[OVERVIEW]
Salamence is one of the defining threats in ADV OU due to its fantastic offensive stats, expansive movepool, and defensive utility from Intimidate alongside a useful resistance palette. The latter two let it run Salamence can run a variety of sets that can dismantle multiple team types while providing important defensive utility. Mixed Salamence has a great matchup against Toxic, Spikes, and Sandstorm (TSS) cores, more specifically ones that contain Skarmory, Blissey, Swampert, and Tyranitar; its good Speed and coverage also make it generally effective against moderately fast offense teams, which usually lack good options to switch into and eliminate it. With Choice Band, the powerful and fast Salamence becomes one of the strongest wallbreakers in ADV OU—it also becomes one of the most effective ways to prevent Baton Pass Celebi from passing Calm Mind or Swords Dance. Dragon Dance Salamence excels as a sweeper against offensive teams that rely on frail physical checks. Its defensive properties are not to be overlooked; it is one of the sturdiest checks to Fighting-types such as Heracross and Breloom. Moreover, Intimidate is useful against physical Tyranitar and Salamence, especially to stop a Dragon Dance sweep. Additionally, Salamence is one of the few viable Pokemon with Wish, allowing it to heal itself and teammates effectively.
There are no Pokemon that can comfortably deal with all Salamence sets, but each set is answerable once revealed. Mixed Salamence is walled completely by Milotic, Porygon2, and defensive Zapdos if it lacks Rock Slide and is easily revenge killed by most threats with an Ice-type move. Choice Band Salamence is frequently prediction reliant due to its individually weak attacks, can be countered by common physical walls like Skarmory, and can get Pursuit trapped by Tyranitar if it locks into Hidden Power Flying or Rock Slide. Dragon Dance Salamence has a harder time sweeping when its checks, especially bulky Water-types, Gengar, and even Blissey, are healthy. Offensively, Salamence can be threatened by a variety of prominent and fast Pokemon like Gengar, Starmie, and Aerodactyl, limiting the offensive potential of non-Dragon Dance sets. Additionally, Salamence frequently requires prediction just to get in effectively, as its 4x weakness to Ice and vulnerability to status mean that Pokemon it can check with its Speed and coverage, such as weakened Blissey, Swampert, and Tyranitar, can devastate it on the switch.
[SET]
name: Mixed
move 1: Dragon Claw / Rock Slide
move 2: Brick Break
move 3: Hidden Power Grass
move 4: Fire Blast
item: Leftovers
ability: Intimidate
nature: Rash / Naive
evs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Mixed Salamence is able to heavily damage most of the tier, including common Pokemon like Tyranitar, Swampert, Metagross, and Skarmory, with its coverage moves. It is a wallbreaker that is particularly potent against Toxic + Spikes + Sandstorm (TSS) teams and moderate-Speed offensive teams with its good Speed tier and coverage. Dragon Claw hits most of the tier neutrally and is a safe choice to use if a switch is expected. Specifically, Dragon Claw hits foe Dragon-types like Flygon and Salamence hard and chips checks such as Gengar and Zapdos on the switch. Alternatively, Rock Slide can OHKO Moltres and better handle specially defensive Zapdos. Brick Break threatens Blissey, Snorlax, and Tyranitar. Hidden Power Grass is a key move in order to hit Swampert very hard and 3HKO Suicune, Starmie, and Milotic switch-ins in sand. Fire Blast completes the coverage by handling Steel-types such as Skarmory, Forretress, and Metagross and other Fire-weak threats like Celebi. Additionally, Fire Blast heavily damages Heracross and Breloom, making mixed Salamence a solid check to Fighting-types.
Sometimes, other moves can be used over Hidden Power Grass or Brick Break. The most prominent of these are Wish and Roar. Wish is used to support Pokemon that have a better matchup against the opponent's team. For example, when against strong defensive answers such as Milotic, Suicune, defensive Starmie, and Porygon2, Salamence can use the opportunity to pass Wish to a strong offensive threat like Snorlax or Heracross instead of using a weak coverage move. Roar can be used to mitigate weakness to defensive Suicune and Calm Mind + Baton Pass Celebi on teams that neither have strong offensive presence nor specially robust phazers, such as ones featuring Forretress.
Getting the best utility out of mixed Salamence frequently involves aggressively exploiting Salamence's tendency to force switches; this is especially important in the absence of Spikes. For example, one can anticipate Blissey's entry with Brick Break, as Blissey is one of the few Pokemon that can recover from Salamence's attacks. A well-timed coverage move that cripples a crucial wall like Blissey, Swampert, or Metagross can sometimes tilt the game heavily in favor of one's Zapdos or Tyranitar. Due to only having 8 PP, Fire Blast should be used conservatively against Pokemon that may have Protect or Pressure such as Skarmory, Suicune, specially defensive Zapdos, and pivot Moltres. Salamence can choose to run a Naive nature instead of Rash so that it can outspeed Moltres, Celebi, and some Gengar sets. However, Rash allows Salamence to OHKO other offensive Salamence in sand and offensive Swampert. Additional Attack investment can help Brick Break and Rock Slide hit some damage rolls, such as 2HKOing Blissey and Zapdos.
Team Options
========
Mixed Salamence is a staple on momentum-based offensive teams. Metagross and mixed Salamence make for a great physically defensive backbone on offensive teams, providing short-term defensive coverage without losing momentum. Metagross can chip walls such as defensive Swampert and Skarmory so that Salamence can more easily OHKO them. Likewise, Salamence can weaken these walls to give Metagross an easier time breaking through them. Note that Metagross's set choice is highly flexible and depends on the team's needs; Choice Band Metagross's Meteor Mash, mixed Metagross's Psychic, and even defensive Metagross's Toxic can heavily cripple Swampert or even defeat it with some luck, and all sets can use Explosion on Water-types. In particular, Choice Band Metagross's Meteor Mash has a high probability of breaking through Water-types with an Attack boost or a critical hit. Mixed Metagross can potentially pack Pursuit, which takes out Gengar after some chip damage from Salamence, or at least limits its ability to check Salamence. Agility Metagross variants especially enjoy Rock Slide Salamence removing Zapdos, Gyarados, and Moltres.
Since mixed Salamence dismantles physically defensive cores that incorporate Skarmory and Swampert, physical sweepers such as Dragon Dance Tyranitar and Aerodactyl pair well with it. Salac Berry Heracross is also a synergistic sweeper for a different reason — mixed Salamence frequently lures in and chips Flying-types and Gengar, which prevent Heracross from sweeping. Generally, Fighting-types like Heracross, Hariyama, and Breloom benefit from Salamence luring in their checks and tend to do well against teams that wall Salamence with Milotic, defensive Suicune, or defensive Starmie.
Snorlax checks common special attackers that Salamence struggles against such as Starmie, Zapdos, and Jolteon. It also pressures mixed Salamence's walls—Milotic, defensive Starmie, Blissey, Porygon2—and can help put Skarmory and Metagross in KO range of Fire Blast with its coverage and Self-Destruct. Salamence can switch into Heracross and Breloom, which take advantage of Snorlax. Spikes support from Pokemon such as Skarmory, Forretress, and Cloyster can help put Pokemon such as Blissey, Tyranitar, and Swampert in KO range of Salamence's coverage moves. Spikes can also greatly reduce the need for prediction. In return, Salamence can give Spikes setters support against Fighting-types and be a strong, fast cleaner. Defensive Jirachi can provide mixed Salamence with Wish support while Salamence pressures its checks—Swampert, Tyranitar, Metagross, and Snorlax—with its coverage moves. In some matchups, Jirachi will need to predict moves and switch-ins like Earthquake and Celebi to pass Wish to Salamence. Tyranitar's summoned sand is important for retaining chip damage on bulkier Pokemon such as Porygon2 and Blissey so Brick Break 2HKOes them. Additionally, sand preserves damage on checks like Zapdos and Gengar.
[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Hidden Power Flying
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Rock Slide
move 4: Brick Break
item: Choice Band
ability: Intimidate
nature: Adamant / Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Choice Band Salamence is a potent combination of offense and defense. It excels as a wallbreaker with the movepool to OHKO or 2HKO a majority of ADV OU. At the same time, its typing and Intimidate let it switch into Celebi, defensive Suicune, Fighting-types, and Earthquakes easily. These offensive and defensive properties make Choice Band Salamence a good fit on balanced teams, especially those without sand. First, balance teams usually consist of a defensive backbone with only one or two offensive Pokemon. The passive backbone tends to sit at the mercy of Calm Mind + Baton Pass Celebi, defensive Suicune, and Fighting-types, so the team's offensive Pokemon should be able to switch into and force them out. Second, as balanced teams have a limited number of offensive Pokemon, the primary offense is often required to hit hard across a variety of matchups. Third, the defensive backbone can absorb momentum losses of the offensive Pokemon. Choice Band Salamence can lose momentum because it lacks the flexibility of switching moves, unlike mixed and Dragon Dance Salamence, but in exchange, they are walled more easily and cannot pressure Celebi and Suicune as easily.
Hidden Power Flying is Salamence's strongest physical STAB, dealing heavy damage to most targets and threatening Celebi and Fighting-types. Earthquake nails Tyranitar and Steel-types such as Metagross, Jirachi, and Magneton. Rock Slide hits Flying-types hard; it OHKOes uninvested Zapdos, Aerodactyl, and Moltres, and 2HKOes defensive Zapdos, opposing Salamence, and Gyarados. Its flinch chance can be used to break down defensive answers such as Skarmory in desperate situations. Brick Break OHKOes Tyranitar and heavily damages Blissey and Snorlax; it also 2HKOes Porygon2, which can recover from Salamence's other attacks.
There are significant compromises to be made when choosing Salamence's nature. Adamant Choice Band Salamence is able to 3HKO defensive Suicune, OHKO Zapdos, and possibly OHKO defensive Gengar in sand. A Jolly nature is best for a fast check to dangerous offensive Pokemon. Notably, it prevents Baton Pass Celebi from passing stats, threatens Moltres, and Speed ties Timid Jirachi and Zapdos.
Team Options
========
Choice Band Salamence excels on balance and occasionally bulky offense builds as the team's immediate offensive threat. Magneton is almost always partnered with it for removing Skarmory.
Choice-locked Salamence loses momentum easily, so it appreciates sturdy defensive Pokemon as partners. Common physically defensive partners include Skarmory, Protect Metagross, defensive Suicune, and defensive Swampert. Skarmory is the Spiker that has the strongest synergy with Salamence, as it is also a wall that can switch into Metagross, Swampert, and perhaps Tyranitar. Spikes generally helps with wallbreaking and makes Hidden Power Flying a safe move choice that chips switch-ins. In particular, Spikes provides the chip damage needed to OHKO Metagross, Jirachi, and Blissey and 2HKO Milotic. Protect Metagross complements Salamence with its Rock resistance and can use Toxic to cripple Swampert and Suicune. Defensive Suicune switches into Metagross and Swampert well but is less robust against Tyranitar; Claydol and defensive Metagross thus help bolster the physically defensive core. Defensive Swampert switches into most physical threats, but it should ideally be paired with Skarmory for other Swampert and to allow some flexibility in pivoting around lures and Metagross's Explosion.
Choice Band Salamence also needs sturdy specially defensive partners, the most common of which are Blissey, Celebi, and Snorlax. Blissey is the most reliable special wall; it checks Gengar, Zapdos, and Starmie, which outspeed Salamence and threaten to OHKO it. Wish support from Blissey can help negate the chip damage Salamence receives, in sand. Celebi is also a decent special wall; it may struggle with Starmie and is prone to getting trapped by Dugtrio or Pursuit Tyranitar, so it is sometimes found alongside Curse Snorlax, a secondary special check. Celebi has more opportunities for synergy; its Leech Seed chips the foe and heals Salamence—important given the lack of Leftovers—and it can use Baton Pass to let Magneton to trap Skarmory more reliably. It also pressures Swampert harder. Snorlax is the shakiest of the special walls, but with Curse it has the greatest ability to pressure Salamence's checks in Milotic and Suicune. While most Snorlax are found alongside Celebi in this context, a small fraction of bulky offense teams use Snorlax as the sole special check, perhaps in conjunction with Claydol or Suicune for additional defensive coverage against Electric- or Water-types. In return for protecting Salamence from special threats, special walls benefit from Salamence protecting them from Fighting-types.
Choice Band Salamence has several fringe partners. It is possible to use Salamence without Magneton, provided that one has a spinner to stop Skarmory's Spikes and other Pokemon that force Skarmory in to take strong hits. Usually, this leads to a core of Choice Band Salamence; Starmie, Claydol, or Forretress; and a Fighting-type like Heracross, Hariyama, or Medicham. Occasionally, one can use Dugtrio to remove Pursuit Tyranitar, which otherwise gets the opportunity to chip Salamence heavily upon entry. Finally, there is a small fraction of bulky offense teams that use Choice Band Salamence with Gyarados as a sweeper in the Magneton offense archetype. Gyarados acts as a switch-in to Water-types and a secondary line of defense against physical threats with Intimidate, stopping Dragon Dance Tyranitar, Dragon Dance Salamence, and Aerodactyl.
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