[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Dragon Darts
move 2: Tera Blast
move 3: U-turn
move 4: Quick Attack
item: Choice Band
tera type: Ghost
ability: Clear Body
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Dragapult acts as a great offensive pivot for bulky offense and balance teams that rely on maintaining momentum and immediate power for their progress making. Its amazing Speed tier, the second fastest relevant Pokemon behind only Deoxys-S, makes it one of the best users of Choice Band, hitting foes for great neutral damage thanks to its hard-to-resist STAB moves Tera Blast Ghost lets it make use of a reliable and powerful physical Ghost-type move, 2HKOing otherwise problematic Steel- and Fairy-types such as Clefable and Corviknight after Stealth Rock Damage, and to create win-win scenarios thanks to the pivoting effect of its strong U-turn forcing progress even against bulkier cores and punishing Dark-types such as Kingambit and Ting-Lu with heavy chip damage, especially if Spikes are up. Tera Dragon over Tera Ghost with Phantom Force over Tera Blast is a notable option to rely less on Terastallization in exchange for a worse Ghost-type move, OHKOing the likes of Galarian Slowking, Darkrai, Hisuian Samurott, and Glimmora through its Focus Sash and 2HKOing neutral targets like Great Tusk, Dondozo, and Alomomola with little prior chip damage with Tera Dragon Dragon Darts while also shedding its Dark weakness. Quick Attack rounds Dragapult's moveset out, giving it access to priority to pick off weakened foes or other priority users, though other options include Sucker Punch, for a stronger hit on neutral targets and an advantage against opposing Dragapult, and Phantom Force to be less reliant on Tera. Clear Body is preferred, as it allows Dragapult to ignore Landorus-T's Intimidate and Sticky Web, though Infiltrator is still a valid alternative to ignore dual screens and threaten Substitute Primarina, Enamorus, and Kyurem.
Dragapult has great synergy with bulky VoltTurn cores, which allow Dragapult to easily get on and off the field and repeatedly scare out offensive threats such as Meowscarada, Walking Wake, Kyurem, Iron Moth, Iron Crown, Gholdengo, and Darkrai. Landorus-T and Hisuian Samurott are pivots that pair well with Dragapult, with the former switching well into Kingambit, Cinderace, Roaring Moon, and Zamazenta trying to revenge kill Dragapult while denying hazards from Pokemon such as Skarmory, Glimmora, Garganacl, and opposing Landorus-T with Taunt, and the latter's Knock Off variants removing Heavy-Duty Boots off of physical walls Dragapult might struggle with like Alomomola and Dondozo. They, alongside the likes of Garganacl, Clefable, and Gliscor, also provide entry hazards, putting foes like Ogerpon, Darkrai, opposing Hisuian Samurott, and Iron Valiant in range of an OHKO and Skarmory, Corviknight, offensive Great Tusk, and Alomomola in range of a 2HKO; Garganacl in particular is noteworthy for its ability to deal effectively with opposing Dragapult, as well as absorbing status that would otherwise severely limit Dragapult's effectiveness like burn from Alomomola, paralysis from Clefable, and Toxic from Gliscor. Rapid Spin support from the likes of Great Tusk, which also deals with Kingambit, or Magic Bounce support from Hatterene, which has a great matchup into Ting-Lu and Zamazenta variants lacking Heavy Slam and can absorb status, also benefits Dragapult. Corviknight is another good pivot, providing a Kingambit check for bulkier structures and dealing with sweepers such as Roaring Moon that can boost past Dragapult's Speed tier with Iron Defense or reliably removing hazards against teams without Gholdengo with Defog. Finally, Future Sight from Iron Crown, Galarian Slowking, or the previously mentioned Hatterene helps overwhelm defensive cores that rely on different Pokemon to take on physical and special attacks like Galarian Slowking + Alomomola or Corviknight, Blissey + Dondozo, and Iron Crown + Landorus-T. Iron Crown brings to the table fast pivoting and a strong offensive profile to better deal with Clefable, lead Glimmora, and Kyurem while not letting Kingambit or Heatran switch in for free. In contrast, Galarian Slowking has slow pivoting and great longevity thanks to Regenerator. Similarly, offensive overlap with threats like Dragonite, Zamazenta, and Hisuian Samurott can be very effective at muscling past shared checks like Skarmory, Clefable, Zamazenta, Dondozo, and Alomomola with repeated pressure.
[SET CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/n-™.616460/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/fayawizard.616497/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/veti.612907/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/tbolt.555379/
name: Choice Band
move 1: Dragon Darts
move 2: Tera Blast
move 3: U-turn
move 4: Quick Attack
item: Choice Band
tera type: Ghost
ability: Clear Body
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Dragapult acts as a great offensive pivot for bulky offense and balance teams that rely on maintaining momentum and immediate power for their progress making. Its amazing Speed tier, the second fastest relevant Pokemon behind only Deoxys-S, makes it one of the best users of Choice Band, hitting foes for great neutral damage thanks to its hard-to-resist STAB moves Tera Blast Ghost lets it make use of a reliable and powerful physical Ghost-type move, 2HKOing otherwise problematic Steel- and Fairy-types such as Clefable and Corviknight after Stealth Rock Damage, and to create win-win scenarios thanks to the pivoting effect of its strong U-turn forcing progress even against bulkier cores and punishing Dark-types such as Kingambit and Ting-Lu with heavy chip damage, especially if Spikes are up. Tera Dragon over Tera Ghost with Phantom Force over Tera Blast is a notable option to rely less on Terastallization in exchange for a worse Ghost-type move, OHKOing the likes of Galarian Slowking, Darkrai, Hisuian Samurott, and Glimmora through its Focus Sash and 2HKOing neutral targets like Great Tusk, Dondozo, and Alomomola with little prior chip damage with Tera Dragon Dragon Darts while also shedding its Dark weakness. Quick Attack rounds Dragapult's moveset out, giving it access to priority to pick off weakened foes or other priority users, though other options include Sucker Punch, for a stronger hit on neutral targets and an advantage against opposing Dragapult, and Phantom Force to be less reliant on Tera. Clear Body is preferred, as it allows Dragapult to ignore Landorus-T's Intimidate and Sticky Web, though Infiltrator is still a valid alternative to ignore dual screens and threaten Substitute Primarina, Enamorus, and Kyurem.
Dragapult has great synergy with bulky VoltTurn cores, which allow Dragapult to easily get on and off the field and repeatedly scare out offensive threats such as Meowscarada, Walking Wake, Kyurem, Iron Moth, Iron Crown, Gholdengo, and Darkrai. Landorus-T and Hisuian Samurott are pivots that pair well with Dragapult, with the former switching well into Kingambit, Cinderace, Roaring Moon, and Zamazenta trying to revenge kill Dragapult while denying hazards from Pokemon such as Skarmory, Glimmora, Garganacl, and opposing Landorus-T with Taunt, and the latter's Knock Off variants removing Heavy-Duty Boots off of physical walls Dragapult might struggle with like Alomomola and Dondozo. They, alongside the likes of Garganacl, Clefable, and Gliscor, also provide entry hazards, putting foes like Ogerpon, Darkrai, opposing Hisuian Samurott, and Iron Valiant in range of an OHKO and Skarmory, Corviknight, offensive Great Tusk, and Alomomola in range of a 2HKO; Garganacl in particular is noteworthy for its ability to deal effectively with opposing Dragapult, as well as absorbing status that would otherwise severely limit Dragapult's effectiveness like burn from Alomomola, paralysis from Clefable, and Toxic from Gliscor. Rapid Spin support from the likes of Great Tusk, which also deals with Kingambit, or Magic Bounce support from Hatterene, which has a great matchup into Ting-Lu and Zamazenta variants lacking Heavy Slam and can absorb status, also benefits Dragapult. Corviknight is another good pivot, providing a Kingambit check for bulkier structures and dealing with sweepers such as Roaring Moon that can boost past Dragapult's Speed tier with Iron Defense or reliably removing hazards against teams without Gholdengo with Defog. Finally, Future Sight from Iron Crown, Galarian Slowking, or the previously mentioned Hatterene helps overwhelm defensive cores that rely on different Pokemon to take on physical and special attacks like Galarian Slowking + Alomomola or Corviknight, Blissey + Dondozo, and Iron Crown + Landorus-T. Iron Crown brings to the table fast pivoting and a strong offensive profile to better deal with Clefable, lead Glimmora, and Kyurem while not letting Kingambit or Heatran switch in for free. In contrast, Galarian Slowking has slow pivoting and great longevity thanks to Regenerator. Similarly, offensive overlap with threats like Dragonite, Zamazenta, and Hisuian Samurott can be very effective at muscling past shared checks like Skarmory, Clefable, Zamazenta, Dondozo, and Alomomola with repeated pressure.
[SET CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/n-™.616460/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/fayawizard.616497/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/veti.612907/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/tbolt.555379/
Last edited:
