Team Options (i'm going to organize this by sweeping gameplan - i think it's clearer, you'll see)
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Dragon Dance Salamence fits well on offense-oriented teams that benefit from the offensive pressure that Salamence provides late game. Occasionally, it can also fit on Magneton-based balanced teams in lieu of Choice Band Salamence where it pivots into Fighting-types, Celebi, and defensive Suicune. Salamence also fits decently on balance builds due to its defensive abilities against Heracross, Celebi, and defensive Suicune. (providing more detail) Most of Salamence's partners are geared towards breaking its most prominent walls Skarmory and bulky Water-types, most notably, Swampert. Skarmory walls Dragon Dance Salamence and can either phaze it out with Whirlwind or status it with Toxic, so Magneton is considered one of Salamence's most effective premier partners as it can trap and remove Skarmory, but it's not strictly necessary when other wallbreakers are used. Metagross makes for a great partner for Salamence due to their great type synergy as well the offensive pressure they apply. (since DDMence distinguishes itself by being a sweeper compared to the other mence which are more pivot based, it makes more sense to sell its offensive synergies first) Metagross is another effective partner that can help plough through those walls. Choice Band Metagross is great for removing checks such as Skarmory and Swampert bulky Water-types with Explosion. While it targets Skarmory less specifically than Magneton, Choice Band Metagross prevents Skarmory from laying Spikes, which can exacerbate the already prominent weakness of typical physically offensive teams to special sweepers like Starmie and Gengar. while other sets such as Mixed Metagross is great for wearing Skarmory and Swampert down slowly over the course of a game. Pursuit on Mixed Metagross also chips Gengar and puts it into boosted Salamence's 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 opposing 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 damaging Swampert or dividing the matchup against Toxic, Sandstorm, and Spikes (TSS) teams that Swampert is usually found on. 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 on non-sand immune Pokemon, especially Milotic, Suicune, Gengar, Blissey, and Snorlax.
To expound on the above, offensive Water-types tend to have a good matchup against TSS teams that Dragon Dance Salamence has a poor matchup against, and can pivot 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 and chipping the other aforementioned one-time checks as well. Offensive Suicune works in a similar vein; it heavily threatens the special walls Celebi and Jirachi, and can use Toxic to chip Blissey and dissuade it from staying in, thereby also forcing chip on Swampert, Skarmory, Gengar, or Starmie. It also trades with Snorlax, which could otherwise blow up 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 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. Snorlax pairs well with Salamence due to its ability to act as a special wall without losing the momentum other specials walls would such as Blissey. Additionally, Snorlax can also wear down defensive Pokemon such as Skarmory, Tyranitar, and Metagross with Focus Punch, Fire Blast, or Self-Destruct. (reorganized snorlax to talk about its offensive qualities first) Salamence appreciates offensive Swampert sets due to them being able to gain momentum on defensive Swampert that check Salamence; they also are able to wear Skarmory down. (moved up to the anti skarm/pert section for better organization) Gyarados is another great partner for Salamence. They share similar checks in Tyranitar, Metagross, Salamence, Snorlax, Gengar, and Starmie; together, Salamence and Gyarados can overload these checks. For example, a common sequence involves Dragon Dance Gyarados forcing bulky physical Tyranitar in, sacrificing Gyarados to chip Tyranitar with Earthquake, and exploiting Salamence's intimidate to set up the next Dragon Dance on Tyranitar. Also, having two fast Dragon Dance users vastly expands one's coverage— Salamence's Rock Slide can make up for Gyarados' 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' ability to set up on Water-types is particularly complementary. Gyarados in particular is worth noting thanks to its ability to set up on Water-types that threaten Salamence such as Suicune, Milotic, and Swampert. Moreover, most teams tend to struggle with handling two opposing Dragon Dance Flying-types so Gyarados and Salamence work well in overwhelming the opponents flying checks. (again, reordering this to talk about Gyarados' offensive qualities first) Tyranitar variants such as mixed and Dragon Dance Hidden Power Grass all make for good partners as well for breaking Swampert. (moved this point up in the same category of chipping pert) Occasionally, Pursuit Tyranitar can be used to heavily damage, often even KO, Gengar, and chip Moltres (moving this into a separate point below). Salamence also appreciates the damage that sand provides against Pokemon such as Blissey, Snorlax, Suicune, Gengar, and Zapdos (integrated this with DDtar above). Celebi is a notable partner thanks to it being 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 needed to bring Tyranitar, Metagross, and Blissey into 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 range. Offensive Suicune pairs well with Salamence thanks to its ability to lure in Snorlax and stop it from using Self-Destruct on Salamence (pairing with offpert mention above). Additionally, it makes for a good pivot on defensive Swampert that lacks Toxic.
Chipping Gengar and opposing Salamence also makes it easier for Dragon Dance Salamence to sweep. Heracross lures and chips these targets, and on top of that, has a good matchup against Milotic based stall teams which carry recovery moves that attempt to undo any induced chip damage. Heracross is a decent pivot into Water-types as well. Heracross makes for a good Salamence partner thanks to its ability to act as a Water-type and Blissey pivot that can chip Flying-types (rephrasing to capture the essence of the hera synergy). Pursuit Tyranitar is also an option for severely damaging or removing Gengar, and also chips Choice-locked Salamence.
Finally, 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 provides the little dent needed to put Tyranitar, Metagross, or Gengar into range. On balanced teams, Skarmory is the default spiker.
Many of the aforementioned partners like Metagross, Jirachi, Tyranitar, Heracross, and Snorlax, as well as chipped offensive Suicune and Snorlax all lure in Dugtrio, which Salamence can set up on. (this is a bit hard to fit into the team options section since these mons are scattered everywhere, so alternatively i think the mention of dug revenge in the set description will suffice)
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
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Salamence can run a more dedicated defensive set consisting of 252 HP and 252 Defense EV that utilize Wish and Protect in order to maximize its merit in a support role. 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 utility move like Roar and 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 or 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. Brick Break can be run over Earthquake on Dragon Dance Salamence so that Salamence can OHKO Tyranitar with one an Attack boost as well more easily threaten Pokemon such as Blissey, Snorlax, and Porygon2 (I moved this to set description FYI).
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 lure and break through Swampert, though not only do the same drawbacks apply, but Celebi also walls this Salamence variant. Refresh is a nifty matchup pick that is good against bulky Water-types that lack Ice Beam and Roar, namely Milotic, some Swampert, and defensive Starmie. Removing Toxic or paralysis from Salamence completely flips the matchup and turns these checks into setup fodder. All this however comes at the expense of dropping 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, and Charizard which can be really useful if Salamence has been passed a speed boost, but this requires giving up either STAB or a coverage move that hits its checks. Sleep Talk can be used on Choice Band or mixed Salamence as a safe pivot into Breloom and Venusaur.
Checks and Counters (generally did a lot of rewriting below to emphasize the sets that are being checked are more prominent)
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There are very few Pokemon that can blanket check all of Salamence's sets. This is due to Salamence's ability to hit hard on both the physical and special front. great base Attack and Special Attack stat. Physical walls cannot deal with special attacks and vice versa. You will need a combination of the Pokemon below if you want to successfully check each Salamence set reliably.
**Bulky Water-types** Bulky Water-types such as Swampert, Milotic, and Suicune can all wall specific a majority of Salamence sets and threaten Salamence back with potential Ice-type coverage, or cripple Salamence with Toxic, or phaze it out. Swampert is the most robust check to physical Salamence under sand, but it should be wary, however, due to of mixed Salamence running Hidden Power Grass. Milotic is the best check to all variants of Salamence in a vacuum, but it can also frequently be put into 2HKO range of Choice Band Salamence and possibly mixed Salamence when chipped. It is prone to critical hits while taking repeated hits in the process of healing with Recover. Secondary checks are usually necessary when using Milotic. Defensive Suicune without Ice Beam Although Suicune may not necessarily have Ice Beam, it can phaze physical Salamence out with Roar or use and set up on mixed Salamence as Calm Mind set up fodder. However, it is an unreliable check as Salamence can still muscle through Suicune with critical hits or a great enough attack boost.
**Skarmory**: Skarmory is one of the biggest problems for physical Salamence due to it being able to wall both Choice Band and Dragon Dance Salamence sets and cripple it with Toxic or set up Spikes. However, Skarmory should not be a team's sole Salamence check because they are frequently paired with Magneton and other wallbreakers.
**Faster Revenge Killers** Faster Revenge killers such as Aerodactyl, Gengar, Starmie, Zapdos, and Jolteon can pivot in, possibly after a KO, to force Choice Band and mixed Salamence out either with super-effective coverage or status moves. Starmie and physically defensive Gengar have added luxury of surviving any physical or special attack and threatening to OHKO threaten Choice Band and mixed Salamence with their Ice-type coverage, or in the case of defensive Starmie, disabling Salamence with Thunder Wave. whereas Dragon Dance Salamence can boost past these revenge killers. Aerodactyl and Zapdos can get KOed by Choice Band Salamence's Rock Slide, but should otherwise be 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. Gengar is worth mentioning due to it being able to survive Dragon Dance Salamence at +1 when EVd correctly and its ability to pivot in on most of Salamence's move thanks to its typing and immunity to Earthquake. Jolteon, Zapdos, and Aerodactyl are also worth noting thanks to their ability to come in on mixed Salamence sets and survive one hit. (I find it strange to talk about beating DDmence here when mentioning earlier that DDmence can boost past revenge killers, so I rephrased) Mixed Salamence OHKOs bulkless Salamence under sand with Dragon Claw, and with Intimidate to soften physical blows, can be an emergency check to physical Salamence as well. does well against opposing Dragon Dance and Choice Band Salamence thanks its STAB in Dragon Claw and Intimidate which allows it to pivot into these sets.
**Blissey** Blissey is a decent notable 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 it should not be relied on completely as Blissey can be put out of commission with a Rock Slide flinch. thanks to it being able to check both Dragon Dance and mixed Salamence sets with Ice Beam and potentially being able to status it. However, Blissey is also vulnerable to Spikes and sand damage and it cannot check Salamence well if it becomes too weakened.
**Porygon2** Porygon2 is able to check mixed and Dragon Dance Salamence thanks to its access to Ice Beam-type coverage, great and its exceptional bulk which allows it to take hits from mixed and Dragon Dance sets, and Recover. It even checks Choice Band Salamence pretty reliably as its bulk prevents it from getting 2HKOed by every move other than Brick Break. Moreover, Porygon2 has access to reliable recovery and can even status Salamence or a switch in
**Bulky Water-types** Bulky Water-types such as Swampert, Milotic, and Suicune can all wall a majority of Salamence sets and threaten Salamence back with potential Ice-type coverage or cripple Salamence with Toxic. Swampert should be wary, however, due to mixed Salamence running Hidden Power Grass. Although Suicune may not necessarily have Ice Beam, it can phaze Dragon Dance Salamence out with Roar or use Salamence as Calm Mind set up fodder. However, Salamence can still muscle through Suicune with critical hits or a great enough attack boost. (moving this up, this is important!)
**Pursuit Tyranitar** Pursuit Tyranitar that run Pursuit can trap and deal a heavy blow to Choice Band Salamence if it's locked into an unfavorable move such as 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 one to make 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 Porgyon2 an easier time pivoting in after an Attack drop. Mixed Salamence itself can also survive Rock Slide after Intimidate and attempt to KO opposing physical Salamence. or slower variants of itself.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[BP, 272450]]
- Quality checked by: [[vapicuno, 5454], [, ]]
- Grammar checked by: [[, ], [, ]]
