[OVERVIEW]
For what is generally considered a purely offensive Pokemon, Mega Salamence boasts impressive defenses and a unique support movepool, making it a top threat in the Doubles OU tier. Salamence has a lot of flexibility in its ability to use a mixed set or specialize in either physical or special attacks. However, it often relies on its speed to maintain offensive pressure, so if it's not attacking first, it can be liable to taking a lot of damage. The all-out attacking and Dragon Dance sets have somewhat similar checks but are played to entirely different win conditions, so any opponent of Mega Salamence must tread lightly until its set is revealed. Unfortunately, the prevalence of other Pokemon 4x weak to Ice in the tier, such as Landorus-T and Zygarde, means that most teams have built-in Salamence checks. Additionally, the prevalence of Stealth Rock means that Salamence has to be careful about how many times it switches in and out.
[SET]
name: Mixed Attacker
move 1: Double-Edge
move 2: Hyper Voice
move 3: Tailwind / Flamethrower
move 4: Protect
item: Salamencite
ability: Intimidate
nature: Hasty
evs: 180 Atk / 76 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Double-Edge is Mega Salamence's primary attack, dealing large amounts of damage to any target that doesn't resist it. Some common Pokemon, such as Mega Charizard Y and Tapu Lele, are even knocked out by a single Double-Edge. Hyper Voice is a very spammable attack and provides Mega Salamence with a means of consistent spread damage, often chipping foes into range for a Double-Edge knockout. Hyper Voice also has the added bonus of circumventing the omnipresent Intimidate, which would otherwise deter physical sets. Tailwind gives Salamence a means of all-important speed control, adding some utility to an otherwise purely offensive toolkit. Flamethrower turns Mega Salamence from a very good Kartana check to arguably the best Kartana check while also enabling it to hit problematic Steel-types like Metagross and Aegislash. Protect is important on a Pokemon with a major offensive presence like Mega Salamence to buy a turn of safety while under fire so its partner can hopefully deal with the threat at hand.
Set Details
========
To take advantage of its high base Speed and ensure that Mega Salamence is attacking first as often as possible, a Hasty nature and 252 EVs in Speed are employed. 180 Attack EVs allow Mega Salamence to OHKO all of Mega Charizard Y, Hasty Genesect, and Tapu Lele. The remaining EVs are dumped into Special Attack to boost the power of Hyper Voice. Intimidate is chosen due to its vast utility in DOU, adding to Mega Salamence's already above average physical bulk and supporting its teammates to boot. While the Hasty nature seems to contradict this point, losing a little bit of Defense is less harmful than losing a little bit of Special Defense, since Intimidate covers this loss and the extra special bulk allows Mega Salamence to stand up to special attackers more comfortably. If Flamethrower is chosen in the third moveslot, 20 EVs should be moved from Attack to Special Attack for a total of 96, which allows Mega Salamence to 2HKO Mega Metagross.
Usage Tips
========
As one of the primary damage dealers on its team, Mega Salamence should be maneuvered into positions where it can start firing off powerful attacks at low risk. Salamence can switch into weak physical attacks and resisted special attacks fairly easily thanks to its natural bulk. Since a significant portion of Salamence's utility comes from Intimidate, Mega Evolving and using Protect on the same turn is almost never advised. In fact, if you want to use Tailwind but have not yet Mega Evolved Salamence, it can even be advantageous to hold off on Mega Evolving for that turn. Once you're ready to start attacking, that's when Mega Evolution becomes necessary. You almost never want to attack before Mega Evolving because Mega Salamence's Aerilate ability is the only reason this set can pump out damage. Hyper Voice can either be used to chip foes into knockout range for partners or clean up weakened foes in endgame scenarios. Double-Edge is very powerful and capable of OHKOing some frailer Pokemon, but you must be wary of taking too much recoil damage and compromising Salamence's survivability. Similarly, you must be careful to not switch Salamence in and out too often when Stealth Rock is on the field, as taking 25% chip damage multiple times can be disastrous.
Team Options
========
Mega Salamence fits on a wide variety of teams thanks to its decent synergy with all four Island Guardians, something that does not apply to many Pokemon. Tapu Fini can support Salamence with options like Icy Wind and Heal Pulse while using Nature's Madness to prime opposing Pokemon for knockouts at Salamence's hand. Tapu Koko and Tapu Bulu both threaten troublesome bulky Water-type Pokemon, while Tapu Lele and Mega Salamence can combine for insane damage output thanks to their outstanding neutral power and, in conjunction, can threaten most of the top Pokemon in the tier. Steel-type Pokemon make good partners for Salamence as well, as Salamence threatens Fire-types while Steel-types can withstand Ice-, Fairy-, and Rock-type moves sent Salamence's way. Aegislash fills this role very well defensively, while Genesect can act as a more offensive partner. Checks to Steel- and Rock-types are important for any team, so a Pokemon like Volcanion also partners well with Salamence thanks to its ability to offensively threaten both. Even though Salamence resists Water-type attacks, most bulky Water-types can stand up to Mega Salamence's strong offense and fire back with threatening attacks like Ice Beam or Icy Wind. As a result, alongside Tapu Koko and Tapu Bulu, Kartana and Zapdos make for good Salamence teammates thanks to their ability to clear out or at least significantly damage Water-types. Most of the suggested partners for Salamence experience a symbiotic relationship with it, as they allow Salamence to do its job effectively while also benefiting from the Tailwind support it can provide. However, Salamence's typing leaves it weak to more types than the average Pokemon, so you must be wary not to start stacking weakness when building a team around Mega Salamence.
[SET]
name: Dragon Dance
move 1: Return
move 2: Dragon Dance
move 3: Roost
move 4: Protect
item: Salamencite
ability: Intimidate
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 HP / 8 Atk / 4 Def / 20 SpD / 224 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Return is preferred over Double-Edge in order to maximize Salamence's longevity. When its Attack is boosted, Mega Salamence's damage output is high enough that the difference in Base Power between Return and Double-Edge is largely negligible. Dragon Dance is used to raise Salamence's Attack and Speed to sky-high levels and transform Salamence from a general chip damage machine to a sweeper. Roost can negate damage Salamence might incur as it switches in or sets up a Dragon Dance. Given this set's emphasis on bulk, Salamence is often able to Roost away more damage than it takes on a given turn, allowing it to safely remain on the field until it can begin its sweep. Protect is a staple in DOU and is often the fourth move of choice, but Substitute can be used instead to block status moves and Intimidate or gain free turns on predicted Protects or switches. Substitute also synergizes well with Roost, since Salamence can easily recover the damage lost from creating a Substitute.
Set Details
========
The given investment in HP and Special Defense allows Mega Salamence to survive a Moonblast from standard Tapu Lele, which means that Salamence can beat what would be a hard stop to its sweep in a vacuum. This bulk investment also means that Mega Salamence can survive a -1 Ice Punch from Mega Metagross after Stealth Rock. Speed is invested to the point where Mega Salamence will always outspeed Landorus, and the remaining EVs are dumped into Attack. An Adamant nature is used in order to boost Salamence's Attack even further. Dragon Dance Salamence should still use Intimidate in order to facilitate its own setup while leaving it with an element of team support.
Usage Tips
========
Dragon Dance Mega Salamence operates best as a late-game sweeper. It can certainly be used to deal some damage earlier on in battles, but you should only start setting up with Dragon Dance when you think you can win the game from that point. Before that, feel free to use regular Salamence's Intimidate ability to support its team or Mega Evolve to fire off a Return or two. Keep in mind that, even though Salamence can Roost off any damage incurred, Stealth Rock damage must still be considered carefully when switching in and out. The beauty of bulky Dragon Dance Mega Salamence is its forgiving nature—Roost and above average bulk allow it to take hits more comfortably and recover back up to full health. One more unique way to use this bulkier set is to check Speed stats on turn 1. For example, if you lead off a battle with this Salamence set and your opponents leads with Tapu Lele, the order of activation of Intimidate and Psychic Surge can tell you something about the Tapu Lele's EVs. Once the time comes for Mega Salamence to start boosting, it can effectively set up for free in the face of a lot of common Pokemon such as Incineroar, standard bulky Landorus-T, Tapu Bulu, Kartana, and non-Hidden Power Ice Volcanion. Staying healthy with Roost is important, as a bit of unexpected damage is one of the best ways to counteract a Mega Salamence sweep. Using Roost often can put you in a better position if your opponent tries to switch into a better matchup. Remember that Return still does a lot of damage without a boost, so against frail or Flying-weak Pokemon that threaten Salamence with super effective damage or status like Tapu Lele and Amoonguss, it's more advantageous to attack immediately. Finally, Dragon Dance can be used not only to boost Mega Salamence's stats but also to counteract Intimidate on a predicted switch or after the drop.
Team Options
========
Dragon Dance Mega Salamence loves having teammates that can buy it free turns. Scrafty and Incineroar are both good partners thanks to their access to Fake Out and Intimidate, both of which ease Salamence's stay on the field. Scrafty provides much-needed assistance against Tyranitar and aid against some Steel-types but adds a Fairy weakness, while Incineroar handles all relevant Steel-types but stacks a weakness to Rock and struggles to deal with bulky Water-types. Zeraora is another Pokemon that can provide Fake Out support while also improving the matchup against Electric-types, threatening most bulky Water-types, and using its nice access to Snarl to facilitate Salamence's setup. Redirection can also pave the way for a Mega Salamence sweep; Amoonguss and Volcarona are both effective Rage Powder users that also provide sleep and Tailwind support, respectively. Amoonguss has the added bonus of checking both Tapu Koko and Tapu Fini, while Volcarona can roast Steel-types. Steel-types also make good partners for Mega Salamence to check Rock-, Ice-, and Fairy-types. Genesect is an offensive option that heavily threatens Diancie, Kyurem-B, and Tapu Lele. Aegislash takes a more defensive role and can protect Salamence from moves that would otherwise deal big damage like Rock Slide or Icy Wind with its access to Wide Guard. Bulky Water-types also present a problem thanks to their ability to take hits from Mega Salamence and threaten with an Ice-type move or, in Tapu Fini's case, a STAB Moonblast. Kartana and Tapu Bulu can both use their strong Grass-type attacks to neutralize Water-types while also threatening the other three Island Guardians. Finally, Zapdos presents a problem for Mega Salamence thanks to its deadly combination of bulk, typing, and access to both Static to threaten paralysis and Tailwind to neutralize Speed boosts. Kyurem-B makes for a good partner thanks to its ability to threaten Zapdos with a strong Ice-type attack while also eliminating a common Intimidate user in Landorus-T.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Fire Blast can be used instead of Flamethrower on the mixed set if you are in desperate need for more damage, but the slight increase in Base Power is generally not worth the lower accuracy. Flamethrower and Fire Blast both 2HKO standard Mega Metagross, while Fire Blast fails to guarantee a knockout against standard Ferrothorn. Roost is an alternative to Tailwind on the mixed attacker set that bolsters Mega Salamence's longevity at the cost of coverage or utility. If you want to more effectively check Dragon-types like Zygarde and Kyurem-B, a fully special set of Hyper Voice / Draco Meteor / Flamethrower / Protect can be used in conjunction with an EV spread of 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe and a Timid nature. Earthquake is an option over Roost on the Dragon Dance set if you want a way to better damage Steel-types, but it is far inferior to Roost as Steel-types are better left to Salamence's partners.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Rock-types**: Rock-types take very little damage from any of Salamence's attacks and threaten big damage in return. Tyranitar often carries an Ice-type attack to threaten Salamence even harder and summons sand to chip away at Salamence's health, reducing the longevity of the Dragon Dance set. Diancie can set up Trick Room to neutralize Salamence's high speed, threaten it with either of its STAB attacks, or boost its Defense with Diamond Storm, effectively making it one of the best Salamence checks.
**Ice-type moves**: Given Salamence's 4x weakness to Ice, it wants to avoid taking Ice-type attacks at all costs. Kyurem-B can take at least one hit from Salamence and either blow it back with Ice Beam or lower its Speed with Icy Wind. This applies to non-STAB Ice-type coverage moves too; Landorus-T often carries Hidden Power Ice, while Mew and Porygon2 usually pack Ice Beam.
**Bulky Water-types**: Tapu Fini is one of the bulkiest Pokemon in the tier and can threaten Salamence with Icy Wind and Moonblast while also negating damage its partner has taken with Heal Pulse. Milotic takes advantage of Salamence's Intimidate with its Competitive ability and can lower Salamence's Speed with Icy Wind. Mega Swampert is bulky enough to take a hit from Mega Salamence and fire back with an Ice Punch, and Volcanion will occasionally run Hidden Power Ice.
**Electric-types**: Electric-types resist Mega Salamence's Flying-type STAB attacks, which is often the only type of attack it will carry. Tapu Koko outspeeds Salamence and threatens it with any of Terrain-boosted Thunderbolt, Dazzling Gleam, or Gigavolt Havoc. Zapdos can passively paralyze Salamence with Static, neutralize its high speed with Tailwind, and threaten to negate any Dragon Dance boosts with Whirlwind.
**Steel-types**: Bulky Steel-types that resist Flying-type attacks are strong defensive checks to Mega Salamence. Aegislash can continuously take hits from Mega Salamence lacking a Fire-type attack while either threatening it with a strong Shadow Ball or cutting its longevity with Toxic. Celesteela can use Leech Seed to slowly drain Salamence's health, but it struggles to break through Roost sets. While not bulky and not resistant to Flying, Choice Scarf Genesect will outspeed unboosted Salamence and cleanly OHKO it with Ice Beam.
**Status**: Toxic from Pokemon like Chansey and Aegislash severely threatens Salamence's longevity, especially for the Dragon Dance set, which relies on its bulk. Paralysis takes away one of Mega Salamence's biggest assets in its Speed and can be incurred from Pokemon like Static Zapdos and Thunder Wave Chansey.
**Faster Pokemon**: While fast, Mega Salamence is not the fastest Pokemon in the tier. Tapu Koko, Choice Scarf Tapu Lele, and Choice Scarf Genesect all outspeed Mega Salamence and are capable of scoring a clean OHKO.
**Speed Control**: Salamence generally relies on its speed to either safely KO opposing Pokemon or Roost off damage, so ensuring that it won't be attacking first is a good way to take it down. Zapdos and Suicune are both Tailwind setters capable of taking a hit and threatening it with a possible Ice-type attack or phazing move. Diancie, Cresselia, and Porygon2 can all set up Trick Room and threaten Salamence with a super effective attack in the form of Diamond Storm or Ice Beam. Icy Wind and Electroweb combine speed control and damage and are often seen on Cresselia, Kyurem-B, and Tapu Koko.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[MajorBowman, 188164]]
- Earlier versions by: [[shaian, 221349]]
- Quality checked by: [[talkingtree, 232101], [Level 51, 118474]]
- Grammar checked by: [[The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216], [martha, 384270]]
For what is generally considered a purely offensive Pokemon, Mega Salamence boasts impressive defenses and a unique support movepool, making it a top threat in the Doubles OU tier. Salamence has a lot of flexibility in its ability to use a mixed set or specialize in either physical or special attacks. However, it often relies on its speed to maintain offensive pressure, so if it's not attacking first, it can be liable to taking a lot of damage. The all-out attacking and Dragon Dance sets have somewhat similar checks but are played to entirely different win conditions, so any opponent of Mega Salamence must tread lightly until its set is revealed. Unfortunately, the prevalence of other Pokemon 4x weak to Ice in the tier, such as Landorus-T and Zygarde, means that most teams have built-in Salamence checks. Additionally, the prevalence of Stealth Rock means that Salamence has to be careful about how many times it switches in and out.
[SET]
name: Mixed Attacker
move 1: Double-Edge
move 2: Hyper Voice
move 3: Tailwind / Flamethrower
move 4: Protect
item: Salamencite
ability: Intimidate
nature: Hasty
evs: 180 Atk / 76 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Double-Edge is Mega Salamence's primary attack, dealing large amounts of damage to any target that doesn't resist it. Some common Pokemon, such as Mega Charizard Y and Tapu Lele, are even knocked out by a single Double-Edge. Hyper Voice is a very spammable attack and provides Mega Salamence with a means of consistent spread damage, often chipping foes into range for a Double-Edge knockout. Hyper Voice also has the added bonus of circumventing the omnipresent Intimidate, which would otherwise deter physical sets. Tailwind gives Salamence a means of all-important speed control, adding some utility to an otherwise purely offensive toolkit. Flamethrower turns Mega Salamence from a very good Kartana check to arguably the best Kartana check while also enabling it to hit problematic Steel-types like Metagross and Aegislash. Protect is important on a Pokemon with a major offensive presence like Mega Salamence to buy a turn of safety while under fire so its partner can hopefully deal with the threat at hand.
Set Details
========
To take advantage of its high base Speed and ensure that Mega Salamence is attacking first as often as possible, a Hasty nature and 252 EVs in Speed are employed. 180 Attack EVs allow Mega Salamence to OHKO all of Mega Charizard Y, Hasty Genesect, and Tapu Lele. The remaining EVs are dumped into Special Attack to boost the power of Hyper Voice. Intimidate is chosen due to its vast utility in DOU, adding to Mega Salamence's already above average physical bulk and supporting its teammates to boot. While the Hasty nature seems to contradict this point, losing a little bit of Defense is less harmful than losing a little bit of Special Defense, since Intimidate covers this loss and the extra special bulk allows Mega Salamence to stand up to special attackers more comfortably. If Flamethrower is chosen in the third moveslot, 20 EVs should be moved from Attack to Special Attack for a total of 96, which allows Mega Salamence to 2HKO Mega Metagross.
Usage Tips
========
As one of the primary damage dealers on its team, Mega Salamence should be maneuvered into positions where it can start firing off powerful attacks at low risk. Salamence can switch into weak physical attacks and resisted special attacks fairly easily thanks to its natural bulk. Since a significant portion of Salamence's utility comes from Intimidate, Mega Evolving and using Protect on the same turn is almost never advised. In fact, if you want to use Tailwind but have not yet Mega Evolved Salamence, it can even be advantageous to hold off on Mega Evolving for that turn. Once you're ready to start attacking, that's when Mega Evolution becomes necessary. You almost never want to attack before Mega Evolving because Mega Salamence's Aerilate ability is the only reason this set can pump out damage. Hyper Voice can either be used to chip foes into knockout range for partners or clean up weakened foes in endgame scenarios. Double-Edge is very powerful and capable of OHKOing some frailer Pokemon, but you must be wary of taking too much recoil damage and compromising Salamence's survivability. Similarly, you must be careful to not switch Salamence in and out too often when Stealth Rock is on the field, as taking 25% chip damage multiple times can be disastrous.
Team Options
========
Mega Salamence fits on a wide variety of teams thanks to its decent synergy with all four Island Guardians, something that does not apply to many Pokemon. Tapu Fini can support Salamence with options like Icy Wind and Heal Pulse while using Nature's Madness to prime opposing Pokemon for knockouts at Salamence's hand. Tapu Koko and Tapu Bulu both threaten troublesome bulky Water-type Pokemon, while Tapu Lele and Mega Salamence can combine for insane damage output thanks to their outstanding neutral power and, in conjunction, can threaten most of the top Pokemon in the tier. Steel-type Pokemon make good partners for Salamence as well, as Salamence threatens Fire-types while Steel-types can withstand Ice-, Fairy-, and Rock-type moves sent Salamence's way. Aegislash fills this role very well defensively, while Genesect can act as a more offensive partner. Checks to Steel- and Rock-types are important for any team, so a Pokemon like Volcanion also partners well with Salamence thanks to its ability to offensively threaten both. Even though Salamence resists Water-type attacks, most bulky Water-types can stand up to Mega Salamence's strong offense and fire back with threatening attacks like Ice Beam or Icy Wind. As a result, alongside Tapu Koko and Tapu Bulu, Kartana and Zapdos make for good Salamence teammates thanks to their ability to clear out or at least significantly damage Water-types. Most of the suggested partners for Salamence experience a symbiotic relationship with it, as they allow Salamence to do its job effectively while also benefiting from the Tailwind support it can provide. However, Salamence's typing leaves it weak to more types than the average Pokemon, so you must be wary not to start stacking weakness when building a team around Mega Salamence.
[SET]
name: Dragon Dance
move 1: Return
move 2: Dragon Dance
move 3: Roost
move 4: Protect
item: Salamencite
ability: Intimidate
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 HP / 8 Atk / 4 Def / 20 SpD / 224 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Return is preferred over Double-Edge in order to maximize Salamence's longevity. When its Attack is boosted, Mega Salamence's damage output is high enough that the difference in Base Power between Return and Double-Edge is largely negligible. Dragon Dance is used to raise Salamence's Attack and Speed to sky-high levels and transform Salamence from a general chip damage machine to a sweeper. Roost can negate damage Salamence might incur as it switches in or sets up a Dragon Dance. Given this set's emphasis on bulk, Salamence is often able to Roost away more damage than it takes on a given turn, allowing it to safely remain on the field until it can begin its sweep. Protect is a staple in DOU and is often the fourth move of choice, but Substitute can be used instead to block status moves and Intimidate or gain free turns on predicted Protects or switches. Substitute also synergizes well with Roost, since Salamence can easily recover the damage lost from creating a Substitute.
Set Details
========
The given investment in HP and Special Defense allows Mega Salamence to survive a Moonblast from standard Tapu Lele, which means that Salamence can beat what would be a hard stop to its sweep in a vacuum. This bulk investment also means that Mega Salamence can survive a -1 Ice Punch from Mega Metagross after Stealth Rock. Speed is invested to the point where Mega Salamence will always outspeed Landorus, and the remaining EVs are dumped into Attack. An Adamant nature is used in order to boost Salamence's Attack even further. Dragon Dance Salamence should still use Intimidate in order to facilitate its own setup while leaving it with an element of team support.
Usage Tips
========
Dragon Dance Mega Salamence operates best as a late-game sweeper. It can certainly be used to deal some damage earlier on in battles, but you should only start setting up with Dragon Dance when you think you can win the game from that point. Before that, feel free to use regular Salamence's Intimidate ability to support its team or Mega Evolve to fire off a Return or two. Keep in mind that, even though Salamence can Roost off any damage incurred, Stealth Rock damage must still be considered carefully when switching in and out. The beauty of bulky Dragon Dance Mega Salamence is its forgiving nature—Roost and above average bulk allow it to take hits more comfortably and recover back up to full health. One more unique way to use this bulkier set is to check Speed stats on turn 1. For example, if you lead off a battle with this Salamence set and your opponents leads with Tapu Lele, the order of activation of Intimidate and Psychic Surge can tell you something about the Tapu Lele's EVs. Once the time comes for Mega Salamence to start boosting, it can effectively set up for free in the face of a lot of common Pokemon such as Incineroar, standard bulky Landorus-T, Tapu Bulu, Kartana, and non-Hidden Power Ice Volcanion. Staying healthy with Roost is important, as a bit of unexpected damage is one of the best ways to counteract a Mega Salamence sweep. Using Roost often can put you in a better position if your opponent tries to switch into a better matchup. Remember that Return still does a lot of damage without a boost, so against frail or Flying-weak Pokemon that threaten Salamence with super effective damage or status like Tapu Lele and Amoonguss, it's more advantageous to attack immediately. Finally, Dragon Dance can be used not only to boost Mega Salamence's stats but also to counteract Intimidate on a predicted switch or after the drop.
Team Options
========
Dragon Dance Mega Salamence loves having teammates that can buy it free turns. Scrafty and Incineroar are both good partners thanks to their access to Fake Out and Intimidate, both of which ease Salamence's stay on the field. Scrafty provides much-needed assistance against Tyranitar and aid against some Steel-types but adds a Fairy weakness, while Incineroar handles all relevant Steel-types but stacks a weakness to Rock and struggles to deal with bulky Water-types. Zeraora is another Pokemon that can provide Fake Out support while also improving the matchup against Electric-types, threatening most bulky Water-types, and using its nice access to Snarl to facilitate Salamence's setup. Redirection can also pave the way for a Mega Salamence sweep; Amoonguss and Volcarona are both effective Rage Powder users that also provide sleep and Tailwind support, respectively. Amoonguss has the added bonus of checking both Tapu Koko and Tapu Fini, while Volcarona can roast Steel-types. Steel-types also make good partners for Mega Salamence to check Rock-, Ice-, and Fairy-types. Genesect is an offensive option that heavily threatens Diancie, Kyurem-B, and Tapu Lele. Aegislash takes a more defensive role and can protect Salamence from moves that would otherwise deal big damage like Rock Slide or Icy Wind with its access to Wide Guard. Bulky Water-types also present a problem thanks to their ability to take hits from Mega Salamence and threaten with an Ice-type move or, in Tapu Fini's case, a STAB Moonblast. Kartana and Tapu Bulu can both use their strong Grass-type attacks to neutralize Water-types while also threatening the other three Island Guardians. Finally, Zapdos presents a problem for Mega Salamence thanks to its deadly combination of bulk, typing, and access to both Static to threaten paralysis and Tailwind to neutralize Speed boosts. Kyurem-B makes for a good partner thanks to its ability to threaten Zapdos with a strong Ice-type attack while also eliminating a common Intimidate user in Landorus-T.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Fire Blast can be used instead of Flamethrower on the mixed set if you are in desperate need for more damage, but the slight increase in Base Power is generally not worth the lower accuracy. Flamethrower and Fire Blast both 2HKO standard Mega Metagross, while Fire Blast fails to guarantee a knockout against standard Ferrothorn. Roost is an alternative to Tailwind on the mixed attacker set that bolsters Mega Salamence's longevity at the cost of coverage or utility. If you want to more effectively check Dragon-types like Zygarde and Kyurem-B, a fully special set of Hyper Voice / Draco Meteor / Flamethrower / Protect can be used in conjunction with an EV spread of 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe and a Timid nature. Earthquake is an option over Roost on the Dragon Dance set if you want a way to better damage Steel-types, but it is far inferior to Roost as Steel-types are better left to Salamence's partners.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Rock-types**: Rock-types take very little damage from any of Salamence's attacks and threaten big damage in return. Tyranitar often carries an Ice-type attack to threaten Salamence even harder and summons sand to chip away at Salamence's health, reducing the longevity of the Dragon Dance set. Diancie can set up Trick Room to neutralize Salamence's high speed, threaten it with either of its STAB attacks, or boost its Defense with Diamond Storm, effectively making it one of the best Salamence checks.
**Ice-type moves**: Given Salamence's 4x weakness to Ice, it wants to avoid taking Ice-type attacks at all costs. Kyurem-B can take at least one hit from Salamence and either blow it back with Ice Beam or lower its Speed with Icy Wind. This applies to non-STAB Ice-type coverage moves too; Landorus-T often carries Hidden Power Ice, while Mew and Porygon2 usually pack Ice Beam.
**Bulky Water-types**: Tapu Fini is one of the bulkiest Pokemon in the tier and can threaten Salamence with Icy Wind and Moonblast while also negating damage its partner has taken with Heal Pulse. Milotic takes advantage of Salamence's Intimidate with its Competitive ability and can lower Salamence's Speed with Icy Wind. Mega Swampert is bulky enough to take a hit from Mega Salamence and fire back with an Ice Punch, and Volcanion will occasionally run Hidden Power Ice.
**Electric-types**: Electric-types resist Mega Salamence's Flying-type STAB attacks, which is often the only type of attack it will carry. Tapu Koko outspeeds Salamence and threatens it with any of Terrain-boosted Thunderbolt, Dazzling Gleam, or Gigavolt Havoc. Zapdos can passively paralyze Salamence with Static, neutralize its high speed with Tailwind, and threaten to negate any Dragon Dance boosts with Whirlwind.
**Steel-types**: Bulky Steel-types that resist Flying-type attacks are strong defensive checks to Mega Salamence. Aegislash can continuously take hits from Mega Salamence lacking a Fire-type attack while either threatening it with a strong Shadow Ball or cutting its longevity with Toxic. Celesteela can use Leech Seed to slowly drain Salamence's health, but it struggles to break through Roost sets. While not bulky and not resistant to Flying, Choice Scarf Genesect will outspeed unboosted Salamence and cleanly OHKO it with Ice Beam.
**Status**: Toxic from Pokemon like Chansey and Aegislash severely threatens Salamence's longevity, especially for the Dragon Dance set, which relies on its bulk. Paralysis takes away one of Mega Salamence's biggest assets in its Speed and can be incurred from Pokemon like Static Zapdos and Thunder Wave Chansey.
**Faster Pokemon**: While fast, Mega Salamence is not the fastest Pokemon in the tier. Tapu Koko, Choice Scarf Tapu Lele, and Choice Scarf Genesect all outspeed Mega Salamence and are capable of scoring a clean OHKO.
**Speed Control**: Salamence generally relies on its speed to either safely KO opposing Pokemon or Roost off damage, so ensuring that it won't be attacking first is a good way to take it down. Zapdos and Suicune are both Tailwind setters capable of taking a hit and threatening it with a possible Ice-type attack or phazing move. Diancie, Cresselia, and Porygon2 can all set up Trick Room and threaten Salamence with a super effective attack in the form of Diamond Storm or Ice Beam. Icy Wind and Electroweb combine speed control and damage and are often seen on Cresselia, Kyurem-B, and Tapu Koko.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[MajorBowman, 188164]]
- Earlier versions by: [[shaian, 221349]]
- Quality checked by: [[talkingtree, 232101], [Level 51, 118474]]
- Grammar checked by: [[The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216], [martha, 384270]]
Last edited:
