[SET]
Dragon Dance (Zygarde) @ Leftovers
Ability: Power Construct
Tera Type: Ground
EVs: 12 HP / 216 Atk / 48 SpD / 232 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Thousand Arrows
- Dragon Dance
- Substitute
- Dragon Tail
[SET COMMENTS]
* Zygarde is a threatening sweeper thanks to the combination of Dragon Dance, a reliable STAB in Thousand Arrows, and Power Construct, granting Zygarde a gargantuan HP stat. This makes Zygarde incredibly hard to revenge kill for slower paced teams, which are often put under immense pressure once Zygarde has revealed Dragon Dance. Though this Zygarde variant brings strong offensive pressure, its lack of true bulk means it can't perform typical defensive roles, making it harder to fit on teams. Its effectiveness often hinges on Tera, adding to its inflexibility.
* The surprise factor of this set needs a special mention; Coil Zygarde is usually handled through defensive pivot switching around, spreading status and forcing Zygarde to Rest, or through attackers that are either frail or weak to Thousand Arrows, like Marshadow and Eternatus. By baiting a Coil set, Dragon Dance Zygarde can surprise the opposing team with Dragon Dance, and become massively threatening.
* Substitute is used to catch passive Pokemon relying on status or weak moves like defensive Primal Groudon, Alomomola, Ho-Oh, and Gothitelle off-guard, turning them into setup fodder. It can also be used on a predicted switch to break your opponent's tempo and setup while scouting your opponent's next move. A special mention should be made for Ho-Oh, as unfortunately, using Tera before Power Construct lets defensive Ho-Oh break Substitute with Sacred Fire letting it force risky mindgames between phasing and burning Zygarde. Substitute can also be used to scout moves from slower opponent, such as defensive Primal Groudon.
* Dragon Tail forces targets out, which is particularly relevant against common phazers like Ho-Oh, Giratina-O, and opposing Dragon Tail Tera Water Zygarde, as well as walls that Zygarde can't break, like Dondozo if it hasn't used its Terastallization. This can easily snowball, as the phazed opponents can oftentimes be used by Zygarde to setup another Dragon Dance. Its threatening nature will also usually forces your opponent to use its Terastallization, which is valuable later in the game for Zygarde's teammates.
* 12 EVs in HP maximizes Leftovers's recovery, in addition the given Special Defense investment allows Zygarde to always survive an uninvested Ice Beam from Arceus formes, while 232 EVs in Speed allow Zygarde to outrun offensive Eternatus at +1 after Power Construct's activation.
* Tera Ground further boosts Zygarde's main damage output. With the given Attack EVs investment, it reaches key damage thresholds at +1, such as being able to OHKO Marshadow, Eternatus, and untransformed Ultra Necrozma after 1 layer of Spikes. At +2, it can even 2HKO defensive Arceus formes, as well as OHKO defensive Primal Groudon and offensive Yveltal after Life Orb recoil. Turning into a pure Ground-type also weakens the damage taken from common offensive types, such as Ice, Fairy, and Dragon, letting it use Dragon Dance aggressively against foes that would normally threaten to OHKO it, like Mega Diancie and Eternatus.
* Forcing your opponent to Terastallize prior revealing this set is very important, as walls like Coil Zygarde and Dondozo often pack Tera Fairy in order to check to this specific set. Thus, wallbreaker Eternatus and Dragon Dance Necrozma-DM are great partners for Zygarde, as they both threaten Ho-Oh to OHKO it with their Rock-type coverage, forcing it to burn its Tera early and can easily deal with Tera Fairy Zygarde and Dondozo. Eternatus also absorbs Toxic Spikes while switching in, which helps this set a lot, and both Eternatus and Necrozma-DM have a positive matchup against stall teams, which Zygarde thuds against. In return, Zygarde can threaten Calm Mind Arceus formes for a 2HKO, and Marshadow for a OHKO.
* This set is best used as a mid- to late-game surprise sweeper, which will look for a weakened team to setup a Substitute by surprise and attempt to clean the opposing team. Thus, disruptive tools such as paralysis and entry hazards are extremely valuable for Zygarde, further boosting its chances at setting up and racking up damages even more, respectively. Offensive support Primal Groudon, Ferrothorn, and offensive Ho-Oh are all good supports in this role. In return, Zygarde can easily setup on and KO a weakened defensive Primal Groudon with a boosted Thousand Arrows, which puts massive pressure to the aforementioned partners.
* This set particularly struggles against hyper offensive teams and is often relegated to a lead role, which attempts to setup and sweep off of the lead position.
* Because this variant has almost no investment in its bulk, Zygarde can't deal with heavy hitters like Extreme Killer Arceus and Solgalium Z Necrozma-DM. Defensive walls like defensive Primal Groudon and Ho-Oh, as well as strong priority users like Marshadow and Arceus can help dealing with these wallbreakers.
* Giratina-O also makes for great partners, checking both Primal Groudon and Extreme Killer Arceus, and being able to remove the hazards with Defog, which are very annoying for Zygarde. Arceus formes such as -Dark and -Fairy are also extremely useful, disrupting walls such as Coil Zygarde and Ho-Oh with Taunt, which helps Zygarde. In return, Zygarde threatens Eternatus and Marshadow.
[SET CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/eledyr.415367/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sami.604820/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/bumboclaat.523420/
Grammar checked by:
Dragon Dance (Zygarde) @ Leftovers
Ability: Power Construct
Tera Type: Ground
EVs: 12 HP / 216 Atk / 48 SpD / 232 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Thousand Arrows
- Dragon Dance
- Substitute
- Dragon Tail
[SET COMMENTS]
* Zygarde is a threatening sweeper thanks to the combination of Dragon Dance, a reliable STAB in Thousand Arrows, and Power Construct, granting Zygarde a gargantuan HP stat. This makes Zygarde incredibly hard to revenge kill for slower paced teams, which are often put under immense pressure once Zygarde has revealed Dragon Dance. Though this Zygarde variant brings strong offensive pressure, its lack of true bulk means it can't perform typical defensive roles, making it harder to fit on teams. Its effectiveness often hinges on Tera, adding to its inflexibility.
* The surprise factor of this set needs a special mention; Coil Zygarde is usually handled through defensive pivot switching around, spreading status and forcing Zygarde to Rest, or through attackers that are either frail or weak to Thousand Arrows, like Marshadow and Eternatus. By baiting a Coil set, Dragon Dance Zygarde can surprise the opposing team with Dragon Dance, and become massively threatening.
* Substitute is used to catch passive Pokemon relying on status or weak moves like defensive Primal Groudon, Alomomola, Ho-Oh, and Gothitelle off-guard, turning them into setup fodder. It can also be used on a predicted switch to break your opponent's tempo and setup while scouting your opponent's next move. A special mention should be made for Ho-Oh, as unfortunately, using Tera before Power Construct lets defensive Ho-Oh break Substitute with Sacred Fire letting it force risky mindgames between phasing and burning Zygarde. Substitute can also be used to scout moves from slower opponent, such as defensive Primal Groudon.
* Dragon Tail forces targets out, which is particularly relevant against common phazers like Ho-Oh, Giratina-O, and opposing Dragon Tail Tera Water Zygarde, as well as walls that Zygarde can't break, like Dondozo if it hasn't used its Terastallization. This can easily snowball, as the phazed opponents can oftentimes be used by Zygarde to setup another Dragon Dance. Its threatening nature will also usually forces your opponent to use its Terastallization, which is valuable later in the game for Zygarde's teammates.
* 12 EVs in HP maximizes Leftovers's recovery, in addition the given Special Defense investment allows Zygarde to always survive an uninvested Ice Beam from Arceus formes, while 232 EVs in Speed allow Zygarde to outrun offensive Eternatus at +1 after Power Construct's activation.
* Tera Ground further boosts Zygarde's main damage output. With the given Attack EVs investment, it reaches key damage thresholds at +1, such as being able to OHKO Marshadow, Eternatus, and untransformed Ultra Necrozma after 1 layer of Spikes. At +2, it can even 2HKO defensive Arceus formes, as well as OHKO defensive Primal Groudon and offensive Yveltal after Life Orb recoil. Turning into a pure Ground-type also weakens the damage taken from common offensive types, such as Ice, Fairy, and Dragon, letting it use Dragon Dance aggressively against foes that would normally threaten to OHKO it, like Mega Diancie and Eternatus.
* Forcing your opponent to Terastallize prior revealing this set is very important, as walls like Coil Zygarde and Dondozo often pack Tera Fairy in order to check to this specific set. Thus, wallbreaker Eternatus and Dragon Dance Necrozma-DM are great partners for Zygarde, as they both threaten Ho-Oh to OHKO it with their Rock-type coverage, forcing it to burn its Tera early and can easily deal with Tera Fairy Zygarde and Dondozo. Eternatus also absorbs Toxic Spikes while switching in, which helps this set a lot, and both Eternatus and Necrozma-DM have a positive matchup against stall teams, which Zygarde thuds against. In return, Zygarde can threaten Calm Mind Arceus formes for a 2HKO, and Marshadow for a OHKO.
* This set is best used as a mid- to late-game surprise sweeper, which will look for a weakened team to setup a Substitute by surprise and attempt to clean the opposing team. Thus, disruptive tools such as paralysis and entry hazards are extremely valuable for Zygarde, further boosting its chances at setting up and racking up damages even more, respectively. Offensive support Primal Groudon, Ferrothorn, and offensive Ho-Oh are all good supports in this role. In return, Zygarde can easily setup on and KO a weakened defensive Primal Groudon with a boosted Thousand Arrows, which puts massive pressure to the aforementioned partners.
* This set particularly struggles against hyper offensive teams and is often relegated to a lead role, which attempts to setup and sweep off of the lead position.
* Because this variant has almost no investment in its bulk, Zygarde can't deal with heavy hitters like Extreme Killer Arceus and Solgalium Z Necrozma-DM. Defensive walls like defensive Primal Groudon and Ho-Oh, as well as strong priority users like Marshadow and Arceus can help dealing with these wallbreakers.
* Giratina-O also makes for great partners, checking both Primal Groudon and Extreme Killer Arceus, and being able to remove the hazards with Defog, which are very annoying for Zygarde. Arceus formes such as -Dark and -Fairy are also extremely useful, disrupting walls such as Coil Zygarde and Ho-Oh with Taunt, which helps Zygarde. In return, Zygarde threatens Eternatus and Marshadow.
[SET CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/eledyr.415367/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sami.604820/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/bumboclaat.523420/
Grammar checked by:
Last edited:
(this is fixed)