Zygarde (NEW AND WIP)

[power]

[OVERVIEW]

Zygarde is one of the top Pokemon in OU thanks to the unique properties of its signature move, Thousand Arrows, which grants it excellent coverage with a single STAB move and thus a wide degree of flexibility. Zygarde also has solid bulk and a decent defensive typing, letting it serve both as a reasonably bulky wallbreaker and an excellent set-up sweeper, as well as pivot in on metagame titans such as Heatran. Zygarde is particularly dangerous due to the wide variety of sets it can run, each having the capability to break past Pokemon that ordinarily check Zygarde. Nonetheless, Zygarde is comparatively weak, between its relatively low base 100 Attack and Thousand Arrows's merely passable 90 Base Power. Thousand Arrows can also struggle to muscle past Grass- and Bug-types such as Tangrowth, Tapu Bulu, and Mega Heracross, as well as bulky physically defensive Pokemon such as Landorus-T, Clefable, and Mega Scizor.

[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Thousand Arrows
move 2: Outrage
move 3: Extreme Speed
move 4: Toxic / Iron Tail
item: Choice Band
ability: Aura Break
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

• Thousand Arrows, Zygarde's signature move, sports a solid 90 BP and the ability to bypass Ground-type immunities to hit Pokemon such as Landorus-T, Zapdos, Celesteela, and Mega Latios. Very few Pokemon in OU resist Thousand Arrows, so it is a must-have on Zygarde
• Outrage is Zygarde's strongest STAB move, and hits pokemon such as Tangrowth, Chansey, and Landorus-T much harder than Thousand Arrows. Unfortunately, it has the unfortunate side effect of locking Zygarde into Outrage, so use it sparingly.
• Extreme Speed is a useful priority move, nailing Pokemon such as weakened Greninja and Volcarona.
• Toxic is useful to cripple Tapu Bulu and Tangrowth, both of which resist Thousand Arrows, as well as defensive Landorus-T. It also nails miscellaneous uncommon walls such as Alomomola or Mega Slowbro.
• Alternatively, Iron Tail is able to 2HKO Clefable while still hitting Tapu Bulu; however, Thousand Arrows can 2HKO Clefable if it has taken even the slightest chip damage. Nonetheless, Iron Tail is still a decent option as Clefable is notoriously hard to chip due to its ability, Magic Guard.
• Forgoing Outrage for both Toxic and Iron Tail is possible; however, Zygarde loses its strongest STAB move and best way to nail bulky Pokemon such as Chansey, so it's rather uncommon.

Set Details
========

• Zygarde holds a Choice Band to turn it into one of the scariest wallbreakers in OU. Choice Band boosts its attack by a whopping 50%, helping it break through a variety of Pokemon.
• Maximum Attack and Speed investment are used to ensure Zygarde is as strong and as fast as possible, notably outspeeding Heatran, Adamant Landorus-T, and Hoopa-U.
• An Adamant nature is generally preferred, as Adamant increases Zygarde's damage output significantly. For example, Adamant Choice Band Thousand Arrows deals up to 52% to Bold Clefable, which forces it to continually use Softboiled as Zygarde attempts to get a critical hit.
• Aura Break is Zygarde's only ability; it is completely useless in OU.

Usage Tips
========

• Zygarde is best used as an early- to mid-game wallbreaker to open up holes in opposing teams. Choice Band Zygarde has few long term hard counters that can take on any combination of moves, Mega Scizor being the notable exception, so try to nail Pokemon such as Landorus-T and Tangrowth with a Toxic early game so Zygarde is free to fire off Thousand Arrows.
• Against teams that don't have a Pokemon to resist Thousand Arrows, try to get in Zygarde as much as possible to fire off Thousand Arrows. Scoring a critical hit against Clefable will often win the game.
• If the opposing team doesn't have Magic Guard Clefable as their Zygarde switch-in, try to set up Stealth Rock and Spikes. These all severely cut into the longevity of other Zygarde checks, such as Mega Scizor and Tangrowth.
• Take advantage of Zygarde's good defensive stats to pivot it in against Pokemon that struggle to dent it, such as Zapdos lacking Hidden Power Ice or some Heatran variants. However, be wary of Will-o-Wisp from the latter, which will permanently cripple Zygarde for the remainder of the match.

Team Options
========

• Zygarde really appreciates entry hazard support to chip down most of its checks and counters. Good partners include Clefable, which can set Stealth Rock and handle defensive Landorus-T, and Heatran, which also sets Stealth Rock and checks common offensive pokemon that can scare Zygarde out such as Tapu Lele and Choice Scarf Greninja.
• Choice Band Zygarde can fit on a wide variety of archetypes; accordingly there are a lot of possible teammates. On more offensively-inclined builds, Zygarde appreciates a teammate to wallbreak or sweep alongside it, such as Kartana. On more balanced builds, Zygarde appreciates a solid defensive backbone, such as Clefable + Ferrothorn, to handle common sweepers that can force it out.
• Zygarde appreciates VoltTurn support to bring it in; good partners are Mega Scizor and Tornadus-T. Both also scare out bulky Grass types such as Tapu Bulu and Tangrowth, and check defensive Landorus-T.

[SET]
name: Double Dance
move 1: Thousand Arrows
move 2: Dragon Dance
move 3: Coil
move 4: Substitute / Extreme Speed
item: Iapapa Berry
ability:
nature:
evs:

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Describe what the moves on the set do.
Set Details
========

Describe the other aspects of the set such as what the EVs do and nature/item.

Usage Tips
========

Describe how to use the Pokemon in question.

Team Options
========

Describe some teammates that would be a good idea to pair with this Pokemon.
[SET]
name: Offensive Dragon Dance
move 1: Thousand Arrows
move 2: Extreme Speed
move 3: Dragon Dance
move 4: Substitute / Iron Tail
item: Groundium Z / Weakness Policy
ability:
nature:
evs:

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Describe what the moves on the set do.

Set Details
========

Describe the other aspects of the set such as what the EVs do and nature/item.

Usage Tips
========

Describe how to use the Pokemon in question.

Team Options
========

Describe some teammates that would be a good idea to pair with this Pokemon.

[SET]
name: Substitute + Protect
move 1: Thousand Arrows
move 2: Substitute
move 3: Protect
move 4: Dragon Dance / Toxic
item:
ability:
nature:
evs:

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Describe what the moves on the set do.

Set Details
========

Describe the other aspects of the set such as what the EVs do and nature/item.

Usage Tips
========

Describe how to use the Pokemon in question.

Team Options
========

Describe some teammates that would be a good idea to pair with this Pokemon.

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

List some options for the Pokemon user that are plausible but not always recommended due to either being not consistent enough or too outclassed by other Pokemon in the metagame.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Clefable**: Describe why the Pokemon is a threat.

**Landorus-T**: Describe why the Pokemon is a threat.

**Mega Scizor**: Describe why the Pokemon is a threat.

**Tapu Bulu and Tangrowth**: Describe why the Pokemon is a threat.

 

[Leo]

sedertz youre gonna finish zyg now and youre gonna like it

 

[power]

ok this was entirely my fault for procrastinating this long i will do it tonight when im no longer on mobile

 

[Martin]

Speaking as a professional procrastinator, this hardly even counts.

 

[GMars]

This is being reassigned.

 

[Leo]

moving