DOU Spotlight: Zygarde

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Introduction

One of the more dominant offensive forces in DOU, Zygarde distinguishes itself from other attackers through its excellent 108 / 125 / 95 bulk and its signature move, Thousand Arrows. Its defensive stats allow it to switch in on a considerable portion of the metagame with relative ease, a trait many offensive Pokémon of its caliber lack. This also makes it quite an effective setup sweeper, as it's able to reliably set up more often, especially when paired with support such as Fake Out or redirection. However, its best quality is easily the immunity-free, easily spammable Thousand Arrows. Having an spread STAB move that only one Pokémon resists in Rillaboom and virtually zero drawbacks is taken advantage of beautifully by both of its main sets, Choice Band and Dragon Dance. It allows the latter set to forego coverage for Substitute, while it grants Choice Band an easily spammable move, allowing it to whittle down and break teams much more easily than other wallbreakers. Both of these sets are brutally effective at what they do, and as a result they position Zygarde as an excellent attacker within DOU.

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Sets

Zygarde's primary set focuses on bludgeoning the opposing team thanks to Thousand Arrows's spread damage and lack of foes immune to it leaving Zygarde with little risk of being walled despite the Choicelock, which also allows it to clean up weakened teams considerably more easily than other users of Choice items. This set also mandates some form of speed control due to the slew of Pokémon that can outspeed and OHKO it, such as Naganadel and Genesect. Zygarde can also function as a revenge killer for weakened targets such as the aforementioned Naganadel and Dragon Dance Kyurem-B thanks to its semi-exclusive access to Extreme Speed. Superpower allows Zygarde to break past some of its most common checks, as it puts a serious dent into Kyurem-B and Porygon2. Zygarde usually uses one of Toxic or Thousand Waves as its fourth move; the former can punish checks that don't fear Superpower like Cresselia, and the latter allows Zygarde to trap Pokémon that are hit by the move, which can allow its teammates to reliably pick off opposing Pokémon.

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Despite being the lesser used of the two sets, Zygarde's Dragon Dance set can still be a threatening sweeper with the right support. Thousand Arrows's previously mentioned lack of Pokémon immune or resistant to it means Zygarde can run it as its sole attacking move, which in turn allows it to run Substitute to increase ease of setup and halt Intimidate and Fake Out. When combined with Zygarde's bulk, typing, and Fake Out support, it can make it quite hard to prevent Zygarde from setting up. Zygarde getting off multiple Dragon Dances isn't uncommon either due to the attributes previously mentioned in addition to the combination of Leftovers and Grassy Terrain; the latter is set by one of its common partners in Rillaboom and offsets any damage it sustains while setting up from either direct attacks or Substitute recoil.

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Good Teammates

Urshifu-R

Urshifu-R is arguably Zygarde's best offensive partner, as it can OHKO two of Zygarde's best checks in Kyurem-B and Porygon2, allowing it to attack much more freely than normally. The combination of Zygarde and Urshifu-R also puts a lot of pressure on Rillaboom, a shared check between the two of them. Urshifu-R also fits on the same offensive teams Zygarde can potentially find itself on, so you don't need to go out of your way to use the duo.

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Steel-types

Choice Band Zygarde + Meteor Beam Celesteela or Metagross is a very potent offensive core that can leave many teams battered. Zygarde pummels Steel-types that both Celesteela and Metagross can't break past and Fire-types that threaten both of them. In exchange, both of them do the same for Rillaboom and Kyurem-B, although Metagross is entirely superior when it comes to checking the latter. Even then, the combined assault of Zygarde and Celesteela can put a high amount of pressure on Kyurem-B, as it would be hard pressed to check both.

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Tailwind

Tailwind setters are some of Choice Band Zygarde's best teammates due to them circumventing Zygarde's biggest weakness in its low speed, allowing it to become significantly more threatening. Naganadel is faster and threatens Tapu Fini, while Zygarde beats Heatran, one of Naganadel's best answers. While Mew doesn't possess the speed or offensive pressure that Naganadel does, it makes up for it with its wide support movepool and significantly higher bulk, which allows it to set Tailwind multiple times far more easily. Mew's support movepool, which includes moves like Pollen Puff and Coaching, also makes it a good teammate for Dragon Dance Zygarde, adding a tinge of unpredictability.

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Rillaboom

Rillaboom is one of Dragon Dance Zygarde's best partners for numerous reasons. Its Fake Out and Grassy Terrain support help Zygarde set up and recover Substitute recoil more easily. In return, Zygarde handles Fire-types that give Rillaboom a hard time, like Heatran and Incineroar. Rillaboom can also run Superpower to dent some of Zygarde's more common checks in Porygon2 and Kyurem-B. Rillaboom is also a good partner for Choice Band Zygarde due to Fake Out's free turn still being extremely helpful and Zygarde beating the Fire-types much quicker.

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Redirection

Volcarona and Amoonguss make good partners for Zygarde's Dragon Dance set due to their ability to draw attacks that would normally threaten Zygarde, greatly increasing ease of setup. Amoonguss has superior bulk, resists Water-type attacks, and possesses further support with Spore completely shutting down an opposing Pokémon. Volcarona, on the other hand, resists Ice-type attacks, which Zygarde is quadruple weak to, cripples physical attackers with Will-O-Wisp, and provides additional support for the rest of its team with Tailwind, which also makes it a good partner for Choice Band Zygarde.

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Closing Thoughts

Despite the fact that Zygarde can literally only use a single move and still fulfill the same role, it can find itself on a diverse set of archetypes ranging from hyper offense teams that utilize Naganadel's Tailwind to operate at a blistering pace to bulkier teams anchored by Mew that focus on wearing down the opposing team in a battle of attrition and even some setup spam teams. While it can't match the instant power that Landorus possesses in addition to not being something that you can just throw on a team, its spread damage and a lack of Pokémon immune to its attacks are two positives Landorus cannot replicate and allow Zygarde to shine on teams with proper support.

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