[SET]
name: Substitute + Toxic
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Steam Eruption
move 3: Fire Blast
move 4: Toxic
item: Heavy-Duty Boots / Leftovers
ability: Water Absorb
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Substitute + Toxic Volcanion is a unique threat that is capable of offensively threatening a good amount of the tier and using Toxic on most of what its STAB combination can't really threaten. This makes Volcanion effective at making progress against most teams. Substitute allows Volcanion to take advantage of forced switches and safely choose its next move. Water Absorb also gives Volcanion ample opportunity to safely set up Substitute against the majority of the tier's bulky Water-types, with Seismitoad, Suicune, and Gastrodon being the only notable exceptions. Fire Blast is preferred over Flamethrower due to its greater ability to force out Steel-types. Toxic cripples threats that Volcanion can't reliably get past with just its STAB moves, such as Seismitoad, Milotic, Gastrodon, and opposing Volcanion. Heavy-Duty Boots is important because of Volcanion's Stealth Rock weakness, but Leftovers is another option that can potentially give Volcanion more opportunities to set up Substitutes. However, foregoing Heavy-Duty Boots puts much more pressure on your team's entry hazard removal in order to properly use Volcanion. A Timid nature is preferred in order to outrun Adamant Metagross and Bewear.
Substitute + Toxic Volcanion fits on balance and bulky offense teams well thanks to its unique utility and ability to make progress against most teams. It's well suited for early- and mid-game use, where it should go to work wearing down the opposition's defensive backbone. This makes Volcanion a decent partner to late-game sweepers and cleaners such as Xurkitree, Choice Scarf Mienshao, and Necrozma. Volcanion's unique resistances and immunity, which include Fire, Fairy, Ice, and Water, also make it an ideal partner to Pokemon such as Zarude, Cobalion, Heracross, and Rhyperior. Zarude and Rhyperior, in addition to other Grass-, Electric-, and Ground-types, can also aid Volcanion by covering its nasty weakness to Electric. Volcanion utilizing Leftovers in particular mandate heavy hazard removal support, so a solid Defogger, like Togekiss, Noivern, or Crobat is highly recommended.
[SET]
name: Defog
move 1: Defog
move 2: Steam Eruption
move 3: Flamethrower
move 4: Toxic / Haze
item: Heavy-Duty Boots
ability: Water Absorb
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Defog Volcanion separates itself from other Defoggers due to its ability to handle a large amount of the tier's Stealth Rock setters, such as Registeel, Metagross, Cobalion, Steelix, Rhyperior, and Diancie. Flamethrower is used over Fire Blast due to its reliability and higher PP, making it better should Volcanion have to do its job multiple times. Toxic is the preferred last move, as it catches the Water-types that wall Volcanion, such as Milotic and Gastrodon. It also cripples Seismitoad, which is one of the few Stealth Rock setters that does not care about Volcanion's STAB moves at all. Haze, on the other hand, shuts down Calm Mind Suicune and potentially erases the boosts of other boosted Pokemon. Heavy-Duty Boots is absolutely mandatory, as it lets Volcanion switch into the Stealth Rock it aims to remove without taking any damage. A Timid nature allows Volcanion to be as fast as possible, notably outrunning all but the fastest Metagross.
Defog Volcanion is a nice fit for balance teams that need solid entry hazard removal on their side. While this Volcanion is capable of dishing out significant damage should it need to, it should be played with caution and as a more utility-focused Pokemon, as its main role becomes keeping the field clear for teammates. Volcanion is a rather reliable Defogger, so it gives teams utilizing it the flexibility to run entry hazard-weak Pokemon. Options such as Darmanitan, Alolan Marowak, Heracross, and Obstagoon become much easier to wield effectively without hazards chipping them as they switch in. Electric-types present a problem for Volcanion, so solid switch-ins to them are required. Bulky Grass- and Ground-types, such as Zarude, Steelix, and Rhyperior are good options in this regard. Volcanion's ability to eat up Water-type moves in particular is appreciated by teammates such as Alolan Marowak, Chandelure, and Steelix. Other teammates that can make use of Volcanion's defensive profile include Zarude, Celebi, Cobalion, Heracross, and Vileplume.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Sputnik, 475916]]
- Quality checked by: [[EonX, 91480], [zizalith, 410251]]
- Grammar checked by: [[CryoGyro, 331519]]
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