[OVERVIEW]
Decent bulk coupled with pretty strong offensive presence makes Necrozma a threatening Calm Mind sweeper. Access to Prism Armor and reliable recovery in Moonlight improve its longevity and ease in setting up. Additionally, Necrozma's great movepool makes it less predictable and enables it to provide nice support to its team or pick up an unexpected KO. However, Necrozma's typing isn't great defensively because it lacks a useful resistance aside from Psychic and is weak to fairly common Dark-type attacks. Also, Necrozma faces competition as a Calm Mind sweeper from Tapu Fini, Cresselia, and Mega Latias.
[SET]
name: Calm Mind
move 1: Photon Geyser
move 2: Earth Power
move 3: Calm Mind
move 4: Protect
item: Groundium Z / Wiki Berry
ability: Prism Armor
nature: Modest
evs: 232 HP / 240 SpA / 36 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Photon Geyser is Necrozma's best STAB option thanks to its power and accuracy. Earth Power is a coverage move for grounded Steel-types like Mega Metagross and Aegislash as well as for other Pokemon weak to it such as Incineroar and Victini. Calm Mind allows Necrozma to become a powerful and bulky offensive threat. Protect helps Necrozma survive strong attacks and double targets as well as scout for foes' moves. Moonlight is an option over Protect that increases Necrozma's longevity and gives it more setup opportunities.
Set Details
========
Groundium Z turns Earth Power into a strong Tectonic Rage, KOing threats like Incineroar, Mega Metagross, and Aegislash. Alternatively, Wiki Berry improves Necrozma's longevity by healing it when it's on low HP at the cost of a powerful nuke. Prism Armor is Necrozma's only ability and is a useful one, reducing damage from super effective attacks. The given EV spread and a Modest nature give Necrozma decent bulk, allowing Necrozma to outspeed Mega Manectric in Tailwind and OHKO standard non-Assault Vest Incineroar with Tectonic Rage. If you're using Necrozma on a Trick Room team, maximize HP and Special Attack EVs at the cost of Speed EVs, change its nature to Quiet, and set its Speed IV to 0.
Usage Tips
========
Use Necrozma early-game to apply offensive pressure on the opponent's team with boosted attacks and soften it up for teammates. Tectonic Rage is useful if you need to immediately destroy a foe or lure in and KO Necrozma's checks like Incineroar and Mega Metagross. Since Moonlight has low PP, don't use it too recklessly. Be careful with bringing Necrozma directly in on strong attacks from the likes of Kyurem-B and Mega Salamence because Necrozma isn't very bulky and is pretty slow. Necrozma's ability to take super effective hits well can make it seem bulkier than it actually is, so don't overestimate Necrozma's bulk, and avoid strong neutral hits.
Team Options
========
Steel-type checks like Mega Charizard Y, Zygarde, and Volcanion are nice teammates for Necrozma because they can remove Steel-types like Genesect and Celesteela that give Necrozma trouble. Mega Charizard Y is an especially notable ally because it increases Moonlight's recovery with Drought and gives Necrozma a form of speed control. Strong physical attackers like Kartana and Lurantis can scare off special walls like Chansey and Tapu Fini, which Necrozma struggles to beat. Since Necrozma is slow, it appreciates speed control like Tailwind and Icy Wind. Some Pokemon that can provide it are the aforementioned Mega Charizard Y, Kyurem-B, and Zapdos. Alternatively, you can take advantage of Necrozma's fairly low Speed by using it in a Trick Room team alongside setters such as Porygon2 and Diancie. Intimidate from the likes of Incineroar, Landorus-T, and Mega Manectric eases Necrozma's setup and lets it rely on Moonlight less, as the move has low PP. Heal Pulse from the likes of Tapu Fini and Chansey helps Necrozma set up too. Grass-types like Kartana and Tapu Bulu appreciate Necrozma's ability to lure in and KO Fire- and Steel-types like Incineroar and Mega Metagross. The former also patches up Necrozma's poor Speed with Tailwind, and the latter provides it with passive recovery from Grassy Terrain.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
An offensive Trick Room set with Photon Geyser, Earth Power, and either Protect or Stealth Rock is an option for Trick Room teams, though this set lacks power and longevity as opposed to the Calm Mind set. Heat Wave hurts Pokemon that don't fear Earth Power or Tectonic Rage like Assault Vest Genesect and Mega Scizor. However, the inability to beat Incineroar makes Heat Wave inferior to Earth Power. Electric Seed or Grassy Seed with their respective Terrain setters can make Necrozma's setup easier, but this set is outclassed by Calm Mind Cresselia because it is a lot bulkier than Necrozma.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Dark-types**: Pokemon like Incineroar, Hoopa-U, and Tyranitar are immune to Photon Geyser and capable of dealing big damage with their super effective Dark-type STAB moves. They're pretty vulnerable to a boosted Tectonic Rage, though.
**Steel-types**: The likes of Mega Metagross, Genesect, and Celesteela resist Photon Geyser but usually struggle to take on a boosted Tectonic Rage. Celesteela is one of the most sturdy Necrozma counters because it's immune to Tectonic Rage.
**Bug-types**: Pokemon like Genesect and Volcarona are capable of dealing heavy damage to Necrozma with their super effective STAB moves.
**Strong Attacks**: Necrozma isn't very bulky, so powerful attacks like Kyurem-B's Subzero Slammer and item-boosted Thunderbolt from Tapu Koko inflict big damage on Necrozma. Note that strong neutral attacks are almost as dangerous as super effective ones.
**Toxic**: Status from the likes of Porygon2 and Chansey cuts Necrozma's longevity and prevents it from successfully setting up. Additionally, the majority of Toxic users have great special bulk, enabling them to stall Necrozma out.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Egor, 439341]]
- Earlier versions by: [[Memoric, 215000]]
- Quality checked by: [[qsns, 230772], [talkingtree, 232101]]
- Grammar checked by: [[NixHex, 40064], [Fireflame479, 231476]]
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