Volcarona【QC: 2/3】

[Trinitrotoluene]

volcarona | #637

[bw2 smogon | serebii | bulbapedia]
[pre-pokebank volcarona preview]​

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status: write-up in progress.
qc approvals: [ swamp link ] || [ colonel m ] || [ ]
gp checks: [ ] || [ ]
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Overview
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The transition from BW to XY brought mixed results for Volcarona's. On one hand, the Defog buff made keeping SR off the field much less of a chore than it was in previous generations, and the buff to sound-based moves, such as its STAB Bug Buzz, gives it the ability to ruin Substitute-dependent Pokemon. Quiver Dance is still as good a boosting move as it was before, and Volcarona's Bug / Fire typing and respectable special bulk gives it the ability to check several pertinent threats in OU, such as Aegislash, Bisharp, Mega Mawile, and Latios. However, the metagame has become harsher for Volcarona, thanks in no small part to the presence of strong priority moves that prey on Volcarona's below-average physical bulk.

[not done writing this]

Bulky Quiver Dance
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name: Bulky Quiver Dance
move 1: Quiver Dance
move 2: Bug Buzz
move 3: Fiery Dance
move 4: Roost
ability: Flame Body
item: Leftovers
nature: Bold
evs: 248 HP / 192 Def / 68 Spe

Moves
========


Set Details
========


Usage Tips
========


Team Options
========



Other Options
########



Checks & Counters
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**Stealth Rock**:

**Status**:

**Walls**:

**Unaware**: Clefable can ignore any boosts Volcarona may have gotten, but unless Clefable has Calm Mind or Toxic, it can only stalemate Volcarona. Quagsire cannot switch into Volcarona's Bug Buzz without losing at least 45% of its HP, but it can check Volcarona in a pinch.

**Revenge killers**: Azumarill, Dragonite, Garchomp, Gyarados (regular, not mega), Keldeo, Pinsir (mega, not regular), Talonflame, Terrakion

Offensive Quiver Dance

Offensive Quiver Dance
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name: Offensive Quiver Dance
move 1: Quiver Dance
move 2: Bug Buzz
move 3: Fire Blast / Fiery Dance
move 4: Giga Drain / Hidden Power Ground
ability: Flame Body
item: Life Orb / Lum Berry
nature: Timid / Modest
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

Moves
========

• Quiver Dance boosts Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed
• Bug Buzz is consistent STAB
• Fire Blast gives Volcarona more immediate power, which is usually preferred when going for a sweep
• Fiery Dance has a 50% chance to further boost Volcarona's Special Attack, making it even harder to switch into
• Last slot is dedicated to coverage; Giga Drain hits Water-types on the switch and provides Volcarona with some form of recovery
• Hidden Power Ground smacks Heatran, Tentacruel, Terrakion, and Megazard-X
• Hidden Power Rock is an option to hit Charizard for a OHKO and deal somewhat heavy damage to Dragonite
• Hurricane [testing this; will add comments after testing is done]

Set Details
========

• EVs maximize Special Attack and Speed, maximizing Volcarona's sweeping potential
• Life Orb further boosts Volcarona's damage output, while Lum Berry lets Volcarona set up boosts on those Pokemon reliant on status moves
• Passho Berry (use w/ Giga Drain) lets Volc set up on bulky waters w/out Toxic
• Timid maximizes Volcarona's Speed while Modest makes Volcarona hit even harder

Usage Tips
========

• Volcarona is a late-game sweeper. Don't bring it in when revenge killers, walls, and / or SR are up
• IMPORTANT: Remove Mega Pinsir, Talonflame, and Azumarill before you go for the sweep. If you don't, you will have a bad time, since these threats can revenge kill Volcarona, regardless of how many speed boosts it has collected.
• Steel-types and / or sweepers w/ coverage that Volc resists (see: Scizor, Aegislash) are excellent set-up opportunities
• Eliminate counters based on the coverage move Volc is packing; if Giga Drain is used, aim to get rid of any opposing Charizard, Dragonite, or Heatran; if HP Ground is used, wipe out any bulky waters, Megazard-Y, or Dragonite

Team Options
========

• Defog / Rapid Spin / Magic Bounce to get SR out of Volcarona's mind; Excadrill is best spinner because of Rock resistance, but Starmie's resistance to Water and offensive synergy w/ Volcarona makes it just as viable a partner; Zapdos, Latios, Mandibuzz, and Skarmory work well as Defoggers
• Wallbreakers that can muscle through Volcarona's counters, such as Aegislash, Kyurem-B, Megazard-Y, and Landorus, are appreciated; just watch out for SR when using Megazard-Y and / or Kyurem-B
• Flying-type resists that can deal with Talonflame and Mega Pinsir; also, Pursuit trappers, such as Tyranitar, Aegislash, Bisharp, and Scizor, can make short work of Talonflame locked into Brave Bird
• Something to set SR, which turns many 3HKOs into 2HKOs and discourages Talonflame, Dragonite, and Gyarados switch-ins; Excadrill, Deoxys (D/S), Landorus-T, and Garchomp are great SR setters
• While not as necessary as Stealth Rock, Spikes and / or Toxic Spikes can help break down Volcarona's counters even further; Greninja is your best bet for an offensive (Toxic) Spikes setter that synergizes well w/ Volc
• If using Giga Drain, mons that can beat Heatran, Dragonite, and Charizard, such as Garchomp, Keldeo, Kyurem-Black, or Tyranitar, make for great teammates
• If using HP Ground, having a check / counter to Water-types of all stripes is recommended; Mega Venusaur, Megazard-Y, Manaphy, Thundurus, or Rotom-W work well in that regard
• Sun support from the likes of Ninetales can make its attacks hit even harder, but it isn't as needed

Original Skeleton

Overview
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• Fast, powerful Fire-type w/ access to Quiver Dance, which boosts its three best stats to astronomical levels
• Two good STABs in Bug and Fire
• Defog buffs make life easier for Volcarona
• Typing lets Volc check many pertinent threats
• 4x weak to SR, limiting switch-in opportunities and necessitating Rapid Spin / Defog support
• Vulnerable on the physical side of things; powerful priority moves such as Talonflame's Brave Bird and Azumarill's Aqua Jet do Volcarona in easily
• Base 100 Speed can only go so fast, leaving a slew of revenge killers for Volcarona, even @ +1 Speed

Bulky Quiver Dance
########
name: Bulky Quiver Dance
move 1: Quiver Dance
move 2: Bug Buzz
move 3: Fiery Dance
move 4: Roost
ability: Flame Body
item: Leftovers
nature: Bold
evs: 248 HP / 192 Def / 68 Spe

Moves
========

• Quiver Dance boosts Volcarona's Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed
• Bug Buzz is reliable STAB
• Fiery Dance has perfect accuracy and a 50% chance to raise Volcarona's Special Attack even further
• Roost is reliable recovery that gives Volcarona the chance to acquire business even more Quiver Dance boosts
• Rest with Chesto Berry is an alternative recovery method that gets rid of status and fully restores Volcarona's HP once

Set Details
========

• Speed EVs w/ Bold nature give Volc enough speed to outpace positive max speed Greninja after one Quiver Dance, and positive max speed Deoxys-S after 2 Dances
• The rest of the EVs are put into HP and Defense; the HP EVs allow Volcarona to switch into SR twice and live (but it really shouldn't be doing that!)
• Chesto Berry can be used with Rest to fully restore Volcarona's HP and eliminate status once
• Lum Berry can be used over Leftovers to set up on status users, but usually, the passive recovery Leftovers gives is more useful in the long run

Usage Tips
========

• This Volcarona doesn't hit as hard as the offensive variant initially, so use it as a pivot against the likes of Aegislash or Mega Mawile during the early stages of the battle; save the set-up and sweep for when faster revenge killers are gone and walls worn down
• Use Roost to keep HP up before you go for the sweep
• Use Volcarona's bulk to gather multiple boosts before attempting to sweep
• IMPORTANT: Remove Mega Pinsir, Talonflame, and Azumarill before you go for the sweep. If you don't, you will have a bad time, since these threats can revenge kill Volcarona, regardless of how many speed boosts it has collected.
• Bulky steels, opponents choice-locked into moves Volc resists, and / or special sweepers with coverage that Volcarona can tank (see: Scizor, Keldeo, Mega Manectric) make for excellent set-up opportunities; in general, you should try to set up on opponents Volcarona can force out
• Watch out for phazers, since they can end Volc's sweep w/ their phazing move and force Volc to take hazard damage

Team Options
========

• Spinners and / or Defoggers are good partners since Volc doesn't like taking SR damage, even when packing reliable recovery; excellent partners include Excadrill, Zapdos, and the Lati twins
• This Volc appreciates SR support just as much as, if not more than the offensive variant does; setters that can beat Volc's counters, such as Landorus-T, Excadrill, or Hippowdon are the best partners
• Toxic Spikes are useful but not necessary for wearing down Pokemon that wall Volc; Greninja and Tentacruel are excellent Toxic Spikes setters
• Wallbreakers such as Megazard-Y, Choice Specs Keldeo, Mega Mawile, and Kyurem-B can help Volc get past its counters; watch for SR if using Megazard-Y and / or Kyurem-B
• Flying-type resists that can effectively deal with Talonflame and Mega Pinsir, such as Rotom-W, Tyranitar, Zapdos, or Thundurus, are extremely helpful
• Pursuit trappers, such as Tyranitar, Aegislash, Bisharp, and Scizor, can make short work of Talonflame locked into Brave Bird
• Sun support is helpful, but not a necessity

Other Options
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• Offensive Quiver Dance [comments will be added later]
• 3 Attacks + Roost
• Substitute is nice if you want to give revenge killers hell, but you have to sacrifice one of recovery (bulky) or coverage (offensive) to use it, making Substitute an inferior option overall.
• Hurricane works if you want to use Volc in rain
• Flamethrower is a compromise between Fiery Dance's accuracy and Fire Blast's power, but more often than not, it's an inferior choice. Flamethrower's base power drop doesn't help matters much.
• Choice Specs / Scarf
• Swarm makes Volcarona's Bug Buzz POWERFUL

Checks & Counters
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• STEALTH ROCK
• Status moves (paralysis and Toxic poison in particular)
• Pokemon that wall Volcarona by virtue of massive special bulk and / or resistance to STABs + coverage (see: Chansey, Blissey, Goodra, Tentacruel, Jellicent, Heatran, Rotom-H, Megazard (both X and Y), Assault Vest Tyranitar, Dragonite, bulky waters)
• Unaware: Clefable can ignore any boosts Volcarona may have gotten, but unless Clefable has Calm Mind or Toxic, it can only stalemate at best
• Revenge killers: Azumarill, Dragonite, Garchomp, Gyarados (regular, not mega), Keldeo, Pinsir (mega, not regular), Talonflame, Terrakion

 

[Hrothgar]

Bulky dance a must, it was incredible last gen and even better now due to indirect morning sun buff and weather nerf. Beats heatran 1v1 unless stone edge gets popular, but I have no experience with it vs talonflame. Bulk allows it to switch into rocks and still sweep whereas offensive sets get revenge killed too easily IMO.

 

[Ash Borer]

Coba berry is a bit niche, but on bulky volcarona it allows you to tank a choice banded brave bird from talonflame, that can get around that issue. +1 Fiery Dance after that will kill it, with stealth rock in play, after recoil damage. So I suppose the scenario is

Bring in volca -> QD on switch to talonfalme -> survive brave bird with coba, kill with fiery dance -> beat whatever comes in with roost + QD

 

[Fuzznip]

Trinitrotoluene

Are you still doing this? You have 24 hours to respond.

 

[Trinitrotoluene]

yes, i am still working on this.

 

[Swamp Link]

One of the things that makes Bulky Volcarona so wonderful is the fact that it's a flawless counter to Lucario as long as you keep rocks off the field (much easier than past generations), while remaining a long-term offensive threat.

+2 252 Atk Adaptability Mega-Lucario Close Combat vs. 240 HP / 252 Def Volcarona: 292-344 (78.7 - 92.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
+2 252 SpA Adaptability Mega-Lucario Aura Sphere vs. 240 HP / 0 SpD Volcarona: 177-209 (47.7 - 56.3%) -- 30.5% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
0 SpA Volcarona Fiery Dance vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Mega-Lucario: 300-354 (106.7 - 125.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO

 

[Tainic]

Mention in the OW that the rise in popularity of Azumarill and Talonflame (Crawdaunt ?) made life a bit harder for it, as he can get RKed fairly easily.

I like the Coba Berry idea, by the way, I gotta try this.

 

[CyclicCompound]

I just tested out a Volcarona with Coba Berry and HP Rock. If you can keep Stealth Rock off the field, it actually makes a very decent lure to Talonflame, since banded Talonflame can only do up to ish-70%, should Volcarona max its defenses. HP Rock has no problem OHKOing Talonflame even with 0 Special Attack investment and no boosts. Not sure if this is AC material or OO, because it has significantly less sweeping potential than the sets listed. However, it can work well in conjunction with a Pokemon that can sweep only when Talonflame is out of the picture (I used Mega Pinsir).

 

[Trinitrotoluene]

I looked at the idea myself, and I don't like the idea of using a max HP / max Def Coba Berry Volcarona as a lure for Talonflame. First off, it requires the normal support Volcarona needs anyway, but it sacrifices Volcarona's sweeping potential just so it can get past one counter, which you can get past with the help of teammates. Sorry, but I'm giving Coba Berry an OO mention at best.

 

[CyclicCompound]

I looked at the idea myself, and I don't like the idea of using a max HP / max Def Coba Berry Volcarona as a lure for Talonflame. First off, it requires the normal support Volcarona needs anyway, but it sacrifices Volcarona's sweeping potential just so it can get past one counter, which you can get past with the help of teammates. Sorry, but I'm giving Coba Berry an OO mention at best.

That's no problem, I wasn't really expecting anything more than an OO mention. I much prefer Volcarona's normal sweeping sets anyway :P

 

[ColtCababa]

*rambling of HP Rock's effectiveness on the Bulky QD set*

[EDIT]: Disregard that.

 

[Trinitrotoluene]

Erm, no. The point of the bulky booster is to gather multiple boosts while keeping its health up with Roost, eventually hitting hard with the gathered boosts. If anything, I'd give HP Rock a mention in the set comments of the offensive booster, but there's no way I'm even going to mention it in the bulky booster.

 

[Fuzznip]

Trinitrotoluene

You have 24 hours to make significant updates to this, otherwise I'm reassigning it.

 

[Trinitrotoluene]

This is now QC ready.

 

[Jukain]

we had a talk on irc, and bulky should be the first, possibly only set. checking aegi and luc is too good to give up.

 

[dice]

bulky is only set worth IMO using because if ur using volc u need to consistently check lucario / aegi / scizor etc

 

[Trinitrotoluene]

Set order has been changed; Bulky QD is now first, followed by Offensive QD.

 

[Ash Borer]

Band tar is a great partner imo, it's one of the only things that can trap and kill talonflame who is basically volca's worst enemy

 

[ColtCababa]

Band tar is a great partner imo, it's one of the only things that can trap and kill talonflame who is basically volca's worst enemy

252+ Atk Choice Band Tyranitar Pursuit vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Talonflame: 147-174 (49.3 - 58.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after sandstorm damage

The "trap" part is clear, but the "kill" will only happen if it takes SR damage prior.

 

[Ash Borer]

252+ Atk Choice Band Tyranitar Pursuit vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Talonflame: 147-174 (49.3 - 58.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after sandstorm damage

The "trap" part is clear, but the "kill" will only happen if it takes SR damage prior.

the point is that band tar stone edge OHKOs talonflame even when burned so talons is basically forced to switch, especially if its locked into BB or FB, or you double it and it u-turns. Talonflame is not easy to trap, Band tar is just the best at it, and it can it do consistently enough for it to be worth mentioning.

 

[Swamp Link]

252+ Atk Choice Band Tyranitar Pursuit vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Talonflame: 147-174 (49.3 - 58.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after sandstorm damage

That damage should be doubled because Talonflame almost always switches out of Tyranitar. So it's pretty much guaranteed.

 

[ColtCababa]

the point is that band tar stone edge OHKOs talonflame even when burned so talons is basically forced to switch, especially if its locked into BB or FB, or you double it and it u-turns. Talonflame is not easy to trap, Band tar is just the best at it, and it can it do consistently enough for it to be worth mentioning.

It's just, if Talonflame is sent out against Volcarona, Volcarona may be forced to switch, and Talonflame might U-Turn on that switch as T-Tar comes in (unless it's the SD variant), preventing the Pursuit trap. And this is compounded if you have to switch in T-Tar, which can be played around. In the end, it's just that T-Tar can only consistently trap it if it doesn't escape via U-Turn.

That damage should be doubled because Talonflame almost always switches out of Tyranitar. So it's pretty much guaranteed.

Right, right, I assumed that Pursuit's calculations were always doubled.

 

[CyclicCompound]

It's just, if Talonflame is sent out against Volcarona, Volcarona may be forced to switch, and Talonflame might U-Turn on that switch as T-Tar comes in (unless it's the SD variant), preventing the Pursuit trap. And this is compounded if you have to switch in T-Tar, which can be played around. In the end, it's just that T-Tar can only consistently trap it if it doesn't escape via U-Turn.


Right, right, I assumed that Pursuit's calculations were always doubled.

The way I do it is this (perhaps this can be mentioned in the Team Options section): I love to put Volcarona, Pinsir, AND banded Tyranitar on a team and give it heavy hazard removal support, which isn't as hard as it sounds. Now, the basic premise is that in almost all cases either Volcarona OR Pinsir is enough to sweep and/or take apart the opponent's team, but each one acts as a Talonflame lure to the other. If Talonflame chooses to stay in and use Brave Bird, it will get rid of one of the two sweepers, be obliterated by Tyranitar, and let the other sweeper do its job. If Talonflame U-turns, neither Volcarona nor Mega Pinsir mind and will continue breaking things apart.

 

[indian]

Heatran should get special mention in checks and counters section as it hard counters most of the sets run by volcarona unless it uses the obscure hidden power-ground. Also most heatran these days run ancient power for talonflame which is just as detrimental for volc and it can also roar it out. Heatran also sets up stealth rock literally the bane for volc.

 

[trc]

Heatran should get special mention in checks and counters section as it hard counters most of the sets run by volcarona unless it uses the obscure hidden power-ground. Also most heatran these days run ancient power for talonflame which is just as detrimental for volc and it can also roar it out. Heatran also sets up stealth rock literally the bane for volc.

While I agree with mentioning Heatran as a counter, most Heatran's most certainly do not run Ancient Power.

Ancient Power 9.186%

It shouldn't really be mentioned, and Heatran can just cripple Volc with Toxic anyway.