[OVERVIEW]
Salamence fills a small niche in the OU tier thanks to its access to Dragon Dance, solid Attack and Speed, and amazing ability in Moxie. Its Speed tier allows it to stand out compared to other Flyinium Z users such as Dragonite, Gyarados, and Landorus-T; after one Dragon Dance, Salamence outpaces speed demons Mega Alakazam and Choice Scarf Landorus-T. However, Salamence has multiple factors holding it back. Its resistance-laden typing is betrayed by its relevant weaknesses to Rock, Fairy, and Ice, with the first giving it a nasty vulnerability to Stealth Rock. Even with an Attack boost, Salamence can struggle to break past physical walls such as Zapdos, Rotom-W, and Skarmory, and can be hit first by priority users like Weavile, Mega Scizor, and Mega Lopunny, the first being especially potent due to its super effective Ice Shard, and faster Choice Scarf users such as Kartana and Greninja. It also faces heavy competition from other Flyinium Z users, such as Dragonite, which shares its Dragon / Flying typing but has access to an incredible ability in Multiscale, and Gyarados, which has better STAB options and access to Taunt. As a result, it is difficult to justify fitting Salamence onto teams and requires a lot of support to utilize its full potential.
[SET]
name: Flyinium Z
move 1: Dragon Dance
move 2: Fly
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Substitute / Stone Edge / Fire Fang
item: Flyinium Z
ability: Moxie
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
=========
Dragon Dance turns Salamence into a dangerous wallbreaker and late-game cleaner. Fly turns into Supersonic Skystrike, giving Salamence a one-time strong burst of damage to blow through neutral targets like Tapu Fini, Kyurem-B, and Landorus-T, with its regular version still letting it hit the likes of Tapu Bulu, Kommo-o, and Serperior if needed. Earthquake complements Salamence's Flying-type STAB move by smashing through Magearna, Tapu Koko, Heatran, and Mega Mawile. Substitute lets Salamence ignore status attempts from the likes of Toxic Slowbro and Will-O-Wisp Rotom-W as well as Leech Seed from Ferrothorn. Substitute is also helpful for blocking Intimidate from Landorus-T and Mawile before Mega Evolving. Stone Edge tears through the likes of Zapdos, Mega Charizard Y, and Dragonite. Finally, Fire Fang hits Steel-types that are unbothered by Earthquake such as Ferrothorn, Mega Scizor, Celesteela, and Kartana.
Set Details
========
A Jolly nature is necessary to outspeed Kyurem-B and Tapu Lele before a boost, Speed tie with Pokemon like Mega Charizard Y, and outspeed Choice Scarf users such as Landorus-T after a boost. Moxie allows Salamence to snowball after a KO and has great synergy with Supersonic Skystrike, which lets it more easily score a KO thanks to its high damage output.
Usage Tips
========
Salamence shines best as a wallbreaker and a late-game cleaner. Depending on the matchup, determine if Salamence needs to sweep or wallbreak for its teammates to clean up later in the game and act accordingly. Salamence often finds opportunities to set up against Pokemon that it can easily force out, such as Heatran and Choice Scarf Kartana locked into Leaf Blade. If Salamence has Substitute, it can also take advantage of status users such as Toxapex and Ferrothorn lacking Gyro Ball, which cannot easily break its Substitute. If Salamence lacks Substitute, it needs to be careful of what it sets up on, because Pokemon like Toxapex, Chansey, and Heatran will threaten it with status, while Ferrothorn can wear it down with Leech Seed. Salamence also needs to be sure to carefully time the use of its Z-Move, as it will be wasted if the opponent baits it by switching into a Flying-resistant Pokemon or sacrificing a weakened Pokemon to entry hazards. It's preferable to commit to wallbreaking or sweeping in one attempt, as switching Salamence around and taking chip damage will decrease its setup opportunities later in the game, especially since it's weak to Stealth Rock and can be made more susceptible to revenge killing attempts from Pokemon like Choice Scarf Kartana.
Team Options
========
Flyinium Z Salamence finds its niche on hyper offense teams, which appreciate the snowball effect provided thanks to Moxie. A dedicated lead such as Mega Diancie, Excadrill, Taunt Mew, or Imprison Landorus-T is mandatory, as being able to deny entry hazards while setting up hazards of its own sets the stage for Salamence perfectly. Hazard removal is also highly recommended, so pairing it with a Defogger such as Serperior is greatly beneficial. Serperior also provides paralysis support with Glare and has the benefit of beating bulky Water-types such as Rotom-W and Slowbro one-on-one. Paralysis support is especially helpful if Salamence runs Substitute, as the chance of full paralysis grants it extra opportunities to set up with Dragon Dance. Magearna provides a solid answer to the likes of Weavile, Mega Alakazam, and Tapu Lele. In return, Salamence takes advantage of Fire-types that threaten Magearna such as Heatran, Mega Charizard Y, and Volcarona. Salamence also enjoys pairing with Fire-type teammates such as Mega Charizard X and Volcarona, as they can threaten Steel-types such as Celesteela and Skarmory and break past the likes of Clefable and Zapdos for Salamence to clean up. Lunar Dance support from Cresselia is beneficial, replenishing Salamence's HP lost from chip damage and Substitute as well as clearing status, granting it another chance at setting up to clean the opposing team. Flying-types like Mega Pinsir and Hawlucha can overwhelm shared checks for Salamence to clean up later in the game, and vice versa. If Salamence has Stone Edge, the removal of Zapdos is greatly beneficial, as Zapdos gives Mega Pinsir and Hawlucha major trouble.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Salamence can run other Z-Crystals such as Dragonium Z, Groundium Z, and Rockium Z to hit targets such as Rotom-W, threaten Toxapex without a boost, and hit Zapdos without having to risk missing with Stone Edge, respectively. Unfortunately, it needs to give up the immediate breaking power of Flyinium Z to run these Z-Crystals, making Salamence less threatening against Pokemon like Ferrothorn and Landorus-T. Running Dragonium Z also requires Salamence to run Outrage, which is blanked by Fairy-types and allows them to force a revenge kill if it locks into it. Salamence can also run coverage moves such as Aqua Tail to more easily threaten the likes of Gliscor and Landorus-T, and Iron Tail to smash Fairy-types like Clefable, Tapu Lele, and Tapu Bulu. However, giving up Substitute leaves it threatened by status moves such as Toxic from Slowbro, while giving up Stone Edge makes it less threatening against Zapdos. Salamence can use an Adamant nature to maximize its damage output and have the highest possible chance to OHKO Slowbro with a +1 Supersonic Skystrike after Stealth Rock. However, this leaves it much easier to revenge kill, with Choice Scarf Landorus-T now able to outpace it.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Ice-type Pokemon and Coverage**: Weavile is faster than Salamence before a boost and forces it out with Ice Shard. Ice-type coverage moves, such as Hidden Power Ice from Landorus-T, Mega Alakazam, and Tapu Koko, Ice Punch from Mega Lopunny and Mega Swampert, and Ice Beam from Mega Latias and Protean Greninja, also threaten an OHKO on Salamence. However, frail attackers like Weavile, Mega Alakazam, and Greninja cannot switch in directly and require proper positioning.
**Fairy-type Pokemon**: If Salamence has used up its Z-Move or hasn't obtained any Dragon Dance boosts, defensive Fairy-types like Tapu Fini, Clefable, and Mega Altaria can survive Salamence's STAB move and strike back with their super effective STAB moves. Tapu Fini can also burn Salamence with Scald. Defensive variants of Magearna can survive a +1 Earthquake and retaliate back with Fleur Cannon or Ice Beam. Tapu Bulu deserves a mention because it can use Protect to blank Fly. It must watch out for Supersonic Skystrike, however.
**Rock-type Pokemon and Coverage**: Mega Tyranitar has enough bulk to survive a +1 Earthquake and retaliate back with Stone Edge. Salamence must also watch out for Pokemon that may carry Rock-type coverage, such as Stone Edge Landorus-T.
**Electric-types**: Zapdos, Rotom-W, and Thundurus-T resist Supersonic Skystrike and threaten Salamence back in return. Zapdos and Thundurus-T scare Salamence out with Hidden Power Ice, while Rotom-W threatens to burn it with Will-O-Wisp. Utility variants of Thundurus-T can also prevent Salamence from boosting thanks to Taunt. However, Zapdos and Thundurus-T have to be wary of Stone Edge, and all three can be taken out by Dragonium Z variants.
**Physical Walls**: Skarmory is bulky enough to take anything that Salamence throws at it and can heal with Roost and retaliate back with Counter. It can also phaze Salamence with Whirlwind, removing its stat boosts. Slowbro is worth mentioning because it has a favorable roll to survive a +1 Supersonic Skystrike and threaten an OHKO back with Ice Beam, while Mega Slowbro hard counters Salamence, surviving a +2 Supersonic Skystrike thanks to its massive Defense stat. Defensive Landorus-T reduces Salamence's Attack stat thanks to Intimidate and can hit it hard with Hidden Power Ice.
**Faster Revenge Killers and Priority**: Choice Scarf users like Kartana and Greninja outspeed Salamence after a Dragon Dance boost and threaten it back with major damage. Mega Medicham and Mega Lopunny can come in multiple times throughout the game and wear down Salamence with Fake Out. If Salamence has used up its Z-Move, Mega Scizor can take anything except for Fire Fang, use it as setup bait, and force it out with Bullet Punch. The priority move that poses the biggest problem to Salamence is Weavile's Ice Shard because it threatens it with an immediate OHKO.
**Stealth Rock**: The presence of Stealth Rock is very annoying for Salamence, as it cuts into its HP, leaving it susceptible to revenge killing attempts from Pokemon like Choice Scarf Kartana.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/favmon-garchomp.653095/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/zinnias.569291/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/skypenguin.462413/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/a-blue-banana.649096/
Salamence fills a small niche in the OU tier thanks to its access to Dragon Dance, solid Attack and Speed, and amazing ability in Moxie. Its Speed tier allows it to stand out compared to other Flyinium Z users such as Dragonite, Gyarados, and Landorus-T; after one Dragon Dance, Salamence outpaces speed demons Mega Alakazam and Choice Scarf Landorus-T. However, Salamence has multiple factors holding it back. Its resistance-laden typing is betrayed by its relevant weaknesses to Rock, Fairy, and Ice, with the first giving it a nasty vulnerability to Stealth Rock. Even with an Attack boost, Salamence can struggle to break past physical walls such as Zapdos, Rotom-W, and Skarmory, and can be hit first by priority users like Weavile, Mega Scizor, and Mega Lopunny, the first being especially potent due to its super effective Ice Shard, and faster Choice Scarf users such as Kartana and Greninja. It also faces heavy competition from other Flyinium Z users, such as Dragonite, which shares its Dragon / Flying typing but has access to an incredible ability in Multiscale, and Gyarados, which has better STAB options and access to Taunt. As a result, it is difficult to justify fitting Salamence onto teams and requires a lot of support to utilize its full potential.
[SET]
name: Flyinium Z
move 1: Dragon Dance
move 2: Fly
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Substitute / Stone Edge / Fire Fang
item: Flyinium Z
ability: Moxie
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
=========
Dragon Dance turns Salamence into a dangerous wallbreaker and late-game cleaner. Fly turns into Supersonic Skystrike, giving Salamence a one-time strong burst of damage to blow through neutral targets like Tapu Fini, Kyurem-B, and Landorus-T, with its regular version still letting it hit the likes of Tapu Bulu, Kommo-o, and Serperior if needed. Earthquake complements Salamence's Flying-type STAB move by smashing through Magearna, Tapu Koko, Heatran, and Mega Mawile. Substitute lets Salamence ignore status attempts from the likes of Toxic Slowbro and Will-O-Wisp Rotom-W as well as Leech Seed from Ferrothorn. Substitute is also helpful for blocking Intimidate from Landorus-T and Mawile before Mega Evolving. Stone Edge tears through the likes of Zapdos, Mega Charizard Y, and Dragonite. Finally, Fire Fang hits Steel-types that are unbothered by Earthquake such as Ferrothorn, Mega Scizor, Celesteela, and Kartana.
Set Details
========
A Jolly nature is necessary to outspeed Kyurem-B and Tapu Lele before a boost, Speed tie with Pokemon like Mega Charizard Y, and outspeed Choice Scarf users such as Landorus-T after a boost. Moxie allows Salamence to snowball after a KO and has great synergy with Supersonic Skystrike, which lets it more easily score a KO thanks to its high damage output.
Usage Tips
========
Salamence shines best as a wallbreaker and a late-game cleaner. Depending on the matchup, determine if Salamence needs to sweep or wallbreak for its teammates to clean up later in the game and act accordingly. Salamence often finds opportunities to set up against Pokemon that it can easily force out, such as Heatran and Choice Scarf Kartana locked into Leaf Blade. If Salamence has Substitute, it can also take advantage of status users such as Toxapex and Ferrothorn lacking Gyro Ball, which cannot easily break its Substitute. If Salamence lacks Substitute, it needs to be careful of what it sets up on, because Pokemon like Toxapex, Chansey, and Heatran will threaten it with status, while Ferrothorn can wear it down with Leech Seed. Salamence also needs to be sure to carefully time the use of its Z-Move, as it will be wasted if the opponent baits it by switching into a Flying-resistant Pokemon or sacrificing a weakened Pokemon to entry hazards. It's preferable to commit to wallbreaking or sweeping in one attempt, as switching Salamence around and taking chip damage will decrease its setup opportunities later in the game, especially since it's weak to Stealth Rock and can be made more susceptible to revenge killing attempts from Pokemon like Choice Scarf Kartana.
Team Options
========
Flyinium Z Salamence finds its niche on hyper offense teams, which appreciate the snowball effect provided thanks to Moxie. A dedicated lead such as Mega Diancie, Excadrill, Taunt Mew, or Imprison Landorus-T is mandatory, as being able to deny entry hazards while setting up hazards of its own sets the stage for Salamence perfectly. Hazard removal is also highly recommended, so pairing it with a Defogger such as Serperior is greatly beneficial. Serperior also provides paralysis support with Glare and has the benefit of beating bulky Water-types such as Rotom-W and Slowbro one-on-one. Paralysis support is especially helpful if Salamence runs Substitute, as the chance of full paralysis grants it extra opportunities to set up with Dragon Dance. Magearna provides a solid answer to the likes of Weavile, Mega Alakazam, and Tapu Lele. In return, Salamence takes advantage of Fire-types that threaten Magearna such as Heatran, Mega Charizard Y, and Volcarona. Salamence also enjoys pairing with Fire-type teammates such as Mega Charizard X and Volcarona, as they can threaten Steel-types such as Celesteela and Skarmory and break past the likes of Clefable and Zapdos for Salamence to clean up. Lunar Dance support from Cresselia is beneficial, replenishing Salamence's HP lost from chip damage and Substitute as well as clearing status, granting it another chance at setting up to clean the opposing team. Flying-types like Mega Pinsir and Hawlucha can overwhelm shared checks for Salamence to clean up later in the game, and vice versa. If Salamence has Stone Edge, the removal of Zapdos is greatly beneficial, as Zapdos gives Mega Pinsir and Hawlucha major trouble.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Salamence can run other Z-Crystals such as Dragonium Z, Groundium Z, and Rockium Z to hit targets such as Rotom-W, threaten Toxapex without a boost, and hit Zapdos without having to risk missing with Stone Edge, respectively. Unfortunately, it needs to give up the immediate breaking power of Flyinium Z to run these Z-Crystals, making Salamence less threatening against Pokemon like Ferrothorn and Landorus-T. Running Dragonium Z also requires Salamence to run Outrage, which is blanked by Fairy-types and allows them to force a revenge kill if it locks into it. Salamence can also run coverage moves such as Aqua Tail to more easily threaten the likes of Gliscor and Landorus-T, and Iron Tail to smash Fairy-types like Clefable, Tapu Lele, and Tapu Bulu. However, giving up Substitute leaves it threatened by status moves such as Toxic from Slowbro, while giving up Stone Edge makes it less threatening against Zapdos. Salamence can use an Adamant nature to maximize its damage output and have the highest possible chance to OHKO Slowbro with a +1 Supersonic Skystrike after Stealth Rock. However, this leaves it much easier to revenge kill, with Choice Scarf Landorus-T now able to outpace it.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Ice-type Pokemon and Coverage**: Weavile is faster than Salamence before a boost and forces it out with Ice Shard. Ice-type coverage moves, such as Hidden Power Ice from Landorus-T, Mega Alakazam, and Tapu Koko, Ice Punch from Mega Lopunny and Mega Swampert, and Ice Beam from Mega Latias and Protean Greninja, also threaten an OHKO on Salamence. However, frail attackers like Weavile, Mega Alakazam, and Greninja cannot switch in directly and require proper positioning.
**Fairy-type Pokemon**: If Salamence has used up its Z-Move or hasn't obtained any Dragon Dance boosts, defensive Fairy-types like Tapu Fini, Clefable, and Mega Altaria can survive Salamence's STAB move and strike back with their super effective STAB moves. Tapu Fini can also burn Salamence with Scald. Defensive variants of Magearna can survive a +1 Earthquake and retaliate back with Fleur Cannon or Ice Beam. Tapu Bulu deserves a mention because it can use Protect to blank Fly. It must watch out for Supersonic Skystrike, however.
**Rock-type Pokemon and Coverage**: Mega Tyranitar has enough bulk to survive a +1 Earthquake and retaliate back with Stone Edge. Salamence must also watch out for Pokemon that may carry Rock-type coverage, such as Stone Edge Landorus-T.
**Electric-types**: Zapdos, Rotom-W, and Thundurus-T resist Supersonic Skystrike and threaten Salamence back in return. Zapdos and Thundurus-T scare Salamence out with Hidden Power Ice, while Rotom-W threatens to burn it with Will-O-Wisp. Utility variants of Thundurus-T can also prevent Salamence from boosting thanks to Taunt. However, Zapdos and Thundurus-T have to be wary of Stone Edge, and all three can be taken out by Dragonium Z variants.
**Physical Walls**: Skarmory is bulky enough to take anything that Salamence throws at it and can heal with Roost and retaliate back with Counter. It can also phaze Salamence with Whirlwind, removing its stat boosts. Slowbro is worth mentioning because it has a favorable roll to survive a +1 Supersonic Skystrike and threaten an OHKO back with Ice Beam, while Mega Slowbro hard counters Salamence, surviving a +2 Supersonic Skystrike thanks to its massive Defense stat. Defensive Landorus-T reduces Salamence's Attack stat thanks to Intimidate and can hit it hard with Hidden Power Ice.
**Faster Revenge Killers and Priority**: Choice Scarf users like Kartana and Greninja outspeed Salamence after a Dragon Dance boost and threaten it back with major damage. Mega Medicham and Mega Lopunny can come in multiple times throughout the game and wear down Salamence with Fake Out. If Salamence has used up its Z-Move, Mega Scizor can take anything except for Fire Fang, use it as setup bait, and force it out with Bullet Punch. The priority move that poses the biggest problem to Salamence is Weavile's Ice Shard because it threatens it with an immediate OHKO.
**Stealth Rock**: The presence of Stealth Rock is very annoying for Salamence, as it cuts into its HP, leaving it susceptible to revenge killing attempts from Pokemon like Choice Scarf Kartana.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/favmon-garchomp.653095/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/zinnias.569291/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/skypenguin.462413/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/a-blue-banana.649096/
Last edited:
