[SET]
name: Dragon Dance
move 1: Dragon Dance
move 2: Hidden Power Flying
move 3: Rock Slide
move 4: Earthquake
item: Leftovers
ability: Intimidate
nature: Adamant
evs: 116 HP / 252 Atk / 140 Spe
ivs: 30 SpA / 30 SpD / 30 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Dragon Dance Salamence is adept at sweeping offensive teams that rely on frail Pokemon such as offensive Swampert and Metagross or revenge killers like Dugtrio, Aerodactyl, and Starmie to check physical sweepers. This proficiency comes from Salamence's Speed; unlike Tyranitar, +1 Salamence outspeeds the entire metagame. Dragon Dance Salamence also offers some unique defensive properties; it is the best Heracross counter, with the ability to OHKO, boost its Speed past Salac Berry variants, and heal with Leftovers. Unfortunately, Dragon Dance Salamence suffers in terms of power, bulk, and susceptibility to Intimidate. Many common Pokemon seen as physically frail like defensive Zapdos, Gengar, and even Blissey can survive a boosted attack and stop Salamence from sweeping. Opposing Salamence can also deny a sweep with Intimidate; although Dragon Dance Tyranitar can similarly be stopped, it more heavily pressures opposing Salamence with its STAB Rock Slide.
Hidden Power Flying is Salamence's strongest attack. While it is comparable to Earthquake in power, it hits Celebi and Fighting-types super effectively and Claydol and Flygon neutrally. It also dissuades the opponent from weakening Salamence by switching to Intimidate Salamence or Gyarados on Earthquake. Rock Slide threatens Zapdos, Moltres, Aerodactyl, Gyarados, and other Salamence. Due to the flinch chance, it also allows Salamence to take down Skarmory despite being a 3HKO. Earthquake completes the coverage by threatening Tyranitar, Jirachi, and Metagross. Occasionally, Brick Break is used over Earthquake to help Salamence beat Blissey and Tyranitar at the expense of coverage against Metagross and Jirachi.
Salamence can use a variety of EV spreads that differ mostly in trading off Attack for Speed and bulk. The only mandatory benchmark is 116 Speed EVs for Aerodactyl and Jolteon after a boost. The listed EVs allow Salamence to outspeed Adamant Heracross. It is possible to increase the Speed investment to 180 EVs for Moltres, or simply maximize speed at the expense of bulk. This allows Salamence to outspeed Jolly Heracross and increases its chances of outspeeding other Dragon Dance Salamence, Gyarados, and Agility Metagross that try to get into a boosting war. It also Speed ties with neutral Zapdos and mixed Salamence, which can be important because Salamence usually cannot afford to boost against them.
Salamence can also run a specially defensive EV spread of 180 Atk / 212 SpD / 116 Spe, which takes defensive Gengar's Ice Punch and defensive Swampert's Ice Beam, turning two of the most prominent Salamence checks into non-answers or setup opportunities. Less commonly, these EVs also guarantee that Salamence survives Timid Jirachi's Ice Punch. Note that the divestment from Attack can be significant, for near-guaranteed OHKOs on uninvested Tyranitar and Zapdos after a boost become roughly two-thirds chances.
Dragon Dance Salamence's use and role depend on the team and matchup. One needs to discern whether its HP should be used liberally for defensive pivoting and inducing chip damage, sacrificed to wallbreak for other sweepers, or preserved for a Dragon Dance sweep in the endgame. Salamence can be used mid-game to switch into Fighting-types, defensive Suicune, Celebi, and other physical Salamence, and it can also pivot in on Earthquake to weaken Tyranitar, Swampert, Flygon, Claydol, and Snorlax with Intimidate. Most of these Pokemon are also potential setup targets; even some threatening Pokemon like Tyranitar, defensive Swampert, and Jirachi can be set up on in specific circumstances, as Intimidate softens Rock Slide's damage and Salamence can have EVs to survive Swampert's and Jirachi's Ice-type coverage. Additionally, Salamence can set up on Choice-locked Pokemon like Dugtrio and Aerodactyl; these are revenge killers that offensive teams sometimes use to relieve their physical weaknesses, yet +1 Salamence bypasses them.
Team Options
========
Dragon Dance Salamence fits well on momentum-based teams that benefit from its potential to sweep over the general utility of the mixed set. Occasionally, it can also fit on Magneton-based balance teams in lieu of Choice Band Salamence, where it pivots into Fighting-types, Celebi, and defensive Suicune. Most of Salamence's partners are geared towards breaking through its most prominent walls in Skarmory and bulky Water-types, most notably Swampert. Magneton is one of Salamence's most effective partners, as it can trap and remove Skarmory. Metagross is another effective partner that can plow through those walls. Choice Band Metagross is great for removing Skarmory and bulky Water-types with Explosion. While it targets Skarmory less specifically than Magneton, Choice Band Metagross prevents Skarmory from setting Spikes, which can exacerbate typical physically offensive teams' weakness to special sweepers like Starmie and Gengar. Mixed Metagross is great for wearing Skarmory and Swampert down over the course of a game. Pursuit on Mixed Metagross also chips Gengar and puts it into boosted Salamence's KO range. Defensive Metagross is a good choice in conjunction with Magneton, where Metagross has the flexibility of defensive and offensive use with Explosion or Toxic to wallbreak against bulky Water-types. This set also makes the best use of the physically defensive synergy of Salamence and Metagross.
A variety of Tyranitar sets can also lure Water-types in to chip them. The most prominent example is Dragon Dance + Hidden Power Grass Tyranitar, which frequently leaves the opponent no choice but to expend a huge amount of HP on their bulky Water-type. Hidden Power Grass is not strictly necessary if one has other means of luring and damaging Swampert or if the rest of the team has a good matchup against Toxic, Sandstorm, and Spikes (TSS) teams, which Swampert is usually found on and Dragon Dance Salamence struggles against. Mixed Tyranitar does not target Water-types as specifically and cannot get past Milotic, but it is great against TSS teams; it can chip Skarmory and other one-time checks like Blissey, defensive Zapdos, Starmie, and physically defensive Celebi. Note that Tyranitar's Sand Stream is really helpful for maintaining chip damage on most Pokemon, especially Milotic, Suicune, Gengar, Blissey, and Snorlax.
Offensive Water-types also tend to have good matchups against TSS teams and can switch into defensive Swampert relatively easily. Offensive Swampert is a good choice for heavily damaging Skarmory as it tries to set Spikes, and opposing Swampert is frequently compelled to trade blows for the lack of a better switch-in, unwittingly facilitating the Salamence sweep. Offensive Swampert is also generally great at luring in and chipping the other aforementioned one-time checks. Offensive Suicune works in a similar vein; it heavily threatens the special walls Celebi and Jirachi, and it can use Toxic to chip Blissey and dissuade it from staying in, thereby also forcing chip damage on Swampert, Skarmory, Gengar, or Starmie. It also trades with Snorlax, which could otherwise use Self-Destruct on Salamence.
Enabling a Dragon Dance Salamence sweep also requires chipping bulky Tyranitar and Metagross, which can survive boosted Earthquake and OHKO back. Offensive Snorlax lures in Tyranitar, Metagross, and Skarmory and can chip them with Earthquake, Focus Punch, or Self-Destruct; Curse + Self-Destruct can even take out these checks. Snorlax also acts as a special tank. Gyarados is another great partner for Salamence. They share similar checks in Tyranitar, Metagross, Salamence, Snorlax, Gengar, and Starmie; together, they can overload these checks. For example, a common sequence involves using Dragon Dance Gyarados to force bulky physical Tyranitar in, sacrificing Gyarados to chip Tyranitar with Earthquake, and exploiting Salamence's Intimidate to set up. Also, having two fast Dragon Dance users vastly expands one's coverage—Salamence's Rock Slide can make up for Gyarados's potential lack of coverage for Aerodactyl, while Gyarados can set up on Water-types and potentially carry Hidden Power Ghost for Gengar. Water-types are the bane of Salamence's existence, so Gyarados's ability to set up on Water-types is particularly complementary. Celebi is also able to gain momentum on Water-types. Offensive Calm Mind Celebi can lure in and trade with Tyranitar and Metagross or pass its boosts to Swampert; alternatively, Leech Seed variants can slowly provide the little chip damage needed to bring Tyranitar, Metagross, and Blissey into KO range. Salamence is also able to protect Celebi from Heracross and other physical Salamence sets to an extent. Offensive Jirachi performs a similar role of luring in and chipping Tyranitar, providing Salamence a setup opportunity upon its sacrifice; it can also wrestle with Snorlax to bring it into Salamence's KO range.
Chipping Gengar and opposing Salamence also makes it easier for Dragon Dance Salamence to sweep. Heracross lures in and chips these targets, and on top of that, it has a good matchup against Milotic-based stall teams Heracross is a decent switch-in to Water-types as well.
While Dragon Dance Salamence is harder to fit on Spikes teams than mixed Salamence, Spikes helps Salamence break through all grounded checks. On offensive teams, Cloyster can provide Spikes support, and its Explosion and Surf provide the little dent needed to beat Tyranitar, Metagross, or Gengar. On balanced teams, Skarmory is the default Spiker.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Salamence can run a more dedicated defensive and supportive set with 252 HP and 252 Defense EVs that utilizes Wish and Protect. The remaining moves are chosen to suit the team and can range from two attacks, like Hidden Power Flying + Earthquake or Dragon Claw + Flamethrower, to a single attack and a utility move like Roar or Toxic. Flamethrower is a good attacking move to accompany Toxic, as it hits poison-immune Steel-types. This can be useful in teams with bulky setup Pokemon such as Rest Snorlax and defensive Suicune or dedicated stall teams such as those running defensive Hariyama, though the lack of power increases the team's weakness to Rest Suicune and Calm Mind Celebi.
Dragon Dance Salamence can run a mixed set utilizing Fire Blast over Hidden Power Flying, especially to exploit a Calm Mind boost passed from Celebi. Dropping Hidden Power Flying, however, makes it much harder for Salamence to get past Claydol and Flygon. In its defense, Calm Mind + Baton Pass Celebi tends to have a good matchup against Claydol teams. Unfortunately, the lack of STAB also makes it easier for the opponent to pivot around and weaken Salamence with their own use of Intimidate. Dragon Dance Salamence can also use Hidden Power Grass in lieu of Hidden Power Flying to break through Swampert, though not only do the same drawbacks apply, but Celebi also walls it. Refresh is a nifty matchup pick that turns bulky Water-type stops that lack Ice Beam or Roar into setup fodder, namely Milotic, some Swampert, and defensive Starmie. This comes at the expense of an attacking move, which is usually Rock Slide to preserve Salamence's ability to hit Claydol, a common Milotic partner. Salamence thus becomes walled by Zapdos and Aerodactyl.
Hydro Pump is an option on mixed Salamence in order to OHKO Aerodactyl and Moltres, which can be really useful if Salamence has been passed a Speed boost, but this requires giving up another attack. Sleep Talk can be used on Choice Band or mixed Salamence for a safe switch-in to Breloom and Venusaur. Toxic is also another option on the mixed set to cripple Water-types without Refresh and Porygon2.
Checks and Counters
=============
There are very few Pokemon that can check all of Salamence's sets because it can hit hard both physically and specially. You will need a combination of the Pokemon below if you want to successfully check each Salamence set.
**Bulky Water-types**: Bulky Water-types such as Swampert, Milotic, and Suicune wall specific Salamence sets and threaten Salamence back with Ice-type coverage, Toxic, or phazing. Swampert is the most robust check to physical Salamence under sand, but it should be wary of mixed Salamence running Hidden Power Grass. Milotic is the best check to all variants of Salamence in a vacuum, but it can frequently be put into 2HKO range of Choice Band Salamence and possibly mixed Salamence when chipped. It is prone to critical hits in the process of healing with Recover. Milotic still requires secondary checks. Defensive Suicune without Ice Beam can phaze physical Salamence with Roar and set up on mixed Salamence. However, it is an unreliable check, as Salamence can muscle through it with critical hits.
**Skarmory**: Skarmory is one of the biggest problems for physical Salamence due to it walling both Choice Band and Dragon Dance sets to cripple it with Toxic or set up Spikes. However, Skarmory should not be a team's sole Salamence check because Salamence is frequently paired with Magneton and other wallbreakers.
**Revenge Killers**: Revenge killers such as Aerodactyl, Gengar, Starmie, Zapdos, and Jolteon can switch in, possibly after a KO, to force Choice Band and mixed Salamence out with super effective coverage or status moves. Starmie and physically defensive Gengar have the added luxury of surviving any physical or special attack and threatening to OHKO with their Ice-type coverage or, in the case of defensive Starmie, disable Salamence with Thunder Wave. Aerodactyl and Zapdos can get KOed by Choice Band Salamence's Rock Slide but are safe switch-ins against mixed Salamence too. As Starmie and defensive Gengar can survive boosted Salamence's attacks, they are also single-use checks to Dragon Dance Salamence. Many common Pokemon can also tank a hit from Dragon Dance Salamence and retaliate with Explosion, including Metagross, Snorlax, Claydol, Cloyster, and Forretress. Mixed Salamence OHKOes Salamence without bulk investment under sand with Dragon Claw, and with Intimidate to soften physical blows, it can be an emergency check to physical Salamence as well.
**Blissey**: Blissey is a decent mixed Salamence check, as it can OHKO Salamence with Ice Beam or Counter and heal off damage from Brick Break. It can also check Dragon Dance Salamence in a pinch, but a Rock Slide flinch can put it out of commission. Blissey is vulnerable to Spikes and sand damage and cannot check Salamence well if it becomes too weakened.
**Porygon2**: Porygon2 is able to check mixed and Dragon Dance Salamence thanks to its Ice Beam and Recover. It even checks Choice Band Salamence pretty reliably, as only Brick Break can 2HKO it.
**Pursuit Tyranitar**: Pursuit Tyranitar can trap and deal a heavy blow to Choice Band Salamence if it's locked into Hidden Power Flying or Rock Slide. Sacrificing a Pokemon weak to these moves can thus form a reliable strategy for removing Salamence that does not require the risky predictions typically associated with Choice Band users.
**Intimidate**: Pokemon with Intimidate such as Gyarados and other Salamence can stop Dragon Dance Salamence from sweeping or soften its attacks mid-game, allowing Pokemon such as Metagross, Tyranitar, and bulky Water-types an easier time switching in. Mixed Salamence itself can also survive Rock Slide after Intimidate and attempt to KO opposing physical Salamence.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[BP, 272450]]
- Quality checked by: [[vapicuno, 5454], [johnnyg2, 57904]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Finland, 517429], [CryoGyro, 331519]]
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