[OVERVIEW]
Glitching its way into SV RU, Porygon-Z acts as a niche-yet-deadly setup sweeper and wallbreaker. Its monstrous Special Attack stat combined with Download and Agility lets Porygon-Z clean up weakened teams, while its Normal-typing lets it maintain a reliable STAB move with Tera Blast, even if it needs to Terastallize. Additionally, Porygon-Z's movepool includes several solid coverage options, such as Shadow Ball to nail Ghost-types and Jirachi and Thunderbolt to muscle through bulky Water-types like Empoleon and Volcanion. Porygon-Z is let down by its poor bulk and defensive typing, which make finding setup opportunities difficult due to the fact that it risks being dented by even defensive Pokemon like Slowbro and Hippowdon. Additionally, Porygon-Z's middling Speed tier leaves it outsped by common Pokemon, like Galarian Zapdos, Gengar, Salamence, and Entei, without any Agility boosts; these factors mean that Porygon-Z's team must dedicate resources in order to facilitate a sweep. Porygon-Z also faces competition from more reliable setup sweepers; in particular, Armarouge has a stronger STAB combination and can boost its Speed without having to use a moveslot thanks to Weak Armor.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
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Porygon-Z can run a bulkier Agility set with 128 HP EVs alongside Recover, letting it stay on the field longer while still outspeeding Choice Scarf Galarian Zapdos at +2 Speed. However, its iffy natural bulk and poor defensive typing makes other options like Calm Mind Reuniclus, Suicune, and Slowbro better choices for bulky setup sweepers. Nasty Plot can be used to further bolster Porygon-Z's already high Special Attack, letting it muscle through traditional checks like Umbreon, though its lacking Speed leaving it outrun by threats like Krookodile and Mimikyu makes it risky to use. A double dance set with both Nasty Plot and Agility is a usable option, though Porygon-Z struggles with the inability to fit coverage, especially if it does not Terastallize. Porygon-Z can opt to run a Choice item alongside Trick to cripple defensive Pokemon like Registeel and Chansey; Choice Specs lets it immediately punch holes through teams, while Choice Scarf patches up Porygon-Z's poor speed stat without the need for Agility, notably letting it outspeed Choice Scarf Gardevoir and +1 Gyarados. Adaptability paired with Tri-Attack offers more consistent power than Download and Tera Blast, though the fact that Porygon-Z loses the power boost to Tri-Attack after Terastallization makes it unreliable.
Checks and Counters
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**Ghost-types**: While they must be wary of Shadow Ball, Gengar, Basculegion-F, and Mimikyu are immune to Porygon-Z's Tera Blast and, thanks to its poor bulk, can heavily damage it with their secondary STAB attacks. Mimikyu in particular can take a hit with Disguise, using the opportunity to damage Porygon-Z with Play Rough.
**Steel-types**: Common Steel-types like Hisuian Goodra, Registeel, and Jirachi are able to switch in on Porygon-Z's attacks before taking the opportunity to KO it or, in the case of the latter two, cripple it with Thunder Wave. However, all three must be mindful of Tera Blast Ground or Fighting, with Jirachi needing to be wary of Shadow Ball as well. If Porygon-Z is not Tera Fighting, Bisharp can revenge kill it with Sucker Punch and take most of Porygon-Z's attacks, though it struggles to switch in reliably, especially if Porygon-Z is running Thunderbolt.
**Specially Defensive Pokemon**: Blissey is unable to be 2HKOed by Tera Blast Fighting Porygon-Z, even with a Download boost, letting Blissey wear it down with Seismic Toss or cripple it with Thunder Wave. Depending on Porygon-Z's Tera type, other special walls like Umbreon and Alolan Muk can also take it on.
**Priority**: Porygon-Z's poor bulk means that it only needs to sustain a little chip damage to be picked off by the tier's prominent priority moves, such as Entei's Extreme Speed, Accelerock or Sucker Punch from Lycanroc-D, and Aqua Jet from Feraligatr or Barraskewda.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/bice.236507/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/heatranator.647728/
Grammar checked by:
Last edited:
