[OVERVIEW]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Hammer Arm / Superpower
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Drain Punch
move 4: Ice Punch / Bullet Punch / Zen Headbutt
item: Choice Band
ability: Iron Fist / Scrappy
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
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name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Drain Punch
move 4: Ice Punch / Bullet Punch / Zen Headbutt
item: Life Orb
ability: Iron Fist
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
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Other Options
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**Fairy-types**: Fairy-types like Comfey and Granbull threaten Pangoro with their super effective Fairy-type moves. Comfey in particular works well as it is always able to out speed Pangoro thanks to the Triage + Draining Kiss combination. Granbull also works well because of its access to Intimidate, making it extremely unlikely Granbull will die to Pangoro while attempting to take it out.
**Revenge Killers**: Revenge Killers such as Passimian and Braviary are great answers to Pangoro as every time Pangoro gets a kill, they are able to either kill it in return or force it out, further weakening its ability to come back on the field safely.
**Fighting-types**: Fighting-type like Passimian and Medicham are good Pangoro checks as they can easily take it out with their super effective moves. Passimian and Medicham even OHKO through Chople Berry with Close Combat and High Jump Kick respectively.
**Status Spreaders**: Status spreaders like Rotom and Blastoise can deal with Pangoro by slowly chipping it down through status. In particular, Will-O-Wisp is a great move which not only chips Pangoro down, but also reduces its Attack, putting a small block on its ability to wallbreak.
**Flying-types**: Flying-types like Braviary and Vivillon make good Pangoro checks as they can take it out with their Flying-type moves, like Brave Bird and Hurricane respectively.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[, ]]
- Quality checked by: [[, ], [, ], [, ]]
- Grammar checked by: [[, ], [, ]]
- Pangoro is one of the most potent wallbreakers in the tier thanks to its access to good STAB attacks, alongside fantastic coverage and a high Attack stat.
- It oftentimes faces competition from the other wallbreakers of the tier, such as Passimian and Alolan Exeggutor, mainly because of how hard it can be to fit Pangoro onto teams.
- Also, Pangoro has a lot of checks, and this is mainly due to Pangoro's low Speed while also not being an overly bulky Pokemon. Passimian and Comfey are two very common Pokemon that give it trouble.
- In practice, Pangoro also fails to gain opportunities to get off heavy damage on the opposing team in a lot of matchups. Even if it manages to get onto the field without taking a lot of damage, it is unlikely that it will be able to attack, due to the offensive nature of the meta.
- Despite these negatives, Pangoro still holds a strong place in the meta mainly because of its unique coverage, and for the fact that if it does manage to gain an opportunity to do damage, a lot of damage will be done.
name: Choice Band
move 1: Hammer Arm / Superpower
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Drain Punch
move 4: Ice Punch / Bullet Punch / Zen Headbutt
item: Choice Band
ability: Iron Fist / Scrappy
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
- Hammer Arm and Knock Off are Pangoro's two STAB moves of choice, enabling Pangoro to do loads of damage.
- Superpower is an option over Hammer Arm, as some do not like the miss chance and Speed drop of Hammer Arm. However, Hammer Arm is still favorable because oftentimes the Attack drop that Superpower gives can matter a lot in a battle.
- On the contrary, if Pangoro is running Scrappy it should be using Superpower for the strength factor.
- Drain Punch is used as a good option for recovery, which is made stronger by the Iron Fist ability. It can also be used as a more consistent Fighting move, avoiding the drawbacks Superpower and Hammer Arm offer at the expense of doing less damage.
- The last move slot depends on the team Pangoro is on.
- Ice Punch gives Pangoro an opportunity to hit Pokemon like Golbat and Whimsicott for loads of damage, which can cause trouble to Pangoro as they resist Fighting moves.
- Bullet Punch gives Pangoro a form of priority, and has a good chance of killing Passimian at half health.
- Lastly, Zen Headbutt allows Pangoro to hit all Poison-types, such as Garbodor, Weezing, and Golbat, for super effective damage.
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- Max Attack alongside max Speed is used to make Pangoro as fast and as strong as possible.
- An Adamant nature is utilized to allow Pangoro to do larger amounts of damage.
- To further Pangoro's Attack power, a Choice Band is used.
- Finally, Iron Fist is the ability of choice to power up Hammer Arm and Drain Punch.
- Scrappy is also an option if one prefers spamming Fighting moves more easily.
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- While Pangoro is by no means frail, it is not the bulkiest Pokemon in existence, so it should be noted that Pangoro cannot come in on many attacks.
- To make up for this, Pangoro should be brought in by means of pivoting, with moves like U-Turn and Volt Switch from Pokemon like Passimian and Heliolisk.
- Thankfully, Pangoro has reliable recovery in Drain Punch, so if it is low on health from lots of pivoting, it may be wise to use Drain Punch instead of a move like Hammer Arm or Knock Off.
- Hammer Arm is Pangoro's most spammable move. However, if the opponent has Pokemon like Weezing or Garbodor, it may be wise to click some of Pangoro's other moves instead, such as Knock Off or Zen Headbutt in this case.
- You should also be aware of Ghost-types as well, especially if you aren't running Scrappy.
- Pangoro is most effective against slow, bulky teams, so try and give Pangoro the most opportunities in that match up to wallbreak.
- On the contrary, Pangoro is least effective against fast, offensive teams, so be very careful as to when you are switching Pangoro in.
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- Pangoro oftentimes needs a strong defensive backbone to not feel the effects of being checked easily.
- One Pokemon that works excellently to fill that role is Vileplume. It checks both the Fighting- and Fairy-types that Pangoro is weak to, although it does leave a massive Flying weakness.
- In turn, Rhydon and Steelix make great partners as well, as not only do they provide hazards for Pangoro to use, they also cover the Flying weakness, and, in the case of Steelix, the Fairy-type weakness as well.
- Also for hazards, Garbodor and Weezing make good teammates as they offer Spikes and Toxic Spikes, or just Toxic Spikes respectively.
- Pangoro also appreciates having a faster offensive Pokemon for a teammate as well, taking off the stress of being the only damage-dealer on the team, being a slow one at that.
- U-turn and Volt Switch users like Passimian and Heliolisk are fantastic partners for Pangoro as they help get in Pangoro safely through means of pivoting.
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Drain Punch
move 4: Ice Punch / Bullet Punch / Zen Headbutt
item: Life Orb
ability: Iron Fist
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
- Swords Dance is used to increase Pangoro's wallbreaking capabilities rather than using Choice Band, which reduces the chance of getting a negative result out of predicting incorrectly. It also allows Pangoro to do more damage than it would with Choice Band.
- Knock Off is used as a STAB move, and also helps Pangoro wallbreak by giving it the ability to Knock Off items. This is especially important against Pokemon that hold Leftovers or potential pinch berries.
- Drain Punch is also used as a STAB move, and gives Pangoro some form of recovery. It is not such a drawback from a move like Hammer Arm or Superpower because Iron Fist boosts Drain Punch as well.
- Ice Punch is generally favored as a move as it is boosted by Iron Fist and gives Pangoro some extra coverage to hit a Pokemon like Vileplume which can easily eat a Drain Punch.
- Bullet Punch also has use for a priority attack, which can even 2HKO Passimian from full at +2 Attack.
- Zen Headbutt also sees use as it allows Pangoro to efficiently deal with the Poison-types such as Garbodor and Weezing, both of which take a Drain Punch with ease.
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- Max Attack and Speed, alongside an Adamant nature forms a combination which makes Pangoro as fast and strong as possible, but mainly as strong as possible.
- Life Orb is used to give Pangoro an extra boost of damage, and is not a big of risk as it would be on a Pokemon like Heliolisk as Pangoro carries a recovery move in Drain Punch.
- Lastly, Iron Fist is the ability of choice as it powers up Pangoro's Drain Punch and Ice Punch, or potential Bullet Punch too.
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- Like the Choice Band set, Pangoro is still not very bulky, so one should be careful when sending it out on the field.
- Again, a good way to get around this issue is to get Pangoro in by means of pivoting, such as by moves like U-Turn and Volt Switch from Pokemon like Passimian and Heliolisk respectively.
- Unlike the Choice Band set, Pangoro now has the added risk of finding an opportunity to set up. This is a difficult task for obvious aforementioned reasonses, therefore extreme caution should be taken. Try using the move against Pokemon that aren't offensively threatening towards Pangoro.
- Also, make sure that the opponent is unlikely to switch into something that can check Pangoro on the Swords Dance, as this will likely lead to momentum loss.
- For this set, Knock Off is the most spammable move. It is unlikely that you will encounter a scenario where Knock Off isn't free, so don't be afraid to click that if the other moves don't make sense.
- An exception to this is when Pangoro is in need of recovery. Like Choice Band, this set carries Drain Punch, and important move for getting health back, especially since this set uses Swords Dance. However, you should still be weary of Ghost-types like Rotom and Mismagius when using the move.
- More So than the Choice Band set, this set is very effective against bulkier teams, so be sure to keep it healthy in such match ups.
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- As this set doesn't fix any of Pangoro's main problems, it would still be wise to have a strong defensive backbone to support it. Again, Pokemon like Vileplume work, which covers the Fighting and Fairy resist, as well as Pokemon like Rhydon and Steelix, which help with the Flying weakness.
- Again like Choice Band, Pangoro should have some sort of pivot support to help it get on the field safely. Such Pokemon that fit this criteria include Passimian, Braviary, Heliolisk, and Rotom.
- This set also appreciates hazards, whether it be Spikes from Mega Glalie or Accelgor, or Toxic Spikes from Garbodor or Weezing.
- Fast damage dealers like Heliolisk and Delphox also make good partners for Pangoro as they take the weight off of it being the only breaker of the team.
Other Options
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- Earthquake is an option for both sets to hit Garbodor without taking recoil from Rocky Helmet and Aftermath, but is generally unfavorable as it cannot hit Golbat, and Weezing without Mold Breaker.
- Gunk Shot can be used on Choice Band to catch Fairy-types like Comfey and Whimsicott off-guard, but often goes unused as Comfey doesn't want to switch in on any attack Pangoro might use, and Whimsicott takes super effective damage from Ice Punch and Bullet Punch.
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**Fairy-types**: Fairy-types like Comfey and Granbull threaten Pangoro with their super effective Fairy-type moves. Comfey in particular works well as it is always able to out speed Pangoro thanks to the Triage + Draining Kiss combination. Granbull also works well because of its access to Intimidate, making it extremely unlikely Granbull will die to Pangoro while attempting to take it out.
**Revenge Killers**: Revenge Killers such as Passimian and Braviary are great answers to Pangoro as every time Pangoro gets a kill, they are able to either kill it in return or force it out, further weakening its ability to come back on the field safely.
**Fighting-types**: Fighting-type like Passimian and Medicham are good Pangoro checks as they can easily take it out with their super effective moves. Passimian and Medicham even OHKO through Chople Berry with Close Combat and High Jump Kick respectively.
**Status Spreaders**: Status spreaders like Rotom and Blastoise can deal with Pangoro by slowly chipping it down through status. In particular, Will-O-Wisp is a great move which not only chips Pangoro down, but also reduces its Attack, putting a small block on its ability to wallbreak.
**Flying-types**: Flying-types like Braviary and Vivillon make good Pangoro checks as they can take it out with their Flying-type moves, like Brave Bird and Hurricane respectively.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[, ]]
- Quality checked by: [[, ], [, ], [, ]]
- Grammar checked by: [[, ], [, ]]
Last edited:
