VGC 21 Zacian-C

[zee]

[OVERVIEW]

Zacian-C has made its mark in the metagame as one of the best offensive options available. Its high stats coupled with its solid coverage and ability to punish Dynamax users with Behemoth Blade have established it as one of the top threats, even while lacking the ability to Dynamax. Thanks to Intrepid Sword, Zacian-C is far less punished by Intimidate than most other physical attackers. It has particularly strong matchups against the non-restricted Pokemon in the metagame such as Grimmsnarl, Rillaboom, and Galarian Moltres. However, its inabiity to Dynamax leaves it with a few noteworthy weaknesses, primarily a huge loss in bulk, though it can make up for this by pairing with screens setters such as Grimmsnarl and Gigantamax Lapras. Additionally, it can't boost its stats with Max Moves and is incredibly susceptible to Fake Out. Faster Pokemon such as Regieleki and Calyrex-S are able to easily give Zacian-C trouble, as are bulkier Pokemon like Groudon and Kyogre that it often cannot remove in a single hit.

[SET]
name: Offensive
move 1: Behemoth Blade
move 2: Close Combat / Sacred Sword
move 3: Swords Dance / Substitute / Play Rough
move 4: Protect
item: Rusted Sword
ability: Intrepid Sword
nature: Jolly / Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

* Behemoth Blade's signature mechanic makes for a great primary STAB move, doing more damage than Play Rough does to even Dynamaxed Pokemon that are weak to Fairy. It's also excellent against common threats such as Grimmsnarl, Calyrex-I, and Xerneas.

* Close Combat is Zacian-C's strongest non-STAB coverage move, hitting the likes of Incineroar, Dialga, and Ferrothorn for high amounts of damage. Sacred Sword is an alternative option that does not drop Zacian-C's Defense, which lets it avoid being KOed by Incineroar's Flare Blitz in return, and circumvents the Defense boosts that Dialga or Kartana may have accumulated from Max Steelspike.

* Swords Dance is great for punishing passive play, allowing Zacian-C to OHKO even Landorus-T and Groudon when boosted. Alternatively, Substitute is great for keeping Zacian-C safe from status inflictions and Intimidate, while Play Rough provides a backup coverage option for Palkia and Zapdos.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

A bulkier EV spread can be utilized to allow Zacian-C more opportunities to set up a Substitute or Swords Dance, but the drop in Speed or Attack could be the difference between securing a KO or being beat to the punch. Wild Charge can be used in the third slot as an option to hit Kyogre for as much damage as possible. Crunch is Zacian-C's best option for hitting the likes of Solgaleo, Dusclops, and Necrozma-DM, but it won't do significant damage unless its power is boosted by Swords Dance.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[zeefable, 501951]]
- Quality checked by: [[Raineko, 294287], [DomarpVGC, 526614]]
- Grammar checked by: [[The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216]]

 

[zee]

this is QC ready. It looks relatively short so I might've missed some things, but overall Zac does a lot of talking for itself in gameplay.

 

[DomarpVGC]

ADD REMOVE COMMENT

[OVERVIEW]

Zacian-C has made its mark in the metagame thanks to it being one of the best offensive options available. Its high stats coupled with its solid coverage and ability to punish Dynamax users with Behemoth Blade have established it as one of the top threats, even while lacking the ability to Dynamax. Intrepid Sword will give Zacian-C an immediate +1 boost to its attack when it enters the field which means that even if Zacian-C is intimidated, it can still threaten large amounts of damage. It has particularly strong matchups against the non-restricted Pokemon in the metagame such as Grimmsnarl, Rillaboom, and Galarian Moltres. However, being unable to Dynamax leaves it with a few noteworthy weaknesses, primarily a huge loss in bulk, though it can make up for this by pairing with screens setters such as Grimmsnarl or Lapras-Gmax Additionally, it can't boost its stats with Max Moves and is incredibly susceptible to Fake Out and Intimidate. Faster Pokemon such as Regieleki and Calyrex-S are able to easily give Zacian-C trouble, as are bulkier Pokemon like Groudon and Kyogre that it often cannot remove in a single hit.

[SET]
name: Offensive
move 1: Behemoth Blade
move 2: Close Combat / Sacred Sword
move 3: Swords Dance / Substitute / Play Rough / Wild Charge
move 4: Protect
item: Rusted Sword
ability: Intrepid Sword
nature: Jolly / Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

* Behemoth Blade's signature mechanic makes for a great primary STAB move, doing more than Play Rough does to even Dynamaxed Fairy weak Pokemon. It's also excellent common Fairy-type Pokemon such as Grimmsnarl and Xerneas.

* Close Combat is Zacian-C's strongest non-STAB coverage move, hitting the likes of Incineroar, Dialga, and Ferrothorn for high amounts of damage. Because Sacred Sword does not drop Zacian-C's defense, it can be used to avoid the return KO from Incineroar's Flare Blitz as well as circumvent the Defense boosts its foes may have accumulated via a Max Steelspike.

* Swords Dance allows Zacian-C to boost its attack to tremendous levels, leaving it capable of doing things such as OHKOing Charizard and Landorus-T with a +3 Behemoth Blade(Zacian-C's presence on the field forces passive play often so Swords Dance is a good way to punish this). Substitute is great for keeping Zacian-C safe from status inflictions and intimidate, while Play Rough provides a backup coverage option for Palkia and Zapdos. Wild Charge gives Zacian-C to remove Kyogre from the field, turning the tables on what would seem to be in the Kyogre players favor.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

A bulkier EV spread can be utilized to allow Zacian-C more opportunities to set up a Substitute or Swords Dance, but the drop in Speed or Attack could be the difference between securing a KO or being beat to the punch. Wild Charge can be used in the third slot as an option to hit Kyogre for as much damage as possible.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[zeefable, 501951]]
- Quality checked by: [[username1, userid1], [username2, userid2]]
- Grammar checked by: [[username1, userid1]]

////
I really am not intent on featuring a bulky spread as the default at this time, nor would I like to create a new set with basically the same moves solely to justify the bulkier spread, so OO it is.

QC 1/2

 

[yuki]

ADD REMOVE COMMENT HIGHLIGHT

QC

[OVERVIEW]

Zacian-C has made its mark in the metagame thanks to it being one of the best offensive options available. Its high stats coupled with its solid coverage and ability to punish Dynamax users with Behemoth Blade have established it as one of the top threats, even while lacking the ability to Dynamax. Thanks to Intrepid Sword, Zacian-C is far less punished by Intimidate than most other physical attackers. It has particularly strong matchups against the non-restricted Pokemon in the metagame such as Grimmsnarl, Rillaboom, and Galarian Moltres. However, being unable to Dynamax leaves it with a few noteworthy weaknesses, primarily a huge loss in bulk, though it can make up for this by pairing with screens setters such as Grimmsnarl or Lapras-Gmax. Additionally, it can't boost its stats with Max Moves and is incredibly susceptible to Fake Out and Intimidate. (This kinda contradicts what we said earlier in fairness. It's far less punished by intimidate but also incredibly susceptible to it) Faster Pokemon such as Regieleki and Calyrex-S are able to easily give Zacian-C trouble, as are bulkier Pokemon like Groudon and Kyogre that it often cannot remove in a single hit. (Maybe the fact that it has a Ground weakness is really bad for it, but I like how this is phrased for the most part so I probably wouldn't include it unless it doesn't break the flow. It's definitely not its primary downside.)

[SET]
name: Offensive
move 1: Behemoth Blade
move 2: Close Combat / Sacred Sword
move 3: Swords Dance / Substitute / Play Rough
move 4: Protect
item: Rusted Sword
ability: Intrepid Sword
nature: Jolly / Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

* Behemoth Blade's signature mechanic makes for a great primary STAB move (in fairness, it's also Zacian-C's only Steel-type move as well as being mandatory, not worth a mention just thought it would make for good trivia), doing more damage than Play Rough does to even Dynamaxed Fairy weak Pokemon. It's also excellent against common Fairy-type Pokemon such as Grimmsnarl and Xerneas. (I think mentioning Calyrex-I here is definitely worthwhile)

* Close Combat is Zacian-C's strongest non-STAB coverage move, hitting the likes of Incineroar, Dialga, and Ferrothorn for high amounts of damage. Because Sacred Sword is an alternative option as it does not drop Zacian-C's defense Defense (RC) it can be used to which lets it avoid the return KO from Incineroar's Flare Blitz as well as circumvent the Defense boosts its foes may have accumulated via a Max Steelspike. (I'm tempted to mention things like Dialga and Kartana here as they are the most relevant to ignore the boosts)

* Swords Dance is great for punishing passive play, allowing Zacian-C to OHKO even Landorus-T and Groudon when boosted. Substitute is great for keeping Zacian-C safe from status inflictions and intimidate Intimidate, while Play Rough provides a backup coverage option for Palkia and Zapdos.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

A bulkier EV spread can be utilized to allow Zacian-C more opportunities to setup a Substitute or Swords Dance, but the drop in Speed or Attack could be the difference between securing a KO or being beat to the punch. Wild Charge can be used in the third slot as an option to hit Kyogre for as much damage as possible. (I think that Crunch and Assurance are legitimate options here, paired with a faster attacker Crunch and Assurance allow +3 Zacian-C to KO Dusclops (+3 252 Atk Zacian-Crowned Assurance vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Dusclops: 168-198 (114.2 - 134.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO), which can be helpful in avoiding any burns it might throw at Zacian-C)

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[zeefable, 501951]]
- Quality checked by: [[DomarpVGC, 526614], [Raineko, 294287]]
- Grammar checked by: [[username1, userid1]]

QC 2/2 after this is implemented but I would also like to have a check before we ship it off to GP as I've added a fair few comments.

(I also agree on just keeping Wild Charge in OO and not slashing it into the set.)

 

[Netherious]

I'd really like to stress the importance of a bulky set actually posted outside of other options. I think it's worth mentioning as its own set because of it's ability to tank some serious blows and still output massive amounts of damage. Its different enough from regular Zacian to justify its existence and it gives people an idea of the bulk Zacian is capable of.

zee edit: talked on discord, we're gonna keep analysis as is

 

[Lumari]

remove add / fix (comments); (AC=add comma; RC=remove comma; SC=semicolon)
GP 1/1

check

[OVERVIEW]

Zacian-C has made its mark in the metagame thanks to it being as one of the best offensive options available. Its high stats coupled with its solid coverage and ability to punish Dynamax users with Behemoth Blade have established it as one of the top threats, even while lacking the ability to Dynamax. Thanks to Intrepid Sword, Zacian-C is far less punished by Intimidate than most other physical attackers. It has particularly strong matchups against the non-restricted Pokemon in the metagame such as Grimmsnarl, Rillaboom, and Galarian Moltres. However, being unable its inabiity to Dynamax leaves it with a few noteworthy weaknesses, primarily a huge loss in bulk, though it can make up for this by pairing with screens setters such as Grimmsnarl or and Gigantamax Lapras-Gmax. Additionally, it can't boost its stats with Max Moves and is incredibly susceptible to Fake Out. Faster Pokemon such as Regieleki and Calyrex-S are able to easily give Zacian-C trouble, as are bulkier Pokemon like Groudon and Kyogre that it often cannot remove in a single hit.

[SET]
name: Offensive
move 1: Behemoth Blade
move 2: Close Combat / Sacred Sword
move 3: Swords Dance / Substitute / Play Rough
move 4: Protect
item: Rusted Sword
ability: Intrepid Sword
nature: Jolly / Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

* Behemoth Blade's signature mechanic makes for a great primary STAB move, doing more damage than Play Rough does to even Dynamaxed Fairy weak Pokemon that are weak to Fairy. It's also excellent against common threats such as Grimmsnarl, Calyrex-I, and Xerneas.

* Close Combat is Zacian-C's strongest non-STAB coverage move, hitting the likes of Incineroar, Dialga, and Ferrothorn for high amounts of damage. Sacred Sword is an alterantive alternative option as it that does not drop Zacian-C's Defense, which lets it avoid avoid the return being KOed from by Incineroar's Flare Blitz in return, (AC) as well as circumvent and circumvents the Defense boosts that Dialga or Kartana may have accumulated from Max Steelspike.

* Swords Dance is great for punishing passive play, allowing Zacian-C to OHKO even Landorus-T and Groudon when boosted. Alternatively, Substitute is great for keeping Zacian-C safe from status inflictions and Intimidate, while Play Rough provides a backup coverage option for Palkia and Zapdos.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

A bulkier EV spread can be utilized to allow Zacian-C more opportunities to setup set up a Substitute or Swords Dance, but the drop in Speed or Attack could be the difference between securing a KO or being beat to the punch. Wild Charge can be used in the third slot as an option to hit Kyogre for as much damage as possible. Crunch is Zacian-C's best option for hitting the likes of Solgaleo, Dusclops, and Necrozma-DM, but it won't do significant damage unless its attack power is boosted by Swords Dance.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[zeefable, 501951]]
- Quality checked by: [[Raineko, 294287], [DomarpVGC, 526614]]
- Grammar checked by: [[username1, userid1]]