The Next Best Thing v2 - Latios

Joeyboy

Has got the gift of gab
is a Team Rater Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnus
The Next Best Thing...
credit to fatty & Novaray for most of the op and the idea
approved by Harsha



Artwork by Bummer.

What is this?:

I for one, along with many others I'm sure, feel as though there is some untapped power within the OU environment. There is substantial evidence for this idea in the form of one commonality for most tiers, OU included: there always seems to be one or more new-fangled, hyped up sets that weren't originally main-stay or seen as "viable" by the community, but somehow has taken the metagame by storm. This can be seen in DPP OU (with Special Lucario transitioning to SD Lucario, Heatran eventually running items other than Choice Scarf, and the influx of ChestoRest Kingdra) in ADV (with the vaunted TyraniBoah now becoming almost an urban myth in comparison to Special and DD Tyranitar, and the increasing popularity of SupeRachi) and in BW OU (with the advent of SubSalac Terrakion, SubDisable Gengar, and ChestoRest Volcarona). Yes, some of these sets may have been found early on with respect to the creation of the tier or fairly recently, the point is, though, that there seems to be an endless supply of effective and potent sets out there yet to be discovered, especially factoring in metagame swings and the possible tier shifts. The purpose of this project will be to systematically subject each and every OU Pokemon to a collective body of research in an attempt to uncover these "hidden gems", so to speak, and hopefully spark some creativity throughout the OU community.

The Process:

Each week, I will choose a different OU Pokemon, sometimes chosen by random, sometimes chosen by curiousity, of which participants will try to personally create a new set for that is not already on-site or in the process of being put on-site. Participants will be given 3 days to create their set, with discussion about the particular sets being promoted throughout, and on the 4th and 5th day, a vote will be held to choose which user's set represented the most creative and simultaneously competitively viable set to utilize in the current OU metagame. Once the votes are tallied and a winner is crowned, the set will be archived in the OP and the process will start all over again for the next Pokemon specimen.

What are we looking for?:

Specifically, I want to stress the importance of the balance between creativity and viability when picking a set to post for the Pokemon in question. There's a very fine line between a "creative" set and a "gimmick", and this project is not meant to produce gimmicks, rather emphasize the ability to think outside the box when using a specific Pokemon in order to maximize it's potential. Having said that, I would also like to deviate from simple one move / item changes. For example, using Steel Gem over Choice Band on Scizor does nothing to show any untapped potential Scizor has because we already have a basic understanding of what Scizor does. The same goes for using Draco Meteor over Fire Blast on DD Salamence, it doesn't yield productive discussion or results for the project. I am looking for sets that test what we think we know about checks or counters, so-called standards, and what it means to be viable. Maybe a particular option for a Pokemon looks inferior at first glance for that particular Pokemon, but dig deeper and try and find what it might mean in the big picture, for the entire team.

If the Pokemon you nominate has an onsite analysis, or I deem it to closely resemble an onsite analysis I reserve the right to not include your Pokemon.

The next test subject is...


Latios!

Some things to consider:
  • What is thought to "counter" this pokemon?
  • Is there anyway to bypass this pokemon's so-called "counters?
  • What moves are seldom used on this pokemon, but have the most upside?
  • What niches can this pokemon potentially fill in the current metagame?
  • What opposing pokemon does this pokemon do well against?
  • How can this pokemon benefit it's teammates?
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Joeyboy

Has got the gift of gab
is a Team Rater Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnus
Archived Sets

(set name - creator)


Gliscor - Superpowerdude


Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
EV's: 252 HP / 184 Atk / 72 Spe
Nature: Adamant (+Atk -SpA) /
Trait: Poison Heal
-Earthquake
-U-turn
-Toxic
-Taunt
I can see this Gliscor set working very well on sand teams and volt turn teams. The combination of Taunt+U-turn is very great to grab momentum as you can do something like make Skarmory useless, then switch into a Pokemon that can take it on like Magnezone. Taunts use isn't only to stop opponents setting up hazards, but blocking status attempts and stat booster can definitely help your sweepers setting up and all you have to do once you have Taunted your opponent it U-turn to the most apporopraite Pokemon. So basically this set annoys the opponent with either Toxic or Taunt, then U-turns out.

As I mentioned earlier this Pokemon works well with sand and volt turn. Scizor and Magnezone are great partners because they can continue the volt turn chain, and they can trap Gengar and Skarmory two Pokemon that wall this set.
Mew - Joeyboy


Mew @ Life Orb / Leftovers
Trait: Synchronize
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Jolly Nature
- Reflect Type
- Swords Dance
- Drain Punch
- Sucker Punch
Oh yeah, reflect type dudes and dudettes. Tired of Tyranitars and Scizors ganging up on Mew, you can kiss that fear goodbye. Set up a Swords Dance on the switch, and then BOOM hit 'em with a Reflect Type, weakness removed. Also people often think Mew is the WoW+Taunt so they'll switch in things like Heatran, set up Swords Dance and Drain Punch that volcano beast. Drain Punch and Sucker Punch provide pretty neat coverage, plus you can set up to +2 and try for a mini sweep.

Sidebar: Was looking at all the tms mew gets... am I the only one whos never heard of the move Quash...
Infernape - Joeyboy


Infernape @ Life Orb / Expert Belt
Trait: Blaze
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 Atk
Hasty Nature
- Sunny Day
- SolarBeam
- Fire Blast
- Close Combat
Took a chapter from Venusaur's and Ninetales books. Infernape was considered a top tier wallbreaker last gen, but that all changed with the introduction of Drizzle to the OU metagame. In the rain Infernape's Fire-type stab is neutered and without it it can't hope to break pretty much any common defensive core. Jellicent and Tentacruel act as fairly good counters to the usual set but with Sunny Day that all changes. See a Politoed coming in? Use Sunny Day now something on the enemy team is gunna get smashed. Lati@s still remain apt counters to this set so U-Turn could potentially go over Close Combat but that removes your way to get past 'mons like Heatran or bulky Tyranitar. Plus the best Jellicent and Tentacruel can do now is either Toxic or use a weak Sun-weakened Scald. Expert Belt can be used if you're worried about too much passive damage but Life Orb helps in breaking Tentacruel.
Espeon - youngjake93


Espeon @ Life Orb
Trait: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 Def
Modest Nature
- Grass Knot
- Hidden Power Fire
- Psychic
- Shadow Ball
The idea of this set is to do Espeon's job without losing momentum. It comes in on the hazard setter, threatens with a OHKO(2HKO for deo-d) if it stays in, but will 2HKO bulky things like Tyranitar/Jirachi switching in to attempt to take momentum back and/or change the weather.
I've got HP Fire over HP Fighting to threaten Skarmory, Ferrothorn, Scizor, etc and because you shouldn't be trying to take on Tyranitar 1v1 anyway(grass knot KOs switch-ins).
With Modest you still outspeed +Spd base 95s.

______________
252+ SpA Life Orb Espeon Grass Knot (120 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Tyranitar in sand: 179-213 (44.3 - 52.72%) -- 85.55% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock
252+ SpA Life Orb Espeon Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Deoxys-D: 166-198 (54.6 - 65.13%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Life Orb Espeon Psychic vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Politoed: 211-250 (54.94 - 65.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
252+ SpA Life Orb Espeon Hidden Power Fire vs. 252 HP / 168 SpD Ferrothorn: 333-395 (94.6 - 112.21%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
252+ SpA Life Orb Espeon Psychic vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Tentacruel: 359-424 (98.62 - 116.48%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
252+ SpA Life Orb Espeon Hidden Power Fire vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Jirachi: 221-260 (54.7 - 64.35%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
252+ SpA Life Orb Espeon Psychic vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Dragonite: 208-247 (64.39 - 76.47%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock



Most of these sets being suggested for Espeon seem at least as useful as the on-site ones tbh.
Celebi - Neliel


Celebi @ Life Orb
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Seed Bomb
- Sucker Punch
- Baton Pass
As you can see, this is a phisical celebi. Sword dance its quite underrated to be honest, and the fact that it can use a strong priority like sucker punch is what makes this set good. Celebi has many usefull resistances, such as to ground, water, eletric pokemon that can use as a setup bait to do a couple of sword dance. For example, its perfect to setup sword dance against rainstall teams and then to batonpass the boost to some other threatening pokemon. by the way, the evs and the item here only have the purpose to power up sucker punch. I would say that sucker punch its nothing to laugh about in term of power, here some calculations after a sword dance;
...

This set find his home on heavy offense teams. Deo-d its a great support for him since celebi appreciates the almost always stealth rock on the field and spikes. Obviously there are some pokemon that full stops it, like steel types, but this is what baton pass is for. Basically, if a scizor comes in while you sword dance, you can bpass to something else that take care of him, for example scarf darmanitan. Other good teammates are scarf moxie mence, ddnite, Sd lucario/scizor, even arcanine can be good thanks to the +2 extreme speed he can use.
Jirachi - Shurtugal


Jirachi @ Choice Specs
Trait: Serene Grace
Nature: Modest
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SDef
- Doom Desire
- Psyshock
- Thunder / Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice] / Grass Knot / U-turn / Healing Wish
1. Doom Desire can OHKO Reu. At least, last time I used it Doom Desire did ^-^.
2. Destroy stall instantly; suffer the drawbacks of being forced out after using DD
3. Nice for gimmick teams
Hydreigon - Cherub Agent


Hydreigon @ Life Orb
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 64 HP / 252 SpA / 194 Spe
Mild / Modest Nature
- Tailwind
- Draco Meteor
- Flamethrower
- Superpower / Roost
Hydreigon is an incredible user of Tailwind, and generally amazing Pokemon to use on Sun teams (obviously not only on them, but the Specs set can straight up OHKO any weather starter, the Substitute set has excellent longevity, the mixed set is great at taking out Heatran etc). I've used this Hydreigon on my Sun team for a while now, as powerful Fire-types such as Heatran and Darmanitan can more or less go to town under Sun and Tailwind. Hydreigon's huge slew of resistances and immunities (eight in total) allow it to reliably set up Tailwind; if this wasn't enough, it also has Roost to set it up multiple times and to offset that Life Orb recoil. The beauty of this set is really that every time you bring it out it can do a different thing. You can immediately set up Tailwind. You can instantly fire off a Draco Meteor. You can destroy some of Sun's greatest enemies such as Tyranitar and Heatran with a well placed Superpower. Hydreigon is an incredibly versatile Pokemon with no true counters, and has a large variety of sets that it can successfully run.
Tyranitar - DarkBlazeR


Tyranitar @ Focus Sash
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 120 Atk / 136 SAtk / 252 Spd
Hasty Nature
- Crunch
- Superpower
- Flamethrower
- Ice Beam
This set is a great change of pace from the usual Tyranitar sets. Although it requires a bit of support to work to its full potential, such as Rapid Spin support to keep hazards away, and good prediction to get in safely, when played correctly this set will usually net you 2-3 KOs per match. The reason it works so effectively is because of the surprise value - few people expect Tyranitar to run max Speed, and even fewer expect Tyranitar to run a mixed set in tandem with max Speed.

With Crunch you can bluff a choice item initially, only to KO the opponent with the appropriate move who think you're locked in. Some of Tyranitar's usual checks, e.g. Scizor, Breloom, Landorus-T, Gliscor, Garchomp, Hippowdon, Ferrothorn, Forretress, Skarmory, Tangrowth etc will be swiftly dealt with by Flamethrower/Ice Beam.

Focus Sash is an amazing item on this Tyranitar, as it enables it to get unexpected KOs on things that could formerly beat it. Most notable is Terrakion, whom attempts to revenge kill with Close Combat. Tyranitar's sash activates, and KOs Terrakion in the same turn with Superpower. You no longer have to hope that Gengar's Focus Blast will miss, as you will come out on top 100% of the time with Focus Sash still functional. Dragons trying to break through you will come to an icy end. The list goes on.

This Tyranitar may be lacking in terms of overall power, but its ability to turn the tide of the game in your favour makes it worth using. Obviously it isn't as adept at winning the weather war as the standard, bulkier Tyranitar sets, so I'd recommend you either use it in tandem with Hippowdon, or use it on an offensive team that doesn't really rely on weather but would like some way of checking other weather teams. Specifically, it tends to pair well with certain sweepers that are checked by mons that this Tyranitar lures in - Salamence/Lucario/SD Landorus-T to name a few, though another very notable teammate for this set is OTR Reuniclus, who appreciates Tyranitar removing Scizor from play.
Metagross - Joeyboy


Metagross @ Leftovers
Trait: Clear Body
EVs: 112 HP / 252 Atk / 144 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Substitute
- Toxic
- Meteor Mash / Zen Headbutt
- Earthquake / Hammer Arm
This is a pretty cool set and has been the only one I'll run if I want to run a Metagross, really only when Torn-T was around and then only rarely ;]. So the set works a lot like SubToxic Heatran. Metagross has got some great resists plus enough bulk and power to force switches, when it does you Sub up. From there you can A) Smack something hard or B) Toxic Stall something. Toxic is great on this set as Bulky Water-types are some of Metagross most common switch-ins. And with Sub+Toxic you can stall them out until you can EQ them to death. Speed EVs are to speed creep Sub Magnezone and should give you plenty of room to outpace Tyranitar, though by no means will outspeed them all, then max attack to smash things and finally extra EVs go to HP for a snazzy Leftovers number.

To address the slashes: As neliel pointed out zen headbutt has some utility as it can hit the water-types harder, plus if you're team really doesn't like Keldeo that might make the nod in its favor. Hammer Arm can also be used, but really the only utility I see is if your team really dosen't like Skarmory as Hammer Arm will do more to the metal bird.
Vaporeon - Alexander.


Vaporeon (F) @ Life Orb
Trait: Hydration
EVs: 212 HP / 252 SAtk / 44 Spd
Modest Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Rest
I used this set for a while and I have to admit it isn't bad at all. With 252 EVs in SAtk, with a Modest nature and with a Life Orb as item Vaporeon hits really really hard. Plus, Vaporeon usually runs a defensive set so this Vaporeon'll surprise many people during the battle, which isn't bad of course. The element of surprise is always very helpful. Hydro Pump is the main move of this set, which with the rain support and with the Life Orb is just an incredible move but you're free to change it with Surf if you don't like the misses. Otherwise Ice Beam and Hidden Power Grass are useful coverage moves which are here to hit mainly Dragon-types and other bulky Water-types (like Gastrodon) respectively. Finally, Rest allows Vaporeon to recover all its HP in 1 turn if rain is up, which is really really good since Vaporeon can stay alive longer. This set is very underrated and it's fun to use too, so give it a try people. :toast:
Volcarona - Lavos Spawn


Volcarona @ Leftovers
Trait: Flame Body
EVs: 252 HP / 16 Spd / 240 Def
Timid Nature
- U-turn
- Will-O-Wisp
- Giga Drain
- Roost

utility volc really doesn't care about your general volcarona switch-ins. tyranitar, terrakion, garchomp, whatever...get burned and you're useless. with the evs i've used, volc can take hefty physical hits and dish damage right back, a characteristic that most physical walls lack. the speed lets you outrun any positive-nature base 70 or below, meaning politoed, breloom, and skarmory, among others. the combination of roost, for instant recovery, and giga drain, for coverage plus recovery, make volcarona extremely difficult to take down. add that to the fact that it can u-turn out of any potential threat, and you have yourself quite the threatening "offensive tank". it's unconventional, i know, and rocks can be an issue, but u-turn along with a magic bouncer is really quite a nice way to deal with the problem, and rocks aren't too difficult to prevent anyways.
Alakazam - ThunderBlunder


Alakazam @Life Orb
Trait: Magic Guard
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Nature: Timid
-Charge Beam
-Shadow Ball / Hidden Power Ice
-Psyshock
-Focus Blast

Probably my favorite zam set. Charge beam is awesome for revenge killing something as it can literally give you the ability to 6-0 stall or just annihilate bulky offense. Plus 1 LO Zam is capable of just wrecking through teams. Charge beam is the obligatory boost move. Shadow ball is there for Celebi and Latis, but you can use Hidden Power Ice which I prefer because it hits the same as shadow ball (latis+Celebi) and can also beat Lando and Dragons with no boost. Psyshock is your main STAB to abuse and Focus Blast is to rape steels.

Conkeldurr - Lavos Spawn


Conkeldurr @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 120 HP / 252 Atk / 136 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Drain Punch
- Ice Punch
- ThunderPunch / Rock Slide
- Mach Punch

this is a set i use a lot that's better than the standard bulk up for a couple reasons. first, bulk up takes a turn to set up, which is crucial in this day and age - and oftentimes you don't have enough time, or simply cannot set it up. bulk up is also a waste of a moveslot in that scenario, preventing you from running an extra coverage move which could mean the difference between a win and a loss. enter all-out attacking conkeldurr. it has all the coverage it needs and then some. with sheer force, ice punch and thunderpunch are boosted in power and when using these two moves, conkeldurr doesn't take life orb recoil, which is extremely handy in a pinch. ice punch is excellent coverage for the common lando-t and gliscor switch-ins, and also hits dragons for se damage, which is rare. tpunch hits stuff like jellicent and starmie that would otherwise check conkeldurr, and scares off any gyarados trying to get cheeky. rock slide is an alternative if you don't feel like being setup bait for volcarona. drain punch hits as hard as it always has coming off conk's massive base 140 attack, and gives it the survivability it needs to sustain a few hits. the last moveslot is somewhat of a toss-up: mach punch is generally the preferred option, as it allows you to pick off pokemon sitting at low hp, but payback is also a possibility for hitting gengar and jellicent harder. i opted to only list mach punch here since it's what i use, but i'm making sure the public knows that there is an alternative. regardless of what you choose to run, all-out attacking conkeldurr is a massive threat that every team should be prepared for, but few actually are, which is exactly what makes it so deadly.
p.s. the other all-out attacker set posted before me sucks, fire punch and thunderpunch on conk are basically useless.
Kyurem-B - DarkBlazeR


Kyurem-Black @ Life Orb
Trait: Teravolt
EVs: 32 HP / 232 SAtk / 244 Spd
Mild Nature
- Ice Beam / Blizzard
- Fusion Bolt
- Earth Power
- Roost

This is a set that I've been using to success for quite some time now. It foregoes the protection from Substitute in exchange for increased power (Life Orb) and overall longevity (Roost). Since hazards are so prevalent in this metagame, I find on average you only get to use Substitute once, maybe twice against a good player, which takes a toll on your already limited lifespan. However, Roost lets Kyurem-B come back to do its job multiple times if played correctly.

Contrary to popular opinion, Kyurem-B doesn't even need to use Dragon STAB to be deadly. The impressive coverage provided by Ice Beam/Fusion Bolt/Earth Power more than makes up for it - hitting the majority of Pokémon seen commonly in OU teams for SE damage. The list of things that are 2HKOd at worst by this set is rather extensive - pretty much the only things that aren't are SDef Ferrothorn, SDef Forretress, Chansey and Cresselia, but the former two can be easily worn down over time and the latter two are uncommon anyway.

Obviously this set is not designed to sweep, but to destroy defensive cores. It is similar to LO Roost Hydreigon, except Kyurem-B does wall-breaking better because none of its moves have any drawbacks like Draco Meteor/Superpower do, meaning it is much harder to exploit by clever switching. Since it doesn't have Substitute, you have to utilise prediction in order to make the most of this set, but it's not like that's a negative attribute since good prediction should be expected anyway. The EV spread puts emphasis on its Sp. Attack stat, since its Attack stat is so naturally high that it is still has a huge 376 Attack stat when completely uninvested with a neutral nature. I'm using Mild as opposed to Rash since Kyurem-B's Defense stat is less relevant due to it being weak to the most commonly used physical moves (e.g. Close Combat, Outrage, Stone Edge, Bullet Punch etc). The HP investment gives it a Life Orb number, and the Speed investment lets it creep over both 188 Spd Landorus-I and 96 Spd+ Tentacruel. Blizzard has been slashed after Ice Beam since if you're running hail you'll probably be using that, giving you even greater wall-breaking power.
Garchomp - Kidogo


Garchomp @ Life Orb
EVs: 8 HP / 248 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Aqua Tail

This set is meant to be used on rain teams to do a few things. It's an incredible wall-breaker, it's great at beating weather-starters, and it performs superbly as part of a dual offensive core (coupled with something like subsalac terra). A standard SD set, with two important changes. First, instead of an item such as Lum or lefties, this chomp uses LO for sheer power. Second, Aqua Tail > fire fang or substitute. In conjunction with rain, this garchomp literally has 0 counters. Common switch-ins, such as landorus-t, skarmory, and hippowdon, all are easily 2HKOed or better after a SD:
+2 252 Atk Life Orb Garchomp Aqua Tail vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Skarmory in rain: 218-257 (65.26 - 76.94%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+1 252 Atk Life Orb Garchomp Aqua Tail vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Landorus-T in rain: 442-523 (115.7 - 136.91%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252 Atk Life Orb Garchomp Aqua Tail vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Hippowdon: 328-387 (78.09 - 92.14%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Notice that of these, the only one who can actually do something back to garchomp is landy-t, who conveniently is OHKOed. Hippo and skarm can only phaze chomp out, leaving them severely weakened and ready for a sweep by the second part of the offensive core.

One other super cool application of this set is that it can just wreck with tailwind support. Because it has 3 attacks and LO, it doesn't need set-up to sweep through more offensive teams, which are usually problematic with their faster mons. And it jsut so happens that this chomp, which is meant to be used on rain, happens to pair great with tornadus, the premier user of tailwind in OU both synergy-wise and in terms of match-up with common mons (for example, their scarf terra out vs torny? priority tailwind, then SD on their locked SE and sweep). Obviously tailwind support is not necessary at all for this set, it just adds a whole other dimension.
Gastrodon - Dice


Gastrodon (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Storm Drain
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SDef
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Scald / Earthquake
- Ice Beam
- Recover
- Toxic / Counter

Although seemingly standard at first, a closer inspection shows that this Gastrodon is running an unorthodox EV spread: Physically Defensive. Physically Defensive Gastrodon has quite a few quirks that makes it very viable in the current metagame. Unlike Specially Defensive sets, this set beats a common Rain Spinner in Life Orb Starmie with Psyshock. It is immune to its main STAB in Hydro Pump and takes Psyshock with ease. Even Ice Beam fails to 3HKO, so it is a hard stop to it. All Keldeo lacking Calm Mind lose to this Gastrodon as well. Secret Sword can't 2HKO and you can Toxic and Recover stall or just fish for a burn. Choice Specs has to lock itself into Secret Sword to heavily damage you which means another Pokemon on your team has ample oppurtunity to switch in and set up. Physically Defensive EV's are just ideal in the sense that you can still counter the stuff that Gastrodon is supposed to like Thundurus-T and Starmie while being able to tank random Physical hits. A +2 unboosted Terrakion Close Combat fails to OHKO and it can tank a Banded Outrage as well for a few examples of why having Defensive EV's is cool. Scizor's trying to U-turn on your for heavy damage now fail to even do more than 45% which means you can Recover it off easily, even with a critical hit. You can tank anything Mamoswine has to throw at you one time around if you're really desperate to OHKO the Mammoth with Scald. This Gastrodon handles all Tyranitar varients better since you're not sodomized by BandTar anymore. Toxic is standard on this set to nail common switches like Lati@s and to Toxic stall random Pokemon, but Counter is a cool niche move as well to retaliate and OHKO stuff like Scizors trying to U-turn on you. Scald or Earthquake is just dependent on your team and what you're weak to. I prefer Scald since fishing for a burn is nice, but it's all up to you.
Cloyster - Kidogo


Cloyster @ King's Rock
Trait: Skill Link
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SpA)
- Shell Smash
- Icicle Spear
- Rock Blast
- Ice Shard

Posting this before Lavos. Although White Herb is usually the standard item on cloyster, I rarely find it useful. Even at -1 / -1, basically no non-SE physical moves or OHKOing (and you shouldnt be setting up on terrakion, for example. Meanwhile, most decently powerful special moves are OHKOing even without the drop. Additionally, cloyster is fairly slow before a SS, so most of the time you'll take a hit before setting up, meaning priority is really the only draw of white herb, but this is fairly rare and cloyster can take a hit at -1 from basically every priority attack bar techniloom MP, which already KOs after rocks even with WH (252+ Atk Life Orb Technician Breloom Mach Punch vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Cloyster: 172-203 (71.07 - 83.88%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock). So the better choice is to choose an item that helps cloyster to sweep. Cloyster's biggest problem is that many buliky mons (bulky waters especially) are only 2HKOed even at +2. LO doesn't help much, as it's not quite enough of a boost. The solution is king's rock. With skill link, cloyster has two 5-hit moves, so the chance of getting a flinch each turn becomes more than 40%. Given that +2 cloyster 2HKOs but doesn't OHKO the majority of the meta, this is a huge bonus, and could easily turn the game around. Meanwhile, Ice Shard allows cloyster to beat stuff like scarf latios, which would otherwise outspeed and KO it, allowing it to run adamant for more power.
Finally, if you're not convinced yet, just check out this WS to witness KR cloyster's awesome power.
Era of Alexander. Archive

Abomasnow - Vertex



Abomasnow @ Leftovers
Trait: Snow Warning
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Leech Seed
- Protect
- Blizzard
- Giga Drain

Specially Defensive Christmas Tree is definitely a real thing. It puts jack over all those stupid Politoed's, takes on Dragonite like a troll, and destroys bulky water-types which are so prominent in this metagame. Blizzard hits like truck and can give Ferrothorn a beating who is immune to Leech Seed. Since this set can stall out lots of things, it's great for weakening things for a late-game sweep. Hidden Power [Ground] Volcarona loves this for example because Abomasnow can destroy Salamence and Dragonite who wall Volcarona's coverage and Volcarona destroys Heatran with HP Ground which is Abamosnow's worst enemy. This set will definitely be more effective if Keldeo is gone, since rain teams have only a few tricks up their sleeves to get got rid of the Frostbite.
Gengar - Nova



Gengar @ Life Orb
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Destiny Bond
- Shadow Ball
- Focus Blast
- Thunder

I've been using this Gengar set on a Rain team of mine and it works really well. Life Orb boosted Shadow Ball and Focus Blast hit extremely hard and have great coverage together. Thunder is really useful as it OHKOs the Water types that can normally take a Shadow Ball including Politoed, Keldeo, and Gyarados and does a nice 80.8 - 95% to 252 HP / 0 SpD Tentacruel, which is an OHKO about half the time with Stealth Rock up. The other interesting draw of this set is Destiny Bond. I'll use Destiny Bond against things like Ferrothorn if I don't want to risk the Focus Blast miss, that can give my team trouble and I don't want it setting up too many hazards. Usually Ferrothorn will Gyro Ball in fear of letting Gengar getting up a free Substitute, and the tradeoff is usually worth it. This Gengar works well in that it can hit both extremely hard and provide support for the rest of the team by Destiny Bonding a troublesome Pokemon.
Latias - Spinda



Latias (F) @ Life Orb
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 72 HP / 252 Spd / 184 SAtk
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Healing Wish

Standard LO Tank with Healing Wish over recover, it works wonders on offensive teams ( as Latias is the most offensive healing wish user ) because recovering often loses you momentum anyway, it performs as a normal LO tank but it has the opportunity to surprise your opponent and revive a statused, weakened pokemon in a pinch, which often helps A LOT in winning the weather war or preparing a lategame sweep, as people play a lot more careless with their counters to your pokemon when they assume it's practically dead.
Healing wish is also the best move for Latias to do to when it's about to get pursuit trapped anyway :]
This beautiful Latias has turned games around for me plenty of times.
 
Last edited:

Joeyboy

Has got the gift of gab
is a Team Rater Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnus
Voting is now closed and the winner is Alexander.'s Life Orb Vaporeon set. This set will be added in the v1 archive featured in the second post of the thread.

The next subject is the Sun Pokemon, Volcarona!
 

Volcarona @ Choice Specs
4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe, Mild / Hasty
- Fire Blast
- Bug Buzz
- U-turn
- Giga Drain / HP Rock / HP Ground / Hurricane

Tbh Volcarona doesn't seem to have a whole lot of room for creativity, but short of trying a gimmicky Will-o-wisp spreader the Specs set is the best I can come up with. Choice Specs boosts the moths special attack to absolutely ridiculous levels, and combined with a reasonably powerful STAB U-turn it can do some serious damage. Giga Drain is the primary slash because of its superior threat coverage and ability to cushion passive damage, but as always HP Rock (for Dragon/Flyings and Gyarados) or HP Ground (Tran) are valid options. Hurricane is another good option if this set is being used on a Rain team to handle Grass types. Mild is preferable in my opinion, giving maximum attacking power on both spectrums while still outpacing Timid 252 Rotom-A, but Hasty is an option to speedtie other base 100's and beat some other uncommon threats.

Stealth Rock is even more of a threat than usual to this Volcarona, since it lacks recovery and will tend to come in and out of play more regularly. Therefore a spinner or Magic Bounce user is a must etc etc etc
 

Dr Ciel

Banned deucer.
So, here's a set I've found very interesting.


Volcarona @ Leftovers
Trait: Flame Body
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Def / 16 Spe
Timid Nature
- Sunny Day
- Quiver Dance
- Fire Blast
- Roost / Morning Sun

While most Volcarona are aimed toward ripping holes in the opponents team, this set makes Volcarona a mixed wall, and even a supporter of sorts, as it takes the pressure off of Ninetales with Sunny Day, setting up in the face of most of the bulky water types in the current metagame, while Politoed fails to rain on Volcarona's parade. Sunny Day, the first move in this set allows Volcarona to change the weather in a snap. Quiver Dance allows Volcarona to bolster it's offenses to sky high levels. Firw Blast is the only attacking move in this set, and is an excellent STAB move that provides solid neutral coverage. Finally, Roost provides the recovery move in this set, and Morning Sun allows Volcarona to gain more HP due to Sunny Day. i've had some phenomenal success with this set, and I'd give it a try.​
 

D i a b l o

Guest

Volcarona @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Flame Body
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Hasty Nature
- Fiery Dance
- U-Turn
- Bug Buzz
- Giga Drain / HP Ice / HP Ground / Hurricane

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What I proposing you now, is a set very special for the moth, because with this you can make the surprise-kill that can help the team a lot and with his speed, it goes to speed-tie with pokémon like Jirachi and Salamence.
Moreover, thanks to the powerful U-Turn (oh yes), it can perform even better its role as revengekiller.
Its main STAB combined with its very good statistics make it a great pokémon penalized only by the SR-weak.
Fiery Dance allows him, again, to be able to do a great damage because the move acts as pseudomoxie that it hits more strong the opponent.
Another thing is that it, like Celebi and many others, has the famous "4 moveslot syndrome", infact Giga Drain allows him to hit Pokemon like Terrakion, Keldeo and Politoed; HP Ice allows him to hit well Dragonite and Salamence while HP Ground hits well Tentacruel and Heatran, also if you want to use in a RainTeam, Hurricane is an option very valid.

Hope you like it and I recommend you try it because it really makes a lot of surprise-kill.​
 

Neliel

Sacred Sword

Volcarona (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Flame Body
EVs: 248 HP / 76 Def / 68 SAtk / 116 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Substitute
- Roost
- Quiver Dance
- Bug Buzz

This set sacrifice volca's coverage in order to stay alive longer. Do you know the sub roost dragonite set? it basically does the same thing. Find a pokemon where you can sub and start quiver dancing until you can even destroy bug resistor. The evs in the defense lets it setup on jirachi ebcause body slam never breaks sub. It also comes in handy if you have to setup on Breloom or ferrothorn, where you can sub while they leech seed you/attack you. I personally use this set under rain and with the tentacruel support it works very good. Basically this set can troll a lot of defensive check for volca (basically any) while you lose easier against Terrakion and dragonite. Even heatran that lacks roar cant win against this set, as well as jellicent and tentacruel most of the time.
 

Volcarona (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Flame Body
EVs: 248 HP / 76 Def / 68 SAtk / 116 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Substitute
- Roost
- Quiver Dance
- Bug Buzz

This set sacrifice volca's coverage in order to stay alive longer. Do you know the sub roost dragonite set? it basically does the same thing. Find a pokemon where you can sub and start quiver dancing until you can even destroy bug resistor. The evs in the defense lets it setup on jirachi ebcause body slam never breaks sub. It also comes in handy if you have to setup on Breloom or ferrothorn, where you can sub while they leech seed you/attack you. I personally use this set under rain and with the tentacruel support it works very good. Basically this set can troll a lot of defensive check for volca (basically any) while you lose easier against Terrakion and dragonite. Even heatran that lacks roar cant win against this set, as well as jellicent and tentacruel most of the time.
In this case I would rather use Giga Drain than Roost, you can't afford the loss in coverage in only having one attacking move. It works for Dragonite because Dragon is resisted by one type, Bug is resisted by not one, not two, but SIX.
 
In this case I would rather use Giga Drain than Roost, you can't afford the loss in coverage in only having one attacking move. It works for Dragonite because Dragon is resisted by one type, Bug is resisted by not one, not two, but SIX.
Edit: Oops misread. In either case, giga drain recovers so little that one might as well just use fire blast instead

The only problem I have with the set itself is the purpose (and thereby execution). Dragonite's sub dd set works because not only does it get great 1 move coverage, but multiscale makes abusing subroost quite deadly. volc on the other hand has neither of these, to be frank, and cannot perform nearly as admirably.



Volcarona @ Chesto Berry
Trait: Flame Body
EVs: 248 HP / 76 Def / 68 SAtk / 116 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Rest
- Quiver Dance
- Fire Blast
- Bug Buzz

Here's a fun set that makes volcarona's original defensive counters quake in fear. Let's say you are quiver dancing against a jellicent and believing it is safe it decides to stay in and toxic+scald to death, essentially limiting volc to jellicent+maybe one poke before death. However, at the brink of death when volc is at +3/+3 or greater, it rests, relieving it of status, damage, et al. and can proceed to sweep.

With the huge amounts of celebi+cent+etc, this volc has a much easier time than many of the others setting up
 
Giga drain is FARRRRR too weak

Bug buzz is easily the best option because by the time volc is ready to boost, all of the pokes that can easily take it out anyway will be dead, and so its subs will remain intact generally.

75bp awful coverage nonstab move as your only option is not at all ideal

The only problem I have with the set itself is the purpose (and thereby execution). Dragonite's sub dd set works because not only does it get great 1 move coverage, but multiscale makes abusing subroost quite deadly. volc on the other hand has neither of these, to be frank, and cannot perform nearly as admirably.
You know, Captain Awesome was not suggesting Giga Drain over Bug Buzz, but rather over Roost. That being said, I have to say that Roost seems like the better option, as it makes a very potent combo with Substitute and good defenses. If you don't have Roost, you won't be able to get a ton of boosts and kill stuff with Bug Buzz, and you'll only be able to make a few Substitutes because Giga Drain won't usually recover enough. As Neliel said, the point of the set is to boost up so much that you don't even care about resists. No matter what move you choose though, you need to watch out for quad-resists and resistant phazers. If you choose Bug Buzz you need something to take out Skarmory, if you choose a Fire move Heatran walls you so you have to remove it. Hurricane is the hardest move to wall but using it also means that you'll need a rain team that is very, very good at winning the weather war. Also, this set has a big advantage over Dragonite in that, while lacking Multiscale, its boosting move also boosts Special Defense.
 


Volcarona @ Life Orb
Trait: Flame Body
EVs: 252 SAtk / 144 HP / 112 Spd
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Tailwind
- Fire Blast
- Bug Buzz
- Giga Drain

The object of this set is to basically come in on something that can't hurt you much and either take or hit or force a switch. Then you simply use tailwind to support your team or put some huge holes in the opponents team. This set works best with a team that focuses on momentum and residual damage. Common u-turners like landorus and rotom-w make good partners. This set plays best against most sand teams. You can come in on something like a celebi or scare away a landorus-t and get the tailwind up. Ev's are pretty straight forward. I have the bulk of the ev's in special attack and HP so that it can come in and set up straight away. You could make the evs to your liking based on your team needs.

here are some calcs to demonstrate the power of modest LO volcarona.

252+ SpA Life Orb Volcarona Fire Blast vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Landorus: 344-407 (107.83 - 127.58%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252+ SpA Life Orb Volcarona Fire Blast vs. 52 HP / 0 SpD Kyurem: 316-372 (78.21 - 92.07%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock

252+ SpA Life Orb Volcarona Giga Drain vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Keldeo: 265-312 (81.79 - 96.29%) -- 93.75% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock and Spikes

252+ SpA Life Orb Volcarona Bug Buzz vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Latias: 346-408 (95.05 - 112.08%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
 

Volcarona @ Leftovers
Trait: Flame Body
EVs: 252 SAtk / 144 SDef / 112 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Substitute
- Quiver Dance
- Fiery Dance
- Bug Buzz

This set allows you to sub on defensive threats as well as a few Offensive ones and begin to boost at plus one Tentacruel and Jellicent fail to break your sub unless under Rain. Max special attack give you immediate power, aslo letting you beat SDef Heatran one vs. one, as well as hitting the many counters and checks harder. Fiery dance is the fire move of choice for obvious boosting capabilities. Speed evs are set to outpace most relevant things.(Jolly Breloom, Defensive Celebi etc)
 

Lavos

Banned deucer.
Volcarona @ Leftovers
Trait: Flame Body
EVs: 252 HP / 16 Spd / 240 Def
Timid Nature
- U-turn
- Will-O-Wisp
- Giga Drain
- Roost

utility volc really doesn't care about your general volcarona switch-ins. tyranitar, terrakion, garchomp, whatever...get burned and you're useless. with the evs i've used, volc can take hefty physical hits and dish damage right back, a characteristic that most physical walls lack. the speed lets you outrun any positive-nature base 70 or below, meaning politoed, breloom, and skarmory, among others. the combination of roost, for instant recovery, and giga drain, for coverage plus recovery, make volcarona extremely difficult to take down. add that to the fact that it can u-turn out of any potential threat, and you have yourself quite the threatening "offensive tank". it's unconventional, i know, and rocks can be an issue, but u-turn along with a magic bouncer is really quite a nice way to deal with the problem, and rocks aren't too difficult to prevent anyways.
 

dcae

plaza athénée
is a defending SCL Championis a Past SCL Champion
Volcarona @ Focus Sash
Trait: Flame Body
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Quiver Dance
- Fire Blast
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power Ice

This is a play off the completely offensive Volcarona set, however this one offers several different things. First of all, Focus Sash is used here, because this set is oftentimes used as a lead pokemon, and Sash allows it a favorable matchup against every lead. It can Quiver Dance up on bulky Politoed, while Sash allows it to take a Specs or Scarf Hydro Pump while Quiver Dancing, then KOing with Giga Drain. This brings us to the next change: Giga Drain over Bug Buzz. This choice targets bulky waters, namely Jellicent, and provides vital recovery. Forgoing the STAB move can seem bizarre, but pays off in spades on this set. The Hidden Power of choice is Ice, to knock all the common Dragons and Ground/Flying Pokémon omnipresent in the meta, although HP Rock is a viable option as well.
 

Volcarona @ Passho Berry
Trait: Flame Body
EVs: 240 HP / 112 SAtk / 48 SDef / 108 Spd
Calm Nature
- Quiver Dance
- Fire Blast
- Bug Buzz
- Giga Drain / Hurricane


The idea of this set is nails mostly waters such Politoed, Keldeo or Starmie with Passho Berry and getting setupp more easily while keep a good bulk to check another common threats on the meta like Jirachi, Scizor or Breloom or just being a good utility trying to burn the opponent with Flame Body. Quiver Dance is a move obligatory along Bug Buzz, Fire Blast for steel stuff and another STAB move, finally Giga Drain is useful for Keldeo, Terrakion and another waters / ground types like the weird Gastrodon which can wall this set pretty well w/o Giga Drain, also recover health which is very useful because this Volcarona lacks of Leftovers and Roost / Morning Sun / Rest. Finally, Hurricane is a cool option mainly on a rain team to hit better some things and 30% to confusion is sexy. This set can run a twist with Hidden Power such Hidden Power Ground to nails Heatran and Tentacruel, if the loss of coverage doenst worry.

Ev spread -> EVs: 240 HP / 160 SDef / 108 Spd this is better, with Modest nature
 
Some general comments on all of the sets posted here so far.

Specs Volcarona is something I've actually used for quite some time, and it's always been surprisingly effective. No one expects that kind of power right off the bat, and can really surprise some players who just switch into stuff like Keldeo/Tentacruel/Politoed immediately as Volcarona enters the battle. It's a better Specs user than Heatran anyway due to its superior coverage. I'm not sure why you need max Speed though; 286 is probably a good enough benchmark, though you could run 296 as well to outspeed Modest Hydreigon. You can then put more EVs into Attack to power up U-turn.

It doesn't really help sun teams to deal with their mutual weaknesses, but conceptually I love this set. I'd need to see it in action before I can make any true judgments on it though.

The surprise value of this set is cool, and I could definitely see it working thanks to U-turn, though I think other Fire types such as Victini and Darmanitan outclass Volcarona as a scarfer for the most part.

I have always been sceptical of SubQDRoost's effectiveness. It could be potentially devastating for some defensive teams, though it pretty much falls flat against most offensive teams, as they put too much pressure on it to sweep with only one attack. I'd need to see some replays of this set if you're going to win me over.

This set has existed for quite some time, so I don't really know what's so "new" about it - it is listed as a set on Volcarona's analysis page. Nonetheless, I do like the set a lot - it almost has the longevity of the QDRoost set without sacrificing any attacking power. I even used it in an RMT once way back in 2011 :P

Tailwind is a fascinating option - not only does it provide team support, it's not totally outclassed by Quiver Dance as a boosting move either - it lets you outurn things like Scarf Keldeo/Terrakion/Lati@s/Landorus/Garchomp after one boost. The power from Life Orb almost matches that of a +1 Volcarona without a Life Orb, which is cool. Although QD sets are probably more dangerous most of the time, Tailwind may get to see some use on dedicated offensive teams. One nitpick though - if you're actually going to outrun all of the things I mentioned above, you're going to need at least 108 EVs in Speed. The loss of bulk isn't too significant, but the gain in Speed will give this Volcarona set an edge over the normal QD sets.

SubVolc is cool. It is still bothered by some offensive teams, albeit less so than the mono-attacking version. Substitute does have its merits as status is an excellent answer to Volcarona, though a few of things you mentioned (Tentacruel, Heatran) can be dealt with simply by running HP [Ground].

The premise of this set is very interesting; Volcarona's defensive capabilities are definitely underrated. However, having only Giga Drain as an attack is quite unusual (U-turn doesn't really count). I understand the utility it provides outside of simply extra recovery - it hurts Terrakion, Keldeo and other Water types, making this set even more annoying for Volcarona's normal checks. However, I feel as if this set may be a little too passive without some kind of strong STAB move. Feel free to prove me wrong.

SashVolc looks like fun - a definite change of pace from the usual sets, and the surprise value could really work in your favour.

Funnily enough I've actually started tinkering with Passho Berry lately due to how common Scarf Keldeo is - it's been pretty damn effective, especially when you consider how many offensive teams rely on it to check Volcarona.
 


Volcarona @ Leftovers / Charti Berry
Trait: Flame Body
EVs: 248 HP / 136 Def / 96 SAtk / 16 SDef / 16 Spd
Timid Nature
- Quiver Dance
- Will-O-Wisp
- Fire Blast
- Bug Buzz

this set may look like a total gimmick to you, but trust me it works really well in this metagame. the majority of volcarona's offensive checks - bar heatran and keldeo - are utterly crippled by will-o-wisp. i'm talking shit like dragonite, salamence, terrakion, landorus, gyarados, garchomp etc. hell, even keldeo doesn't really appreciate getting burned. the idea behind this set is to first spam will-o-wisp and fuck around with your opponent's team, weakening them. once their checks have been crippled, you can come back later and sweep with qd as they're totally helpless against you. obviously heatran still walls this set to the high heavens, but i run this on a sun team which has a dugtrio. i prefer fire blast on this set it HURTS when used in sun, making up for the loss of power due to the bulk investment. of course those of you feeling less manly can opt for the safer fiery dance. although lefties recovery has the most utility overall as this set lacks roost, charti berry can be used to allow you to survive even burned terrakion's stone edge if need be.

oh and shiny volcarona because i can
 

Neliel

Sacred Sword
Volcarona @ Leftovers
Trait: Flame Body
EVs: 252 HP / 16 Spd / 240 Def
Timid Nature
- U-turn
- Will-O-Wisp
- Giga Drain
- Roost

utility volc really doesn't care about your general volcarona switch-ins. tyranitar, terrakion, garchomp, whatever...get burned and you're useless. with the evs i've used, volc can take hefty physical hits and dish damage right back, a characteristic that most physical walls lack. the speed lets you outrun any positive-nature base 70 or below, meaning politoed, breloom, and skarmory, among others. the combination of roost, for instant recovery, and giga drain, for coverage plus recovery, make volcarona extremely difficult to take down. add that to the fact that it can u-turn out of any potential threat, and you have yourself quite the threatening "offensive tank". it's unconventional, i know, and rocks can be an issue, but u-turn along with a magic bouncer is really quite a nice way to deal with the problem, and rocks aren't too difficult to prevent anyways.
just asking what is giga drain for? flametrower seems a better option, even more if you are using it on sun teams.. giga drain should be only usefull for keldeo i guess but still you will lose to it if there is rain and you win if there is sun
 
Volcarona @ Leftovers
Trait: Flame Body
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Spd / 8 Satt
Timid Nature
- Substitute
- Roost
- Toxic/U-Turn
- Fire Blast/Flamethrower

Basically taking a set normally run by Moltres or Heatran, but Volcarona has its perks over them as a toxic subroost staller.
First, the higher speed lets it reliably subroost on a much larger portion of the meta than Moltres. It has the high special attack to threaten steels and poison types. It also has the surprise factor as Volcarona is almost never a stall set.
U-Turn is if you have Toxic Spike support. Flamethrower is if you want more reliability.
In case you don't know about how these sets are run, basically you come in on a grass, bug or fire type and start poisoning stuff and stalling stuff slower than you that thinks it can switch in or surprising fast switch ins with Fire Blast.
 
Volcarona@Salac Berry
Trait: Swarm
EVs: 150+Spd/252 Def/106 HP
Timid Nature
-Quiver Dance
-Bug Buzz
-Fiery Dance
-Psychic

This is a Salac set for Volcarona, the idea being to take advantage of Swarm and hit hard with Bug Buzz(roasting all unresisted). Psychic, usually not seen on Volcarona is a simple counter to the numerous fighting types present in the tier and ensures Toxicroak does not set up on Volcarona
After a Quiver Dance and with Salac, Volcarona outspeeds most threats in the tier and can OHKO with Swarm-boosted Bug Buzz
 

Volcarona @ Life Orb/Leftovers/Lum Berry
Trait: Flame Body
EVs: 60 HP / 252 SAtk / 196 Spd
Modest Nature
- Flamethrower/ Fire Blast
- Quiver Dance
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Giga Drain

Not the most creative set but w/e.
Basically the opposite of neliel`s set, this set focuses on volcarona`s coverage by sacrificing his longetivity. Like curtains, modest and a LO to maximize damage, but this is ment to sweep late game. Evs are straight forward, ment to maximize its power, and outpace pokemon with positive nature base speed of 80. With modest and a LO, volcarona only needs 1 quiver dance to OHKO most OU threats, and 2 to outpace all scarfers at 570 speed. Moves give him coverage equal to genesect, with the LO at +1 volcarona can OHKO all dragonites, bar extremly bulky, through multiscales, while still being able to OHKO the lati twins. Checks are the same, however under sun, fire blast takes huge chunks out of chansey and blissey as well as heatran, scarfed terrakion and keldeo.
Obviously this set is best in sun, but can be successful in clear skies and sand, tho it needs leftovers for sand. Lum berry is another viable item so he can take on threats like jellicent, or if he comes in against body slam jirachi.
 

D i a b l o

Guest
Volcarona@Salac Berry
Trait: Swarm
EVs: 150+Spd/252 Def/106 HP
Timid Nature
-Quiver Dance
-Bug Buzz
-Fiery Dance
-Psychic

This is a Salac set for Volcarona, the idea being to take advantage of Swarm and hit hard with Bug Buzz(roasting all unresisted). Psychic, usually not seen on Volcarona is a simple counter to the numerous fighting types present in the tier and ensures Toxicroak does not set up on Volcarona
After a Quiver Dance and with Salac, Volcarona outspeeds most threats in the tier and can OHKO with Swarm-boosted Bug Buzz
Very cool set, dude but in my opinion, to work better, this needs to substitute over psychic, because it is useless on Volcarona while Substitute with Salac Barry is a good combo (especially with the ability).
 

Lavos

Banned deucer.
just asking what is giga drain for? flametrower seems a better option, even more if you are using it on sun teams.. giga drain should be only usefull for keldeo i guess but still you will lose to it if there is rain and you win if there is sun
giga drain is useful for essentially any water-type, most people will see the first three moves and make the same assumption you did, that it's carrying flamethrower or bug buzz or something, but in reality giga drain's the much better option for both surprise value and excellent coverage (all the stuff you're not u-turning out of gets nailed pretty hard by it, plus it catches poll, keldeo, jelli, etc. off guard and gets some extra hp).
 
Volcarona@Salac Berry
Trait: Swarm
EVs: 150+Spd/252 Def/106 HP
Timid Nature
-Quiver Dance
-Bug Buzz
-Fiery Dance
-Psychic

This is a Salac set for Volcarona, the idea being to take advantage of Swarm and hit hard with Bug Buzz(roasting all unresisted). Psychic, usually not seen on Volcarona is a simple counter to the numerous fighting types present in the tier and ensures Toxicroak does not set up on Volcarona
After a Quiver Dance and with Salac, Volcarona outspeeds most threats in the tier and can OHKO with Swarm-boosted Bug Buzz
sorry to burst your bubble, but swarm is volcarona's dream world ability, which has not been released yet. hence, this set is illegal in ou with swarm.
 
@ Choice Scarf
Trait: Flame Body
Evs: 76 Hp / 180 Spa / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Sleep Talk
- Bug Buzz
- Fire Blast
- Whirlwind / Giga Drain

Checks Loom that think they can set up after Volc is put to sleep, in addition to a lot of other sleepers in the meta (Amoongus, Venusaur who drop Sludge Bomb for Sleep Powder, etc.) and has general utility as a scarfer. Fire Blast and Bug Buzz are STAB, which is needed on a scarf set without a positive nature. Sleep Talk lets Volc roast Loom and others who think they've gained the upper hand by Sporing / Powdering, and Whirlwind with Scarf Sleep Talk is trolly on a team with hazards. Giga Drain can also be used to check Water types, but it's weak. This set works well as a lead, send it out to get a surprise kill on say Latios early, then use it to tank Sleep and check threats later. Pair it with a Magic Bouncer or a spinner to remove hazards and something that likes Loom dead, such as Terrakion. It's a set that while niche, works well in the current meta
 

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