Boosting them up: Setup sweepers in OU

By DeathByWobbuffet.
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Art

Art by anundeadboy.

Introduction

Ever since the days of RBY, setup moves have been an integral part of Pokémon. Whether to allow setup sweepers to boost their offensive stats in preparation for a sweep or to give defensively oriented teams a wincon that can increase its defensive stats to impenetrable levels, setup users are found on a variety of different playstyles. As a result, setup sweepers can easily pose a huge threat to any team if used properly and with the right support. Access to setup moves is a controlling factor in the power level of many Pokémon, and some Pokémon, such as Volcarona, Manaphy, and Mimikyu, are only viable due to their ability to use certain setup moves. There are a number of different setup moves in OU, each with their own unique uses, so let's take a look at them!

Dragon Dance

Dragon Dance is an excellent setup move for physical sweepers, as it boosts both Attack and Speed by one stage. This allows users of the move to break through bulkier teams and outpace faster threats at the same time.

Pokémon that utilize this move

Charizard Mega-X

Mega Charizard X's high Attack stat and access to a powerful ability in Tough Claws make it a potent Dragon Dance sweeper in the OU metagame. Its access to Roost and its good natural bulk, alongside a decent defensive typing, give it plenty of opportunities to set up. The above set is the most common one, as Mega Charizard X's dual STAB combination covers most of the metagame, and Roost provides it with some longevity. However, Thunder Punch is an option over Roost to hit Tapu Fini and the occasional Azumarill, and Earthquake breaks through Heatran and Tyranitar. Unfortunately, Mega Charizard X is heavily limited by its 4x weakness to Stealth Rock prior to Mega Evolution, as it limits its setup opportunities. This means that a spinner or Defogger is mandatory alongside Mega Charizard X.

Gyarados-Mega

This set takes advantage of Gyarados's excellent defensive typing that grants it numerous resistances and immunities both before and after Mega Evolution, as well as a great defensive ability in Intimidate to set up a free Dragon Dance or two on Pokémon that it can check defensively. Substitute and Taunt further set Mega Gyarados apart from other Dragon Dance users, allowing it to effectively take on stall teams. However, its 2x weakness to Stealth Rock before Mega Evolving holds it back and turns certain 2HKOs into OHKOs if it switches in while Stealth Rock is up. Mega Gyarados also struggles to break through a number of common bulky Water-types, such as Toxapex, Tapu Fini, and Rotom-W. This makes the likes of Tangrowth, Tapu Bulu, and Kartana decent partners, as they are able to break through these Pokémon for a potential Mega Gyarados sweep.

Salamence

After a Dragon Dance boost, Salamence outpaces the entire unboosted metagame as well as a good portion of Choice Scarf users. From there, few Pokémon are capable of reliably switching into a Supersonic Skystrike at +1, and Salamence can proceed to sweep thanks to Moxie, which makes it more threatening every time it picks up a KO. Just like the previous two Pokémon, though, Salamence suffers from being weak to Stealth Rock, which makes it less effective as a setup sweeper overall. It's also overly reliant on Earthquake to break through Steel-types, which means bulky Steel-types that take neutral damage from Earthquake or are immune to it, such as Mega Scizor, Skarmory, and Ferrothorn, can easily stop a Salamence sweep. For this reason, Magnezone is a particularly good partner, as it traps and eliminates the latter two Pokémon. Dugtrio also does the same to Heatran.

Swords Dance

Swords Dance boosts Attack by two stages, increasing the overall power of physical attackers to ridiculous levels. Swords Dance users are capable of easily punching holes through more defensively oriented teams early- and mid-game and can also clean a weakened team late-game. Some Pokémon that have high base Speed or a way of boosting their Speed can even use Swords Dance to attempt a sweep.

Pokémon that utilize this move

Garchomp

Garchomp's excellent Speed tier of 102 makes it a lethal Swords Dance sweeper in OU. With a Jolly nature and maximum Speed EVs, Garchomp is capable of outpacing Pokémon in the crowded base 100 Speed tier, such as Mega Charizard Y, Mega Medicham, Volcarona, and Zapdos, making this set well suited for early-game wallbreaking. Earthquake is this set's main STAB move, as it hits most of the tier for good damage. Dragon Claw allows Garchomp to hit threats like Tangrowth, Mega Charizard Y, and Rotom-W neutrally. Fire Fang is usually the final move of choice to break through would-be counters like Ferrothorn and Celesteela. Stealth Rock is an alternate option in this moveslot if Garchomp's team requires a setter, as Garchomp can set it up well due to its ability to pressure common Defog users with Swords Dance. Life Orb is generally the preferred item to provide an extra boost in power, but Dragonium Z can be used for a one-time STAB Dragon-type move that blows back some of Garchomp's traditional checks and counters, such as Landorus-T and Tangrowth. It also heavily dents Celesteela. Since this set is best used as an early-game wallbreaker, late-game cleaners such as Choice Scarf Keldeo, Choice Scarf Terrakion, and Ash-Greninja make for good partners to take advantage of the holes that Garchomp can punch in the opposing team. Mega Mawile is also a great teammate, as it shares a number of checks with Garchomp and appreciates its ability to punch holes in physically defensive Pokémon like Landorus-T and Mega Scizor so that it can clean up late-game.

Mawile-Mega

Mega Mawile is already a powerful force without any boosts, essentially hitting a whopping 678 Attack with an Adamant nature and Huge Power. However, after a Swords Dance boost, it becomes even more difficult to switch into, and it can threaten offensive and defensive teams alike with its excellent coverage options. Play Rough is the sole STAB move of choice due to its good neutral coverage and high Base Power, allowing Mawile to threaten Pokémon like Landorus-T, Tangrowth, and Buzzwole. Sucker Punch improves Mega Mawile's matchup versus offense, allowing it to avoid being revenge killed by Pokémon like Gengar and Mega Charizard Y. The last slot is reasonably customizable— Thunder Punch deals with Toxapex, while Knock Off can be used for a more reliable Dark-type move that isn't prediction reliant. Intimidate is the pre-Mega ability of choice to provide Mega Mawile with setup opportunities. Magnezone is an excellent partner for this set, as it traps and eliminates Ferrothorn and Mega Scizor, some of Mega Mawile's most consistent checks and counters.

Kartana

One would think that Kartana's poor special bulk and 4x weakness to Fire-type moves would give it few opportunities to set up. So what makes it such a good Swords Dance user? The answer lies in its incredible Attack stat of 181, the highest in OU, as well as its decent Speed tier of 109. Although it struggles to start its sweep, once Kartana gets going, it can be a powerful force. This is further amplified by Beast Boost, which increases its Attack every time it nets a KO, as well as Sacred Sword combined with Fightinium Z, which allows it to easily take care of bulky Steel-types at +2. Despite many positive traits, Kartana is still unable to break through a number of common Pokémon in the OU metagame, in particular bulky Grass-types like Tangrowth, Ferrothorn and Amoonguss. Thus, offensive Water-types like Greninja, Manaphy, and Keldeo are helpful partners, as they can lure in and weaken these Grass-types for a late-game Kartana sweep.

Agility / Rock Polish

Agility and Rock Polish have the same effect: they boost Speed by two stages. This allows slower Pokémon to outspeed the entire unboosted metagame after one use. Pokémon that utilize these setup moves usually have good attacking stats that allow them to sweep teams when given a boost in Speed.

Pokémon that utilize these moves

Lando-T

Double Dance Landorus-T has fallen out of usage a little this generation, but it's still a very threatening sweeper that many teams struggle to deal with. After a Rock Polish boost, Landorus-T absolutely shreds more offensively oriented playstyles, as traditional offensive Landorus-T checks such as Greninja and Mamoswine are now outsped and OHKOed after a little prior damage. Rockium Z grants Landorus-T a one-time Rock-type nuke, powering through threats it wouldn't otherwise be able to beat, such as Zapdos and Intimidate Salamence. However, this set does struggle with certain Steel-types, namely Skarmory and Ferrothorn, which makes Magnezone a good partner for its ability to trap and KO them.

Thundurus-T

When uninvested, Thundurus-T's Speed stat is quite underwhelming. When equipped with Agility, however, Thundurus-T is transformed into a lethal sweeper capable of outpacing every relevant Choice Scarf user in OU. Thunderbolt alongside Hidden Power Ice provides Thundurus-T with the famous BoltBeam combination, giving it near-perfect coverage. The last slot is customizable— Nasty Plot further improves Thundurus-T's sweeping capabilities, while Focus Blast breaks through bulky Steel-types, albeit unreliably. The main factors that hold Thundurus-T back are its poor bulk and weakness to Stealth Rock, reducing the number of opportunities it has to set up. Rapid Spin and Defog users are useful partners for this set, as they can somewhat remedy the latter problem. Latios in particular has good defensive synergy with Thundurus-T, as it can take care of the bulky Ground-types that threaten it.

Calm Mind

Calm Mind is commonly utilized by bulkier Pokémon that appreciate the boost in Special Defense that it provides, as well as the potential to sweep late-game after a few Special Attack boosts. Most Calm Mind users have passable special bulk, allowing them to better take on powerful special attackers after a boost.

Pokémon that utilize this move

Tapu Fini

Tapu Fini already has excellent all-around defenses, but with Calm Mind, it's able to boost its Special Defense to insane levels. Its stellar defensive typing gives it plenty of opportunities to set up a Calm Mind, particularly on weaker attackers that lack a way to punish Tapu Fini, such as Heatran and Zygarde lacking Toxic. Tapu Fini also hits surprisingly hard after a Special Attack boost, notably OHKOing even defensive Landorus-T at +2. Celesteela is a very good partner for this set, as it walls Grass-types such as Tangrowth, Mega Venusaur, and Ferrothorn. Tapu Fini also covers its Fire-type weakness in return. Ground-types such as Landorus-T, Garchomp, and Excadrill are also notable teammates for their Electric-type immunity.

Alazakam-Mega

Mega Alakazam is one of the more offensive users of Calm Mind, as it doesn't have a better way to increase its power. Its high base Special Attack stat of 175 makes it a huge threat if it manages to accumulate a boost or two, and the Special Defense boosts that Calm Mind provides combined with Mega Alakazam's overall decent special bulk means that it can quite easily find opportunities to set up on weaker special attackers. Its high Speed stat of base 150 makes it the fastest unboosted Pokémon in the metagame and makes it very difficult to revenge kill outside of certain Choice Scarf users and physical priority. Psychic is Mega Alakazam's best option for a STAB Psychic-type move, and it hits considerably hard after a boost. The other two moveslots are used to cover the targets that Psychic doesn't hit— Focus Blast breaks through Dark- and Steel-types like Ferrothorn, Tyranitar, and Greninja, while Shadow Ball hits opposing Psychic-types such as Tapu Lele and Latios. In terms of teammates, Mega Alakazam appreciates partners that can take advantage of the Steel-types that aren't weak to Focus Blast like Jirachi, Celesteela, and Magearna. Fire-types such as Alolan Marowak and Heatran, the two of which are also able to set up Stealth Rock to help Mega Alakazam pick up more KOs, are particularly good at doing this.

Reuniclus

Reuniclus has a niche in OU as a slow and bulky Calm Mind user. The main draw to using it comes in its ability to check and set up on troublesome Pokémon like Mega Medicham and Celesteela. It has access to Magic Guard, which prevents it from taking damage from burn, poison, and entry hazards, great all-around bulk, and access to reliable recovery in Recover. Psyshock is the STAB move of choice, as it breaks through Chansey and opposing Calm Mind users. Shadow Ball is generally used as the other coverage option, as it allows Reuniclus to take on other Psychic-types such as Jirachi and Tapu Lele. However, Focus Blast is also an option to hit the omnipresent Dark- and Steel-types that otherwise wall this set, such as Tyranitar, Bisharp, and Ferrothorn.

Z-Moves

Attacking Z-Moves are best known for providing one-time nukes, allowing certain Pokémon to lure in and break through their traditional checks and counters. Meanwhile, status Z-Moves come with additional secondary effects— for example, Z-Memento restores the HP of the user's replacement to full. Some of these even give stat boosts, which can turn otherwise mediocre Pokémon into powerful sweepers.

Pokémon that utilize Z-Moves

Porygon-Z

Commonly dubbed "Porygod Z", Z-Conversion Porygon-Z is a force to be reckoned with. Not only does the move transform its otherwise boring Normal typing into a better offensive typing based on the move in its first moveslot, it also gives Porygon-Z a +1 boost to every one of its stats in a single turn, making it a potent setup sweeper. Thunderbolt is generally the move of choice in the first slot, as it gives Porygon-Z an immunity to paralysis and is generally a good offensive typing overall. Ice Beam grants Porygon-Z near-perfect neutral coverage, creating the renowned BoltBeam combination. Recover gives Porygon-Z some longevity and allows it to come in multiple times over the course of the match without reducing its ability to set up a Z-Conversion. Unfortunately, Porygon-Z suffers from still being outsped by certain Choice Scarf users at +1, namely Latios, Gengar, and Nihilego. Mega Scizor is an excellent partner, as it's able to switch in on and take care of the aforementioned Pokémon.

Hoopa-Unbound

One of the main flaws with most of Hoopa-U's sets is their low Speed. Z-Snatch fixes that, giving Hoopa-U a +2 Speed boost and allowing it to potentially clean a weakened team late-game. Hyperspace Fury and Zen Headbutt give Hoopa-U two powerful STAB options, and Drain Punch breaks through the Dark-types that resist Hoopa-U's dual STAB combination. Hoopa-U can also opt for a special variant of this set with Dark Pulse / Psyshock / Focus Blast as its three attacks. The downside of Z-Snatch Hoopa-U in general is that it struggles to find many opportunities to set up due to its poor bulk. As such, it should try to set up on more passive Pokémon that struggle to hit it hard, such as Zapdos and Tangrowth. Despite the number of good traits it possesses, Hoopa-U is not without its flaws. In particular, its defensive typing leaves it with no resistances and comes with a gaping weakness to Bug-type moves. This makes U-turn switch-ins such as Landorus-T, Zapdos, Garchomp, and Ferrothorn great teammates.

Azumarill

Z-Belly Drum fully restores Azumarill's HP and then removes 50% of it, allowing Azumarill to come in multiple times throughout the match and then still set up a Belly Drum safely and proceed to sweep. Huge Power is the main selling point of Azumarill, allowing it to hit a whopping 436 Attack when unboosted. Aqua Jet makes up for Azumarill's low Speed stat, OHKOing most of the metagame at +6. The final two moveslots are reasonably customizable, as Azumarill only needs to use Aqua Jet most of the time. The main problem with this Azumarill set is that it struggles to break through bulky Grass- and Water-types like Tangrowth, Ferrothorn, Tapu Fini, and Mantine. The likes of Mega Charizard X, Volcarona, Mega Pinsir, and Celesteela can deal with Grass-types for Azumarill, while Tapu Koko, Zapdos, and Tapu Bulu are able to take care of most bulky Water-types.

Other users of setup moves

Zygarde

Coil boosts Attack, Defense, and accuracy by one stage, allowing users to increase their offensive presence while still taking advantage of their defensive prowess. Zygarde is a perfect example of this due to its well-rounded 108 / 121 / 95 bulk and decent 100 base Attack. The given HP EVs ensure that Zygarde's Substitute will never be broken by a single Seismic Toss, allowing it to take on defensively oriented teams with ease. Thousand Arrows is the only attacking move Zygarde needs, as nothing is immune to it and only a few Pokémon resist it in Grass- and Bug-types. Toxic allows Zygarde to wear down bulky threats that can take even boosted Thousand Arrows, such as Tangrowth and Hippowdon. Unfortunately, Zygarde's relatively poor unboosted Speed stat leaves it easily revenge killed by Dragon-, Fairy-, and Ice-types such as Garchomp, Latios, Tapu Koko, Tapu Fini, Mamoswine, and Weavile. Steel-types like Mega Scizor, Celesteela, Heatran, and Jirachi are particularly good at dealing with those Pokémon for Zygarde.

Volcarona

Quiver Dance is an extremely powerful setup move, boosting the user's Special Attack, Speed, and Special Defense by a stage, creating opportunities to sweep and making the user less prone to special priority. Volcarona is an excellent user of the move thanks to its good all-around attacking stats. After a single boost, a 185-Base Power Inferno Overdrive blows through most of the metagame, and most of the Pokémon that aren't OHKOed are hit hard by one of Volcarona's coverage moves. This coverage is also fairly customizable— Psychic can be run to hit Toxapex, while Bug Buzz gives Volcarona a secondary STAB move. The main drawback that comes with using Volcarona is its crippling 4x Stealth Rock weakness. A Defogger or spinner is necessary alongside Volcarona for this reason, as if it loses half of its health upon entering the field, Volcarona will find it very difficult to set up.

Manaphy

Manaphy is renowned in the OU metagame for its ability to punch huge holes in bulkier teams thanks to Tail Glow, which is an incredible setup move that boosts Special Attack by a whopping 3 stages. Its well-rounded 100 / 100 / 100 bulk alongside a decent defensive typing gives it plenty of opportunities to set up. Its Speed tier, while not amazing, allows it to outspeed the majority of the metagame and Speed tie with other base 100s, including Mega Charizard X, Mega Charizard Y, and Volcarona. To top it off, Manaphy has access to a wide array of coverage moves, allowing it to hit pretty much every one of its checks: Ice Beam for Tangrowth and Amoonguss, Hidden Power Fire for Ferrothorn and Mega Scizor, Energy Ball for Tapu Fini and Rotom-W, and Psychic for Mega Venusaur and Toxapex. Manaphy's high Special Attack stat when boosted and large number of coverage moves means that it's hard to defensively check once it's set up. Instead, most of its common checks and counters come in the form of priority users and Pokémon that naturally outspeed it. For this reason, Choice Scarf users such as Gengar, Nihilego, Keldeo, Latios, and Tapu Lele, as well as naturally fast Pokémon like Ash-Greninja and Tapu Koko make for good teammates for their ability to cover for Manaphy's relatively poor Speed stat.

Conclusion

Whether by allowing bulkier Pokémon to slowly boost their defensive stats, allowing slower Pokémon to increase their Speed and clean, or simply boosting a certain Pokémon's attacking stats to insane levels, it's easy to see why setup moves are so popular in SM OU. Get out there and give them a try!

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