Zarude @ Chople Berry
Ability: Leaf Guard
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Bulk Up
- Drain Punch / Taunt
- Power Whip
- Jungle Healing
Thanks to its Grass typing, Zarude helps Dark-type teams improve their matchup against Water-type teams, which is otherwise tough. It is able to take on problematic Pokemon such as Toxapex, Tapu Fini, and Urshifu-R. Bulk Up boosts its decent Attack stat to even higher levels, making it harder to wall and revenge kill. Drain Punch lets it take on Steel-, Normal-, and opposing Dark-type Pokemon such as Heatran, Porygon2, and Hydreigon. Taunt can be used over Drain Punch to prevent a wall like Toxapex and Mandibuzz from using Haze or recovering its health, respectively. Power Whip hits Water- and Ground-type Pokemon such as Urshifu-R, Swampert, and Hippowdon. Jungle Healing lets it keep itself healthy by 25% of its health and curing itself of any status condition, making it harder for walls to handle. A Chople Berry is utilized to prevent Urshifu-R and Terrakion from immediately threatening it. Teammates like Urshifu-S and Hydreigon can take care of Steel-type Pokemon like Ferrothorn, Celesteela, and Heatran, especially when it is forgoing Drain Punch for Taunt. Tyranitar and Mandibuzz form a neat defensive core for it to rely on while providing utility support in the form of Stealth Rock and Defog, respectively.
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