[OVERVIEW]
[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Thousand Arrows
move 2: Extreme Speed
move 3: Iron Tail / Earthquake
move 4: Outrage / Superpower
item: Choice Band
ability: Aura Break
nature: Adamant
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Set Details
========
Usage Tips
========
Team Options
========
[SET]
name: Substitute Utility
move 1: Thousand Arrows
move 2: Substitute
move 3: Coil / Protect
move 4: Glare / Dragon Dance
item: Leftovers
ability: Aura Break
nature: Jolly
evs: 236 HP / 160 SpD / 112 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Set Details
========
Usage Tips
========
Team Options
========
[SET]
name: Double Dance
move 1: Dragon Dance
move 2: Coil
move 3: Thousand Arrows
move 4: Substitute / Extreme Speed
item: Figy Berry
ability: Aura Break
nature: Adamant
evs: 228 Atk / 68 SpD / 212 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Set Details
========
Usage Tips
========
Team Options
========
[SET]
name: Dragon Dance
move 1: Dragon Dance
move 2: Thousand Arrows
move 3: Extreme Speed
move 4: Substitute / Iron Tail
item: Groundium Z / Weakness Policy
ability: Aura Break
nature: Adamant
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Set Details
========
Usage Tips
========
Team Options
========
[SET]
name: RestTalk
move 1: Thousand Arrows
move 2: Dragon Dance
move 3: Rest
move 4: Sleep Talk
item: Leftovers
ability: Aura Break
nature: Careful
evs: 236 HP / 68 Atk / 4 Def / 168 SpD / 32 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Rest allows Zygarde to stay healthy throughout the game to consistently switch into Pokemon like Heatran, Magnezone, and Mega Charizard Y, to set up on Pokemon like Landorus-T, Tangrowth lacking Hidden Power Ice, and Alomomola, and finally to heal Zygarde of any status ailments such as Toxic poison and burn that would otherwise hinder it. Sleep Talk allows Zygarde to not waste turns while asleep by possibly throwing off a Thousand Arrows or setting up another Dragon Dance.
Set Details
========
Leftovers provides Zygarde with some passive recovery, meaning it is less pressured to use Rest. 236 HP EVs maximize Zygarde's bulk and allow it to get as much recovery from Leftovers as possible. With 168 Special Defense EVs in conjunction with a Careful nature and the aforementioned HP investment, Zygarde is capable of surviving three Hidden Power Ices from Jolly or Impish Landorus-T, three Flash Cannons from Modest Heatran, or Flash Cannon followed by Corkscrew Crash after Stealth Rock from the same foe. The Speed investment allows Zygarde to outspeed base 110s after a Dragon Dance, such as Mega Latios, Mega Latias, and Mega Diancie. The 4 Defense EVs guarantee that Zygarde can take two Crunches from Choice Band Tyranitar. The leftover EVs are dumped into Attack to make Zygarde more threatening.
Usage Tips
========
Due to Zygarde's impressive bulk and access to recovery courtesy of Rest, you can play recklessly with this set by directly bringing it in on a number of Pokemon such as Heatran and Mega Charizard Y; you can even heal off the bad poison or burn Heatran may have inflicted Zygarde with. Because this set can prove to be somewhat unreliable due to the unpredictability of Sleep Talk, you may have to assess whether it is worth the risk to play the odds in situations where you can possibly lose your Zygarde due to Sleep Talk not pulling the move you need. Rest should be used semi-regularly to keep Zygarde healthy in situations where it is needed to check Fire-types like Heatran as well as properly set up on Pokemon like Landorus-T and non-Hidden Power Ice Tangrowth. You shouldn't attempt to sweep with this set until its counters such as Clefable, Mega Scizor, Hidden Power Ice Tangrowth, and Pyukumuku have been removed.
Team Options
========
This Zygarde set fits best on bulkier teams due to its ability to consistently switch into Heatran, which otherwise is often able to wreak havoc on these types of teams. Zygarde should be paired with breakers such as Mega Mawile, Heatran, and Kartana that are capable of muscling past Pokemon that Zygarde can't break through. Entry hazard setters such as Ash-Greninja, Clefable, and Ferrothorn are useful with Zygarde, as they weaken its checks to allow Zygarde to break through its defensive counters. Spikes and Toxic Spikes especially are very useful, as they pressure Grass-types like Tapu Bulu and Tangrowth and, in Spikes's case, force Mega Scizor to use Roost more often. Zygarde appreciates Pursuit support from Tyranitar and Weavile to remove some of its best checks in Mega Latios and Mega Latias; Weavile in particular is a great partner, as it can also remove Clefable's and Tapu Fini's items with Knock Off. Toxapex is a fantastic partner, as it deals with one of Zygarde's hardest counters in Mega Scizor and sets Toxic Spikes to wear down Zygarde's counters. Magnezone is a great partner, as it traps Steel-types that can stop Zygarde in its tracks like the aforementioned Mega Scizor and Skarmory. Finally, Mega Scizor is an amazing teammate, as Zygarde tends to beat its counters such as Heatran, Toxapex, Celesteela, and Defog Zapdos, so Scizor can U-turn into Zygarde on these Pokemon and give it free turns of setup; it also switches into a few of Zygarde's counters such as Clefable, Tapu Bulu, and Tangrowth lacking Hidden Power Fire. It also provides Zygarde with a sturdy Ice-type switch-in.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Checks and Counters
===================
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Gary, 101351], [mellowyellowhd, 423226]
- Earlier versions by: [[art3mis, 222338], [p2, 245102], [DMDW,434601], [Leo, 328915]]
- Quality checked by: [[Jordy, 395754], [Finchinator, 114198], [lyd, 303291], [GMars, 273636]]
- Grammar checked by: [[The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216], [Fireflame479, 231476], [martha, 384270]]
- Zygarde is incredibly versatile and can adapt to practically any meta trend
- It is able to fit on a wide variety of archetypes such as HO, balance, and bulky offense
- Zygarde can comfortably run a wide variety of different moves because Thousand Arrows is only resisted by Grass types and niche Pokemon such as Mega Heracross and Buzzwole
- Depending on the moveset, Zygarde can effectively threaten nearly all kinds of common builds
- Great defensive typing and bulk allows it to also check Heatran, Zard-Y, Volcarona, and some variants of Tapu Koko
- Gender fluid
- Average Speed stat leaves it outsped by a handful of common threats such as Greninja, Mega Medicham, and Kartana
- Zygarde isn't very strong initially without a boost or Choice Band
- Can struggle to break through most Grass types, mainly Tangrowth and Tapu Bulu
[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Thousand Arrows
move 2: Extreme Speed
move 3: Iron Tail / Earthquake
move 4: Outrage / Superpower
item: Choice Band
ability: Aura Break
nature: Adamant
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
- Extreme Speed is a strong priority move that is useful for picking off faster threats such as Greninja, Tapu Koko, and Mega Alakazam
- Iron Tail is a useful coverage move that can 2HKO Clefable and deals a significant amount of damage to Tapu Bulu
- Earthquake is a stronger Ground STAB that has a significantly higher chance to 2HKO Clefable, as well as always OHKOing Tapu Lele on the switch
- Outrage is Zygarde's strongest available move that's able to 2HKO Assault Vest Tangrowth and deals more damage overall to Landorus-T and Gliscor
- Superpower hits Ferrothorn significantly harder than anything else, which otherwise can take multiple hits from Zygarde
- Toxic is an option to cripple Zygarde's common switch-ins such as Tangrowth, Bulu, and Landorus-T
- Glare is also nice for spreading paralysis and crippling switch-ins
Set Details
========
- Adamant nature is needed to really get the most out of this set, and Jolly doesn't let it outspeed anything noteworthy
Usage Tips
========
Team Options
========
[SET]
name: Substitute Utility
move 1: Thousand Arrows
move 2: Substitute
move 3: Coil / Protect
move 4: Glare / Dragon Dance
item: Leftovers
ability: Aura Break
nature: Jolly
evs: 236 HP / 160 SpD / 112 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Set Details
========
Usage Tips
========
Team Options
========
[SET]
name: Double Dance
move 1: Dragon Dance
move 2: Coil
move 3: Thousand Arrows
move 4: Substitute / Extreme Speed
item: Figy Berry
ability: Aura Break
nature: Adamant
evs: 228 Atk / 68 SpD / 212 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Set Details
========
Usage Tips
========
Team Options
========
[SET]
name: Dragon Dance
move 1: Dragon Dance
move 2: Thousand Arrows
move 3: Extreme Speed
move 4: Substitute / Iron Tail
item: Groundium Z / Weakness Policy
ability: Aura Break
nature: Adamant
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Set Details
========
Usage Tips
========
Team Options
========
[SET]
name: RestTalk
move 1: Thousand Arrows
move 2: Dragon Dance
move 3: Rest
move 4: Sleep Talk
item: Leftovers
ability: Aura Break
nature: Careful
evs: 236 HP / 68 Atk / 4 Def / 168 SpD / 32 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Rest allows Zygarde to stay healthy throughout the game to consistently switch into Pokemon like Heatran, Magnezone, and Mega Charizard Y, to set up on Pokemon like Landorus-T, Tangrowth lacking Hidden Power Ice, and Alomomola, and finally to heal Zygarde of any status ailments such as Toxic poison and burn that would otherwise hinder it. Sleep Talk allows Zygarde to not waste turns while asleep by possibly throwing off a Thousand Arrows or setting up another Dragon Dance.
Set Details
========
Leftovers provides Zygarde with some passive recovery, meaning it is less pressured to use Rest. 236 HP EVs maximize Zygarde's bulk and allow it to get as much recovery from Leftovers as possible. With 168 Special Defense EVs in conjunction with a Careful nature and the aforementioned HP investment, Zygarde is capable of surviving three Hidden Power Ices from Jolly or Impish Landorus-T, three Flash Cannons from Modest Heatran, or Flash Cannon followed by Corkscrew Crash after Stealth Rock from the same foe. The Speed investment allows Zygarde to outspeed base 110s after a Dragon Dance, such as Mega Latios, Mega Latias, and Mega Diancie. The 4 Defense EVs guarantee that Zygarde can take two Crunches from Choice Band Tyranitar. The leftover EVs are dumped into Attack to make Zygarde more threatening.
Usage Tips
========
Due to Zygarde's impressive bulk and access to recovery courtesy of Rest, you can play recklessly with this set by directly bringing it in on a number of Pokemon such as Heatran and Mega Charizard Y; you can even heal off the bad poison or burn Heatran may have inflicted Zygarde with. Because this set can prove to be somewhat unreliable due to the unpredictability of Sleep Talk, you may have to assess whether it is worth the risk to play the odds in situations where you can possibly lose your Zygarde due to Sleep Talk not pulling the move you need. Rest should be used semi-regularly to keep Zygarde healthy in situations where it is needed to check Fire-types like Heatran as well as properly set up on Pokemon like Landorus-T and non-Hidden Power Ice Tangrowth. You shouldn't attempt to sweep with this set until its counters such as Clefable, Mega Scizor, Hidden Power Ice Tangrowth, and Pyukumuku have been removed.
Team Options
========
This Zygarde set fits best on bulkier teams due to its ability to consistently switch into Heatran, which otherwise is often able to wreak havoc on these types of teams. Zygarde should be paired with breakers such as Mega Mawile, Heatran, and Kartana that are capable of muscling past Pokemon that Zygarde can't break through. Entry hazard setters such as Ash-Greninja, Clefable, and Ferrothorn are useful with Zygarde, as they weaken its checks to allow Zygarde to break through its defensive counters. Spikes and Toxic Spikes especially are very useful, as they pressure Grass-types like Tapu Bulu and Tangrowth and, in Spikes's case, force Mega Scizor to use Roost more often. Zygarde appreciates Pursuit support from Tyranitar and Weavile to remove some of its best checks in Mega Latios and Mega Latias; Weavile in particular is a great partner, as it can also remove Clefable's and Tapu Fini's items with Knock Off. Toxapex is a fantastic partner, as it deals with one of Zygarde's hardest counters in Mega Scizor and sets Toxic Spikes to wear down Zygarde's counters. Magnezone is a great partner, as it traps Steel-types that can stop Zygarde in its tracks like the aforementioned Mega Scizor and Skarmory. Finally, Mega Scizor is an amazing teammate, as Zygarde tends to beat its counters such as Heatran, Toxapex, Celesteela, and Defog Zapdos, so Scizor can U-turn into Zygarde on these Pokemon and give it free turns of setup; it also switches into a few of Zygarde's counters such as Clefable, Tapu Bulu, and Tangrowth lacking Hidden Power Fire. It also provides Zygarde with a sturdy Ice-type switch-in.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Checks and Counters
===================
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Gary, 101351], [mellowyellowhd, 423226]
- Earlier versions by: [[art3mis, 222338], [p2, 245102], [DMDW,434601], [Leo, 328915]]
- Quality checked by: [[Jordy, 395754], [Finchinator, 114198], [lyd, 303291], [GMars, 273636]]
- Grammar checked by: [[The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216], [Fireflame479, 231476], [martha, 384270]]
Last edited:
