[OVERVIEW]
Necrozma is an outstanding Psychic-type Pokemon that has unique set diversity, capable of running a plethora of coverage and utility moves. Stealth Rock Necrozma is a notable lead for offensive structures, as it can break through a lot of balance staples that other leads like Kleavor and Terrakion might struggle against, like Hippowdon, Hisuian Goodra, Jirachi, and Galarian Weezing. Necrozma has decent natural bulk that is amplified by Prism Armor, minimizing the damage taken from U-turn and Sucker Punch from threats like Slither Wing and Bisharp. Dragon Dance and Calm Mind variants can pick what coverage attacks they need, like Earthquake, Knock Off, Earth Power, and Heat Wave, with Calm Mind sets generally running Moonlight to give Necrozma reliable recovery to stick around after setting up. Necrozma does often struggle to find a slot on teams given the bevy of Psychic-types in the tier it competes with, like Jirachi, Reuniclus, and Slowbro, though it has exceptional offensive capabilities on structures that the other Psychic-types lack like ways to hit Steel-types consistently. While Necrozma is not exactly lacking in Speed, it can be a bit slow at times, failing to outspeed foes that Armarouge and Jirachi do and limiting the number of foes it can KO. Necrozma also struggles to combat the priority in the tier, notably taking super effective damage from Bisharp Sucker Punch and Slither Wing First Impression.
[SET]
name: Offensive Stealth Rock
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Photon Geyser
move 3: Meteor Beam
move 4: Earth Power
item: Power Herb
ability: Prism Armor
nature: Modest
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
tera type: Ghost
[SET COMMENTS]
Offensive Stealth Rock Necrozma is a competent entry hazard setter that can output tremendous damage with its choice of strong coverage attacks. Meteor Beam increases Necrozma's power while also threatening to OHKO Pokemon like Rotom-H and Salamence. Earth Power gives Necrozma the coverage to break through Steel-types like Empoleon, Hisuian Goodra, and Jirachi. Power Herb doubles as a one-turn solution to Meteor Beam and a way to remove Necrozma's item, weakening Knock Off from Pokemon like Cyclizar, Krookodile, and Galarian Zapdos. This makes Necrozma notable, as it is a Psychic-type that is able to mitigate damage taken by Knock Off. Prism Armor is a great ability, making super effective hits much easier to take as Necrozma establishes entry hazards and racks up damage. Tera Ghost prevents Rapid Spin Cyclizar from removing hazards and weakens Bug-type attacks like First Impression and U-turn from Slither Wing and Galarian Zapdos.
Offensive teams use Necrozma as a Stealth Rock lead to capitalize on its unique offensive profile and get an early advantage over balance and bulky offense structures, hitting staples like Cyclizar, Hippowdon, and Jirachi for enough damage to ensure Stealth Rock goes up. Other Stealth Rock leads like Kleavor and Terrakion have limited options and are handled by many balance staples like Galarian Weezing, Jirachi, and Hippowdon, while Necrozma can run multiple sets and has great coverage, letting it threaten a majority of the metagame, including common defensive staples. Necrozma's ability to immediately output damage and get a boost to Special Attack with Meteor Beam makes would-be checks like Empoleon, Hisuian Goodra, and Jirachi susceptible to getting taken out by a boosted Earth Power, as well as threatening Assault Vest Cyclizar enough to ensure Stealth Rock set by Necrozma stay up. Teammates that appreciate these bulky Steel-types and specially defensive walls being worn down, like Armarouge, Blastoise, and Yanmega, all thrive when they're able to set up and clean late-game, especially with Stealth Rock support. Similarly, physical sweepers like Maushold and Revavroom notably appreciate Jirachi being worn down, as they can struggle to beat Jirachi, since it threatens to use Encore to disrupt setup attempts or paralyze with Body Slam.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
====
Calm Mind Necrozma is a viable mid-game wallbreaker and late-game cleaner, capable of hitting most of the metagame for massive damage after just one setup turn. Offensive Trick Room Necrozma is a notable anti-offense tool that can claim multiple KOs in a game by taking advantage of faster threats being relatively frail and susceptible to being OHKOed by many of its attacks. Weakness Policy similarly takes advantage of Necrozma's natural bulk and typing to boost on Knock Off and U-turn attempts, usually from physically weak Pokemon like Cyclizar and Thundurus that otherwise don't threaten it.
Checks and Counters
====
**Encore and Taunt**: Encore users faster than Necrozma, like Gengar, Jirachi, and Maushold, can put a stop to Calm Mind Necrozma's setup attempts, as well as lock Stealth Rock Necrozma into an uncomfortable move. Similarly, fast Taunt users like Krookodile and Mew can shut down attempts at setting up, recovering health, and establishing entry hazards.
**Psychic-type Pokemon**: While Necrozma has the coverage to threaten most of the other Psychic-types in the tier, like Ground-type attacks for Jirachi and Dark-type attacks for Reuniclus and Slowbro, it still struggles to break through them at times given how bulky they are. Dark Pulse is difficult for Calm Mind Necrozma to fit, as Earth Power is used to handle Jirachi and other Steel-types in one slot, which is usually more valuable. Reuniclus and Slowbro are therefore incredibly good defensive answers to most Necrozma sets, given they can usually take two hits while getting off a Thunder Wave to hinder Necrozma for their teammates or using Calm Mind themselves to set up in a matchup that is favorable for them.
**Bug-type Pokemon**: Necrozma struggles to keep pace with the offensive Bug-type Pokemon in the metagame, notably flopping as an offensive lead when matching up into Kleavor. Slither Wing threatens to OHKO Necrozma with Choice Band First Impression, and Yanmega can use Bug Buzz to activate Throat Spray and use Necrozma as setup fodder. Other niche hyper offense leads, like Araquanid and Galvantula, also pose problems for Necrozma, making the Offensive Stealth Rock set difficult to use against opposing offensive teams.
[SET CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/flampoke.654091/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sir-tetris.655207/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/fluff.614438/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/tbolt.555379/
Necrozma is an outstanding Psychic-type Pokemon that has unique set diversity, capable of running a plethora of coverage and utility moves. Stealth Rock Necrozma is a notable lead for offensive structures, as it can break through a lot of balance staples that other leads like Kleavor and Terrakion might struggle against, like Hippowdon, Hisuian Goodra, Jirachi, and Galarian Weezing. Necrozma has decent natural bulk that is amplified by Prism Armor, minimizing the damage taken from U-turn and Sucker Punch from threats like Slither Wing and Bisharp. Dragon Dance and Calm Mind variants can pick what coverage attacks they need, like Earthquake, Knock Off, Earth Power, and Heat Wave, with Calm Mind sets generally running Moonlight to give Necrozma reliable recovery to stick around after setting up. Necrozma does often struggle to find a slot on teams given the bevy of Psychic-types in the tier it competes with, like Jirachi, Reuniclus, and Slowbro, though it has exceptional offensive capabilities on structures that the other Psychic-types lack like ways to hit Steel-types consistently. While Necrozma is not exactly lacking in Speed, it can be a bit slow at times, failing to outspeed foes that Armarouge and Jirachi do and limiting the number of foes it can KO. Necrozma also struggles to combat the priority in the tier, notably taking super effective damage from Bisharp Sucker Punch and Slither Wing First Impression.
[SET]
name: Offensive Stealth Rock
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Photon Geyser
move 3: Meteor Beam
move 4: Earth Power
item: Power Herb
ability: Prism Armor
nature: Modest
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
tera type: Ghost
[SET COMMENTS]
Offensive Stealth Rock Necrozma is a competent entry hazard setter that can output tremendous damage with its choice of strong coverage attacks. Meteor Beam increases Necrozma's power while also threatening to OHKO Pokemon like Rotom-H and Salamence. Earth Power gives Necrozma the coverage to break through Steel-types like Empoleon, Hisuian Goodra, and Jirachi. Power Herb doubles as a one-turn solution to Meteor Beam and a way to remove Necrozma's item, weakening Knock Off from Pokemon like Cyclizar, Krookodile, and Galarian Zapdos. This makes Necrozma notable, as it is a Psychic-type that is able to mitigate damage taken by Knock Off. Prism Armor is a great ability, making super effective hits much easier to take as Necrozma establishes entry hazards and racks up damage. Tera Ghost prevents Rapid Spin Cyclizar from removing hazards and weakens Bug-type attacks like First Impression and U-turn from Slither Wing and Galarian Zapdos.
Offensive teams use Necrozma as a Stealth Rock lead to capitalize on its unique offensive profile and get an early advantage over balance and bulky offense structures, hitting staples like Cyclizar, Hippowdon, and Jirachi for enough damage to ensure Stealth Rock goes up. Other Stealth Rock leads like Kleavor and Terrakion have limited options and are handled by many balance staples like Galarian Weezing, Jirachi, and Hippowdon, while Necrozma can run multiple sets and has great coverage, letting it threaten a majority of the metagame, including common defensive staples. Necrozma's ability to immediately output damage and get a boost to Special Attack with Meteor Beam makes would-be checks like Empoleon, Hisuian Goodra, and Jirachi susceptible to getting taken out by a boosted Earth Power, as well as threatening Assault Vest Cyclizar enough to ensure Stealth Rock set by Necrozma stay up. Teammates that appreciate these bulky Steel-types and specially defensive walls being worn down, like Armarouge, Blastoise, and Yanmega, all thrive when they're able to set up and clean late-game, especially with Stealth Rock support. Similarly, physical sweepers like Maushold and Revavroom notably appreciate Jirachi being worn down, as they can struggle to beat Jirachi, since it threatens to use Encore to disrupt setup attempts or paralyze with Body Slam.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
====
Calm Mind Necrozma is a viable mid-game wallbreaker and late-game cleaner, capable of hitting most of the metagame for massive damage after just one setup turn. Offensive Trick Room Necrozma is a notable anti-offense tool that can claim multiple KOs in a game by taking advantage of faster threats being relatively frail and susceptible to being OHKOed by many of its attacks. Weakness Policy similarly takes advantage of Necrozma's natural bulk and typing to boost on Knock Off and U-turn attempts, usually from physically weak Pokemon like Cyclizar and Thundurus that otherwise don't threaten it.
Checks and Counters
====
**Encore and Taunt**: Encore users faster than Necrozma, like Gengar, Jirachi, and Maushold, can put a stop to Calm Mind Necrozma's setup attempts, as well as lock Stealth Rock Necrozma into an uncomfortable move. Similarly, fast Taunt users like Krookodile and Mew can shut down attempts at setting up, recovering health, and establishing entry hazards.
**Psychic-type Pokemon**: While Necrozma has the coverage to threaten most of the other Psychic-types in the tier, like Ground-type attacks for Jirachi and Dark-type attacks for Reuniclus and Slowbro, it still struggles to break through them at times given how bulky they are. Dark Pulse is difficult for Calm Mind Necrozma to fit, as Earth Power is used to handle Jirachi and other Steel-types in one slot, which is usually more valuable. Reuniclus and Slowbro are therefore incredibly good defensive answers to most Necrozma sets, given they can usually take two hits while getting off a Thunder Wave to hinder Necrozma for their teammates or using Calm Mind themselves to set up in a matchup that is favorable for them.
**Bug-type Pokemon**: Necrozma struggles to keep pace with the offensive Bug-type Pokemon in the metagame, notably flopping as an offensive lead when matching up into Kleavor. Slither Wing threatens to OHKO Necrozma with Choice Band First Impression, and Yanmega can use Bug Buzz to activate Throat Spray and use Necrozma as setup fodder. Other niche hyper offense leads, like Araquanid and Galvantula, also pose problems for Necrozma, making the Offensive Stealth Rock set difficult to use against opposing offensive teams.
[SET CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/flampoke.654091/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sir-tetris.655207/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/fluff.614438/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/tbolt.555379/
Last edited:
