name: Setup Sweeper
move 1: Dragon Dance / Swords Dance
move 2: Dragon Ascent
move 3: Extreme Speed
move 4: V-create / Earthquake
item: Life Orb
ability: Air Lock
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
tera type: Flying / Fire / Normal
[SET COMMENTS]
* Sporting a sky-high Attack stat, a powerful Flying-type STAB move in the form of Dragon Ascent, and amazing coverage alongside a decent Speed tier, Rayquaza is a powerful sweeper that is able fit on many offensive teams as either a threatening sweeper with Dragon Dance or a terrifying wallbreaker with Swords Dance on teams with Sticky Web support.
* Extreme Speed gives Rayquaza powerful priority that allows it to thwart revenge killing attempts from Pokemon like Mega Mewtwo Y and Deoxys-A, OHKOing the former after a Swords Dance while OHKOing the latter unboosted, as well as letting Rayquaza pick off weakened boosted foes such as Ultra Necrozma and Mega Salamence.
* V-create gives Rayquaza great coverage alongside Dragon Ascent, OHKOing Zacian-C and Dragon Dance Necrozma-DM after Stealth Rock, which could otherwise take on Rayquaza, at the cost of lowering Rayquaza's Speed. Alternatively, Earthquake can be used over V-create for similar coverage against Steel-type Pokemon that doesn't drop Rayquaza's defenses and Speed while also letting it hit Zekrom and Primal Groudon much harder after a boost. However, the power drop is significant, as Earthquake cannot OHKO Necrozma-DM after Stealth Rock.
* A Jolly nature is used over Adamant to maximize Rayquaza's Speed, which notably lets it outspeed offensive Primal Groudon, Primal Kyogre, and utility Arceus formes, as well as Zacian-C and the rest of the metagame after a boost.
* Tera Flying jacks up the power of Dragon Ascent, letting Rayquaza 2HKO Dondozo and OHKO Pokemon such as defensive Ho-Oh and Eternatus at +1. Tera Fire gives Rayquaza an immunity to burns from Pokemon like Ho-Oh and Arceus-Fairy, which can help Rayquaza set up against them, and it also gives Rayquaza STAB on V-create, which allows the move to OHKO defensive Necrozma-DM. Tera Fire also turns Rayquaza's previous Ice and Fairy weaknesses into resistances against Pokemon like Arceus-Ground carrying Ice Beam and Zacian-C, respectively. Tera Normal gives Rayquaza STAB on Extreme Speed, which allows +2 Extreme Speed to OHKO Pokemon like offensive Yveltal and Palkia-O, and it also prevents Marshadow from revenge killing Rayquaza with Shadow Sneak or stealing Swords Dance boosts with Spectral Thief.
* Dragon Dance Rayquaza best fits on hyper offense teams, while Swords Dance Rayquaza best fits on Sticky Web teams. Swords Dance Rayquaza can use Extreme Speed to prevent faster Pokemon such as Mega Mewtwo Y, Mega Salamence, and Deoxys-A from revenge killing it and to outpace other common forms of priority such as Extreme Speed from Swords Dance Arceus and Sucker Punch from Yveltal. Once its checks, such as Yveltal and Zacian-C, are eliminated, Rayquaza can function well as a mid-game wallbreaker by spamming Dragon Ascent against many neutral targets such as Primal Kyogre and Arceus along with its coverage for Steel-type Pokemon such as Zacian-C and Necrozma-DM, or it can alternatively grab setup opportunities against Pokemon like Ho-Oh and Arceus-Ground lacking Ice Beam.
* Since Rayquaza is found on hyper offense teams, leads such as Deoxys-S, Shuckle, and Smeargle are mandatory for setting the tempo of the game, with Deoxys-S pairing well with Dragon Dance Rayquaza by setting entry hazards, allowing Rayquaza to clinch KOs on bulky Pokemon such as Yveltal and Necrozma-DM, and Shuckle or Smeargle pairing beautifully with Swords Dance Rayquaza by setting Sticky Web to allow Rayquaza to outspeed faster Pokemon such as Zacian-C and Marshadow. Dual screens setters such as Grimmsnarl can also help Rayquaza sweep by making it easier for it to set up with Dragon Dance.
* Offensive teammates that can cover Rayquaza's weaknesses such as Zacian-C and Dragon Dance Necrozma-DM are helpful, as they can pressure Rayquaza's offensive checks in Mega Mewtwo Y and Arceus-Fairy. In return, Rayquaza can help by chipping down Primal Groudon and Ho-Oh for Zacian-C and Dragon Dance Necrozma-DM to more easily break through. Other teammates such as Mega Salamence, Arceus-Ground, and Ultra Necrozma are all great to overwhelm shared checks such as Yveltal and defensive Primal Groudon while denting huge holes in the opposition for Rayquaza to clean up.
[SET CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/imzer0.629771/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/gangsta-spongebob.535530/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/bumboclaat.523420/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/clouds.356215/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/zrp200.327515/
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