need for it to use Rest often; this also improves its matchup against faster teams because it tends to switch in more against them.
This set can be challenging to fit onto teams because it has a very unique role most teams don't require and is vulnerable to powerful wallbreakers such as Terrakion and Azumarill. It fares best on bulky offense and balance builds, however. Tapu Bulu pairs well because this set effectively counters popular Grass-types that Tapu Bulu may struggle with such as Amoonguss and Tangrowth. Tapu Bulu also appreciates Galarian Moltres's ability to check specially based Salamence. In return, Tapu Bulu provides a good matchup against Zeraora, Azumarill, and Lycanroc-D. Azumarill is a helpful partner to this set, as it is able to break through just about any special wall that can threaten Galarian Moltres, particularly Rhyperior and the rare Diancie. Galarian Moltres can help Azumarill by providing an ideal matchup against Amoonguss and Tangrowth. Nidoqueen can check Zeraora and Fairy-types as well as set Toxic Spikes to discourage Pokemon that resist Fiery Wrath or check Galarian Moltres, such as Kommo-o and Terrakion, from switching in. Jirachi is a solid teammate as well, as it handles Nihilego, SubRoost Kyurem, and Diancie with ease and has exemplary defensive synergy with Galarian Moltres. Jirachi also provides general utility by being able to set up Stealth Rock and pivot out to Galarian Moltres with U-turn. Zeraora appreciates Galarian Moltres's ability to dismantle stall teams, which it struggles heavily against. In return, it functions as a passable pivot to Thundurus-T and can invite Grassy Seed users to switch in so Galarian Moltres can handle them. Chansey is another special tank that can pair with this set, as it is a superb Thundurus, Choice Specs Kyurem, and Nihilego switch-in. Palossand checks Terrakion, which is a massive threat to this set. Colbur Berry Palossand can also check Zeraora and prevent it from grabbing momentum with Volt Switch.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Taunt is a passable option on either set, but it has a huge opportunity cost over any of the listed moves. Forgoing a STAB or boosting move for Substitute is an option on the Double Dance set to give Galarian Moltres a better matchup against offensive teams, and it can even function decently alongside Salac Berry or Petaya Berry depending on which boosting move is being used, but overall is less reliable. A pivot set with Heavy-Duty Boots and U-turn can check many Pokemon as well as grab momentum for your team, but it leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to power.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Rock-types**: Rock-types such as Terrakion, Lycanroc-D, and Rhyperior pose a huge threat to Galarian Moltres; Terrakion easily OHKOes it with Stone Edge and can boost its Attack stat by switching into Fiery Wrath, Lycanroc-D can halt a sweep with priority Accelerock, and Rhyperior can tank a hit and wear Moltres down with Rock Blast or Toxic. Nihilego and Diancie also serve as great checks, as the former can take any boosted attack and retaliate with a Rock-type STAB attack, while the latter flat out counters Moltres.
**Fairy-types**: Azumarill and Primarina are capable of OHKOing either Galarian Moltres set. Bulkier variants of Primarina can take boosted Hurricane to boot. Diancie can hit Moltres hard with Diamond Storm and shrug off any attack Galarian Moltres tries to hit it with.
**Taunt**: If Galarian Moltres has Taunt used on it, it will be unable to set up with its offensive set or recover and attack with Sleep Talk on its bulky set. Krookodile and Mew are common Taunt users that can outspeed Galarian Moltres and prevent it from using setup or recovery moves. Most Taunt users can usually only proactively halt Galarian Moltres from making progress, however, as either set can do a lot of damage to them when boosted.
**Electric-types**: Electric-types such as Zeraora and Thundurus OHKO or heavily dent Galarian Moltres. This is especially concerning to Galarian Moltres's bulky set, as they are some of the few Pokemon that can reliably outspeed and break through it. Most Electric-types can also switch into unboosted Galarian Moltres, especially the RestTalk set, and force it out. However, when behind screens, significant prior damage is often required for Electric-types to OHKO Galarian Moltres. If they don't OHKO Galarian Moltres, they may simply activate a Weakness Policy and propagate a sweep.
**Priority**: Powerful priority moves, with the exception of Sucker Punch, are some of the quickest ways to halt a Galarian Moltres's sweep once screens have faded away. Most notably, Lycanroc-D's Accelerock and Mamoswine's Ice Shard take away well over half of Galarian Moltres's HP outside of screens. Other priority users, such as Choice Band Azumarill and Choice Band Scizor, take away over a third of Galarian Moltres's HP when screens are no longer in play.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[bb skarm, 235692]]
- Quality checked by: [[Lilburr, 481709], [Twilight, 344575], [Estarossa, 461329]]
- Grammar checked by: [[The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216], [CryoGyro, 331519]]
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