[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Dragon Ascent
move 2: V-Create
move 3: Extreme Speed
move 4: Earthquake / Dragon Claw
item: Choice Band
ability: Air Lock
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Choice Band Rayquaza is one of the strongest breakers in the tier. Dragon Ascent is Rayquaza's main STAB of choice, having the ability to OHKO non-resists up to opposing Rayquaza in bulk with ease. V-Create allows Rayquaza to break Pokemon that resist Dragon Ascent such as Necrozma-DM, Corviknight, some Stealth Rock-chipped Skarmory, and often Zamazenta-C, while Extreme Speed deals a lot of damage in its own right while being able to finish off chipped Pokemon like Weavile, Tapu Lele outside of Psychic Terrain, and Raichu-Alola. Earthquake has similar coverage to V-Create while not lowering stats and being able to deal Super-effective damage to Rock-types like Tyranitar along with OHKOing Tapu Koko on the switch and Heatran without Air Balloon, although it is a lot weaker. Dragon Claw is an alternative to Earthquake that allows Rayquaza to break Rotom-Heat and the uncommon Specially Defensive Rotom-Wash, plus bulkier Dragon-types such as Garchomp, Giratina, and Kyurem-Black.
Choice Band Rayquaza fits best on Bulky Offense and Balance teams that can get it in safely often, so teammates like Rotom-Wash, Tapu Koko, and Landorus-Therian are appreciated. Defog support from Rotom-Wash, Corviknight, and similar is required for maximum effectiveness. Rayquaza struggles to break resists to its main coverage moves in the likes of Rotom-Wash, Persian-Alola and on non-Earthquake sets bulky Heatran, so answers to those like Tapu Koko, Zygarde-10%, and Kartana make for good teammates. Revenge Killers like Tapu Lele, Tapu Koko and Weavile shut down Rayquaza, so defensive answers like Ferrothorn, Corviknight and Landorus-Therian all help a large amount. Rayquaza's high offenses means that it greatly allows receivers like Tapu Koko, Moltres-Galar, Zygarde-10%, and Rillaboom to have a much better time at breaking or sweeping. Its good 105 HP stat also makes it a good donor for the likes of Rotom-Wash, Landorus-Therian, and more, while its 95 base Speed works as a good booster for naturally slow breakers like Volcanion and Bisharp.
[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Dragon Ascent
move 2: V-Create / Earthquake
move 3: Scale Shot / Extreme Speed
move 4: Swords Dance
item: Life Orb / Heavy-Duty Boots / Focus Sash / Lum Berry
ability: Air Lock
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Swords Dance turns Rayquaza into one of the single strongest breakers in the metagame, making it nigh impossible to wall. V-Create OHKOs Steel-types like Skarmory and Necrozma-DM and effectively acts as a last resort STAB option, while Earthquake can hit grounded Steel- and Rock-types for Super Effective damage without the fear of lowering stats too much, although it cannot touch Skarmory or Corviknight. Scale Shot both boosts Rayquaza's Speed and gives it a way to beat Lunala and weakened Rotom-W along with outspeeding non-priority based revenge killers like Tapu Koko and Tapu Lele. Extreme Speed is an alternative that negates the need to rely on a multi-hit move to boost Speed and has +2 priority that allows it to stop fast Choice Scarf Pokemon or priority revenge killers like Weavile, Victini, or Kartana, but cannot beat Rotom-W at all and faces the same regular issues from Tapu Lele.
Zeraora and Tapu Koko both serve as great offensive partners that can weaken answers to Rayquaza like Clefable, Zapdos, and Persian-Alola with simple attacks and Toxic and Nature's Madness alike. They also are able to chip away at Skarmory and Heatran in case Rayquaza is unable to effectively break them. In return, Rayquaza can proceed to destroy the remainder of a team or simply allow them to clean up after Rayquaza has broken the likes of Landorus-Therian, Skarmory, Dragon-types like Garchomp and Kyurem-W, and more. Fire-types like Volcarona, Heatran, and Volcanion all are great partners for Rayquaza thanks to their high Special Attack stat and ability to deal with physical walls like Ferrothorn, Clefable, and physically defensive Landorus-Therian, while also benefitting from Rayquaza's Speed or, in the case of Volcarona, Defense stats. Volcarona is especially a great partner on Hyper Offense teams due to their shared like of Screens support, while Heatran and Volcanion fit moreso on Bulky Offense or Balance teams. Victini is another great partner if the Attack stat is unused thanks to its great pairing with Tapu Koko along with its insane STAB V-Create itself on top of Bolt Strike and Trick. Grass-types like Kartana, Rillaboom, and Tangrowth all help weaken physically defensive Gastrodon and Rotom-Wash for Rayquaza to clean up, although it should be noted that V-Create should always be used over Earthquake if being supported by Rillaboom due to its tendency to keep Grassy Terrain up. Other more Hyper Offense-exlusive partners like Cloyster, Mimikyu, Comfey, and Linoone are all great recievers thanks to their ability to break early-to-mid game threats like Rotom-W, Heatran, Skarmory, Clefable, and Zapdos for Rayquaza to clean up; in turn, Rayquaza can instantly break every Steel-type in the metagame early on if it needs to, especially while paired with a Lum Berry to avoid Status effects, to allow for easy cleanup for the rest of the team. On the flip side for Bulky Offense and Balance teams, Nidoking or Nidoqueen, Tapu Fini, Weavile, Zygarde-10, and Dhelmise all appreciate Rayquaza's high stat donations with their inherited Attack, Special Attack, and Speed stats to help prepare for Rayquaza to clean up, whether it be via their ability to threaten nearly every Pokemon in the metagame like Zygarde-10, Nidoking and Nidoqueen, or their ability to disrupt on top of their breaking power like Dhelmise and Tapu Fini.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
An Adamant nature can be ran on the Choice Band set to break 150 HP Skarmory more effectively along with having a slight chance to 2HKO lower HP Rotom-Wash, but being unable to outspeed base 90 Pokemon such as Groudon generally hurts its viability more. Scale Shot is an option on Choice Band sets in the fourth slot; however, this is inconsistent and is only useful for breaking Lunala from full and having a slight possibility to sometimes break lower HP Rotom-Wash. On Swords Dance sets, a Lum Berry may be used to avoid status moves in order to beat the likes of Rotom-W and Zapdos without fearing any status effects. Dragon Dance with V-Create and either Extreme Speed or Earthquake is an option with Life Orb, but is noticeably weaker than Swords Dance and only benefits from the lack of need to use Scale Shot on non-Extreme Speed sets and is otherwise outclassed. A mixed set with 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe, a Life Orb, and a Naive nature paired with Draco Meteor, Extreme Speed, and either V-Create or Earthquake is an option to target regular physically defensive switch-ins to Rayquaza; however, this lacks longevity and the lack of damage from Draco Meteor otherwise makes this set noticeably inconsistent.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Stealth Rock**: Rayquaza is best run with an offensive item, so will always take massive damage upon entry if Stealth Rock is left up.
**Revenge Killers**: Revenge Killers like Weavile, Tapu Lele, and Tapu Koko can outspeed and OHKO Rayquaza. In particular, Tapu Lele outspeeds Rayquaza and shuts down both of its main sets thanks to its Fairy typing and Psychic Terrain.
**Physically Bulky Resists**: Physically bulky resists like Rotom-W, Clefable, Zapdos, Skarmory, and Persian-Alola make it difficult for Rayquaza to make progress as they can easily shrug off the attacks that Rayquaza fires at them. Skarmory and other Steel-types do have to be careful of V-Create, however.
**Status Effects**: Status effects, excluding Toxic in most scenarios, severely limit Rayquaza's output overall and make it a liability in most scenarios without some form of status absorber or status removal.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Clastia, 545372]]
- Quality checked by: [[username1, userid1], [username2, userid2]]
- Grammar checked by: [[username1, userid1]]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Dragon Ascent
move 2: V-Create
move 3: Extreme Speed
move 4: Earthquake / Dragon Claw
item: Choice Band
ability: Air Lock
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Choice Band Rayquaza is one of the strongest breakers in the tier. Dragon Ascent is Rayquaza's main STAB of choice, having the ability to OHKO non-resists up to opposing Rayquaza in bulk with ease. V-Create allows Rayquaza to break Pokemon that resist Dragon Ascent such as Necrozma-DM, Corviknight, some Stealth Rock-chipped Skarmory, and often Zamazenta-C, while Extreme Speed deals a lot of damage in its own right while being able to finish off chipped Pokemon like Weavile, Tapu Lele outside of Psychic Terrain, and Raichu-Alola. Earthquake has similar coverage to V-Create while not lowering stats and being able to deal Super-effective damage to Rock-types like Tyranitar along with OHKOing Tapu Koko on the switch and Heatran without Air Balloon, although it is a lot weaker. Dragon Claw is an alternative to Earthquake that allows Rayquaza to break Rotom-Heat and the uncommon Specially Defensive Rotom-Wash, plus bulkier Dragon-types such as Garchomp, Giratina, and Kyurem-Black.
Choice Band Rayquaza fits best on Bulky Offense and Balance teams that can get it in safely often, so teammates like Rotom-Wash, Tapu Koko, and Landorus-Therian are appreciated. Defog support from Rotom-Wash, Corviknight, and similar is required for maximum effectiveness. Rayquaza struggles to break resists to its main coverage moves in the likes of Rotom-Wash, Persian-Alola and on non-Earthquake sets bulky Heatran, so answers to those like Tapu Koko, Zygarde-10%, and Kartana make for good teammates. Revenge Killers like Tapu Lele, Tapu Koko and Weavile shut down Rayquaza, so defensive answers like Ferrothorn, Corviknight and Landorus-Therian all help a large amount. Rayquaza's high offenses means that it greatly allows receivers like Tapu Koko, Moltres-Galar, Zygarde-10%, and Rillaboom to have a much better time at breaking or sweeping. Its good 105 HP stat also makes it a good donor for the likes of Rotom-Wash, Landorus-Therian, and more, while its 95 base Speed works as a good booster for naturally slow breakers like Volcanion and Bisharp.
[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Dragon Ascent
move 2: V-Create / Earthquake
move 3: Scale Shot / Extreme Speed
move 4: Swords Dance
item: Life Orb / Heavy-Duty Boots / Focus Sash / Lum Berry
ability: Air Lock
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Swords Dance turns Rayquaza into one of the single strongest breakers in the metagame, making it nigh impossible to wall. V-Create OHKOs Steel-types like Skarmory and Necrozma-DM and effectively acts as a last resort STAB option, while Earthquake can hit grounded Steel- and Rock-types for Super Effective damage without the fear of lowering stats too much, although it cannot touch Skarmory or Corviknight. Scale Shot both boosts Rayquaza's Speed and gives it a way to beat Lunala and weakened Rotom-W along with outspeeding non-priority based revenge killers like Tapu Koko and Tapu Lele. Extreme Speed is an alternative that negates the need to rely on a multi-hit move to boost Speed and has +2 priority that allows it to stop fast Choice Scarf Pokemon or priority revenge killers like Weavile, Victini, or Kartana, but cannot beat Rotom-W at all and faces the same regular issues from Tapu Lele.
Zeraora and Tapu Koko both serve as great offensive partners that can weaken answers to Rayquaza like Clefable, Zapdos, and Persian-Alola with simple attacks and Toxic and Nature's Madness alike. They also are able to chip away at Skarmory and Heatran in case Rayquaza is unable to effectively break them. In return, Rayquaza can proceed to destroy the remainder of a team or simply allow them to clean up after Rayquaza has broken the likes of Landorus-Therian, Skarmory, Dragon-types like Garchomp and Kyurem-W, and more. Fire-types like Volcarona, Heatran, and Volcanion all are great partners for Rayquaza thanks to their high Special Attack stat and ability to deal with physical walls like Ferrothorn, Clefable, and physically defensive Landorus-Therian, while also benefitting from Rayquaza's Speed or, in the case of Volcarona, Defense stats. Volcarona is especially a great partner on Hyper Offense teams due to their shared like of Screens support, while Heatran and Volcanion fit moreso on Bulky Offense or Balance teams. Victini is another great partner if the Attack stat is unused thanks to its great pairing with Tapu Koko along with its insane STAB V-Create itself on top of Bolt Strike and Trick. Grass-types like Kartana, Rillaboom, and Tangrowth all help weaken physically defensive Gastrodon and Rotom-Wash for Rayquaza to clean up, although it should be noted that V-Create should always be used over Earthquake if being supported by Rillaboom due to its tendency to keep Grassy Terrain up. Other more Hyper Offense-exlusive partners like Cloyster, Mimikyu, Comfey, and Linoone are all great recievers thanks to their ability to break early-to-mid game threats like Rotom-W, Heatran, Skarmory, Clefable, and Zapdos for Rayquaza to clean up; in turn, Rayquaza can instantly break every Steel-type in the metagame early on if it needs to, especially while paired with a Lum Berry to avoid Status effects, to allow for easy cleanup for the rest of the team. On the flip side for Bulky Offense and Balance teams, Nidoking or Nidoqueen, Tapu Fini, Weavile, Zygarde-10, and Dhelmise all appreciate Rayquaza's high stat donations with their inherited Attack, Special Attack, and Speed stats to help prepare for Rayquaza to clean up, whether it be via their ability to threaten nearly every Pokemon in the metagame like Zygarde-10, Nidoking and Nidoqueen, or their ability to disrupt on top of their breaking power like Dhelmise and Tapu Fini.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
An Adamant nature can be ran on the Choice Band set to break 150 HP Skarmory more effectively along with having a slight chance to 2HKO lower HP Rotom-Wash, but being unable to outspeed base 90 Pokemon such as Groudon generally hurts its viability more. Scale Shot is an option on Choice Band sets in the fourth slot; however, this is inconsistent and is only useful for breaking Lunala from full and having a slight possibility to sometimes break lower HP Rotom-Wash. On Swords Dance sets, a Lum Berry may be used to avoid status moves in order to beat the likes of Rotom-W and Zapdos without fearing any status effects. Dragon Dance with V-Create and either Extreme Speed or Earthquake is an option with Life Orb, but is noticeably weaker than Swords Dance and only benefits from the lack of need to use Scale Shot on non-Extreme Speed sets and is otherwise outclassed. A mixed set with 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe, a Life Orb, and a Naive nature paired with Draco Meteor, Extreme Speed, and either V-Create or Earthquake is an option to target regular physically defensive switch-ins to Rayquaza; however, this lacks longevity and the lack of damage from Draco Meteor otherwise makes this set noticeably inconsistent.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Stealth Rock**: Rayquaza is best run with an offensive item, so will always take massive damage upon entry if Stealth Rock is left up.
**Revenge Killers**: Revenge Killers like Weavile, Tapu Lele, and Tapu Koko can outspeed and OHKO Rayquaza. In particular, Tapu Lele outspeeds Rayquaza and shuts down both of its main sets thanks to its Fairy typing and Psychic Terrain.
**Physically Bulky Resists**: Physically bulky resists like Rotom-W, Clefable, Zapdos, Skarmory, and Persian-Alola make it difficult for Rayquaza to make progress as they can easily shrug off the attacks that Rayquaza fires at them. Skarmory and other Steel-types do have to be careful of V-Create, however.
**Status Effects**: Status effects, excluding Toxic in most scenarios, severely limit Rayquaza's output overall and make it a liability in most scenarios without some form of status absorber or status removal.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Clastia, 545372]]
- Quality checked by: [[username1, userid1], [username2, userid2]]
- Grammar checked by: [[username1, userid1]]
Last edited:
