[OVERVIEW]
VGC 22 is overrun by Zacian-C, Incineroar, and Regieleki, which all have one thing in common: a key weakness to Ground. Additionally, Kyogre's rain-boosted Water Spout makes it one of the most threatening Restricted Pokemon options available. Thankfully, we have Groudon, an offensive behemoth with a vital defensive niche thanks to the combination of Drought, excellent natural bulk, and Ground-typing, making it a great answer to all of the aforementioned Pokemon and more Groudon functions well with or without Dynamax, having the option to fire off spread Precipice Blades and gradually chip down opponents or launch single-targeted Max Quakes, boosting its Special Defense and packing a massive punch. Its wide range of coverage moves;, (comma) including Fire Punch, Shadow Claw, and Rock Tomb, make it very customizable and allow for a variety of sets. Groudon is not without its faults, however, such as it relies on the shaky 85% accuracy of Precipice Blades and is at a disadvantage trying to win the weather against Kyogre. It also often has to give up Dynamaxing in favor of teammates like Charizard, Venusaur, and Thundurus, which significantly cuts into its offensive pressure.
[SET]
name: Assault Vest
move 1: Precipice Blades
move 2: Stone Edge / Rock Tomb
move 3: Fire Punch / Heat Crash
move 4: Shadow Claw / Heavy Slam / Giga Impact
item: Assault Vest
ability: Drought
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 HP / 220 Atk / 4 Def / 12 SpD / 20 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
* Precipice Blades, despite the accuracy concerns, is still Groudon's most effective way to deal damage. When Dynamaxed, Groudon can use Max Quake to boost its Special Defense, which is hugely effective in tandem with Assault Vest.
* Stone Edge is a strong option for hitting Pokemon immune to Ground like Thundurus, Charizard, and Yveltal, but Rock Tomb can be used to support Groudon's teammates by slowing down foes. Stone Edge also has the stronger Max Rockfall at 130 BP compared to Rock Tomb's 110.
* Fire Punch lets Groudon deal consistent Fire-type damage, as Heat Crash will fail against a Dynamaxed foe and does less damage to Zacian-C. Heat Crash, however, does more damage against most other non-Dynamaxed foes thanks to Groudon's weight stat, including getting the OHKO on Amoonguss.
* Shadow Claw lets Groudon OHKO Calyrex-S and do big damage to Lunala. Heavy Slam hits Grimmsnarl and provides Max Steelspike, giving it access to both defense-boosting Max Moves. Giga Impact is used for Max Strike, slowing down foes and keeping them in check for partners like Charizard, Zacian-C, and Calyrex-S.
* Assault Vest is massive for giving Groudon a leg up against special attackers; Kyogre, Calyrex-S, and Charizard all have a much harder time breaking through Groudon with additional Special Defense.
[SET]
name: Attack Booster
move 1: Precipice Blades
move 2: Rock Slide / Rock Tomb
move 3: Swords Dance / Bulk Up
move 4: Protect
item: Sitrus Berry / Leftovers / White Herb
ability: Drought
nature: Adamant
evs: 244 HP / 252 Atk / 12 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
* Precipice Blades is Groudon's best Ground-type move and deals spread damage without threatening its partner. Max Quake can help Groudon by giving it Special Defense boosts to better matchup against Calyrex-S and Kyogre.
* Rock Slide hits many common Pokemon immune to Ground like Charizard and Thundurus, and can deal significant damage when Groudon has boosted Attack. Rock Tomb, while significantly less threatening offensively, can be a great help for its partners like Yveltal and Lunala, allowing them to outspeed the faster Pokemon like Thundurus, Zacian-C, and Calyrex-S.
* Swords Dance is Groudon's best way at counteracting Intimidate from Incineroar and Landorus-T. Bulk Up is slower to boost its Attack, but the Defense boost can help against physical attackers, such as making Zacian-C's +1 Behemoth Blade a guaranteed 3HKO and instantly garnering an advantage in Groudon wars. At +1 Attack, it can OHKO 252 HP / 4 Defense Zacian-C.
* Sitrus Berry and Leftovers provide Groudon with slight HP recovery which goes a long way to improve its longevity, but White Herb helps cancel out Intimidate drops as well as some annoying drops from Max Moves like opposing Max Wyrmwind, Max Phantasm, and Max Darkness.
[TEAM OPTIONS]
**Zacian-C**: Zacian-C checks numerous Pokemon that Groudon doesn't appreciate like Calyrex-I and Kartana. More importantly, it acts as a reliable and fast partner that can put pressure on opposing Dynamaxed Pokemon.
**Lunala**: Lunala provides Trick Room support and a way to damage Incineroar and Flying-types with Meteor Beam, allowing it to provide support and offensive coverage to Groudon.
**Thundurus**: As Groudon is susceptible to Intimidate, Defiant Thundurus does a great job of pressuring the likes of Incineroar and Landorus-T off the field.
**Gigantamax Venusaur and Charizard**: These are two of the most prominent benefactors of Groudon's Drought in the metagame. Venusaur can outspeed the entire unboosted metagame in sun and fire off Sleep Powders or G-Max Vinelash, while Charizard has access to insanely strong G-Max Wildfires thanks to Solar Power.
**Incineroar and Gastrodon**: Incineroar's Parting Shot and Gastrodon's Storm Drain are vital to helping Groudon win the weather war against Kyogre. They also help to check Pokemon like Landorus-T and Zacian-C.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[zee, 501951]]
- Quality checked by: [[Theorymon, 29010]
- Grammar checked by: [[UT, 523866]]
VGC 22 is overrun by Zacian-C, Incineroar, and Regieleki, which all have one thing in common: a key weakness to Ground. Additionally, Kyogre's rain-boosted Water Spout makes it one of the most threatening Restricted Pokemon options available. Thankfully, we have Groudon, an offensive behemoth with a vital defensive niche thanks to the combination of Drought, excellent natural bulk, and Ground-typing, making it a great answer to all of the aforementioned Pokemon and more Groudon functions well with or without Dynamax, having the option to fire off spread Precipice Blades and gradually chip down opponents or launch single-targeted Max Quakes, boosting its Special Defense and packing a massive punch. Its wide range of coverage moves;, (comma) including Fire Punch, Shadow Claw, and Rock Tomb, make it very customizable and allow for a variety of sets. Groudon is not without its faults, however, such as it relies on the shaky 85% accuracy of Precipice Blades and is at a disadvantage trying to win the weather against Kyogre. It also often has to give up Dynamaxing in favor of teammates like Charizard, Venusaur, and Thundurus, which significantly cuts into its offensive pressure.
[SET]
name: Assault Vest
move 1: Precipice Blades
move 2: Stone Edge / Rock Tomb
move 3: Fire Punch / Heat Crash
move 4: Shadow Claw / Heavy Slam / Giga Impact
item: Assault Vest
ability: Drought
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 HP / 220 Atk / 4 Def / 12 SpD / 20 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
* Precipice Blades, despite the accuracy concerns, is still Groudon's most effective way to deal damage. When Dynamaxed, Groudon can use Max Quake to boost its Special Defense, which is hugely effective in tandem with Assault Vest.
* Stone Edge is a strong option for hitting Pokemon immune to Ground like Thundurus, Charizard, and Yveltal, but Rock Tomb can be used to support Groudon's teammates by slowing down foes. Stone Edge also has the stronger Max Rockfall at 130 BP compared to Rock Tomb's 110.
* Fire Punch lets Groudon deal consistent Fire-type damage, as Heat Crash will fail against a Dynamaxed foe and does less damage to Zacian-C. Heat Crash, however, does more damage against most other non-Dynamaxed foes thanks to Groudon's weight stat, including getting the OHKO on Amoonguss.
* Shadow Claw lets Groudon OHKO Calyrex-S and do big damage to Lunala. Heavy Slam hits Grimmsnarl and provides Max Steelspike, giving it access to both defense-boosting Max Moves. Giga Impact is used for Max Strike, slowing down foes and keeping them in check for partners like Charizard, Zacian-C, and Calyrex-S.
* Assault Vest is massive for giving Groudon a leg up against special attackers; Kyogre, Calyrex-S, and Charizard all have a much harder time breaking through Groudon with additional Special Defense.
[SET]
name: Attack Booster
move 1: Precipice Blades
move 2: Rock Slide / Rock Tomb
move 3: Swords Dance / Bulk Up
move 4: Protect
item: Sitrus Berry / Leftovers / White Herb
ability: Drought
nature: Adamant
evs: 244 HP / 252 Atk / 12 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
* Precipice Blades is Groudon's best Ground-type move and deals spread damage without threatening its partner. Max Quake can help Groudon by giving it Special Defense boosts to better matchup against Calyrex-S and Kyogre.
* Rock Slide hits many common Pokemon immune to Ground like Charizard and Thundurus, and can deal significant damage when Groudon has boosted Attack. Rock Tomb, while significantly less threatening offensively, can be a great help for its partners like Yveltal and Lunala, allowing them to outspeed the faster Pokemon like Thundurus, Zacian-C, and Calyrex-S.
* Swords Dance is Groudon's best way at counteracting Intimidate from Incineroar and Landorus-T. Bulk Up is slower to boost its Attack, but the Defense boost can help against physical attackers, such as making Zacian-C's +1 Behemoth Blade a guaranteed 3HKO and instantly garnering an advantage in Groudon wars. At +1 Attack, it can OHKO 252 HP / 4 Defense Zacian-C.
* Sitrus Berry and Leftovers provide Groudon with slight HP recovery which goes a long way to improve its longevity, but White Herb helps cancel out Intimidate drops as well as some annoying drops from Max Moves like opposing Max Wyrmwind, Max Phantasm, and Max Darkness.
[TEAM OPTIONS]
**Zacian-C**: Zacian-C checks numerous Pokemon that Groudon doesn't appreciate like Calyrex-I and Kartana. More importantly, it acts as a reliable and fast partner that can put pressure on opposing Dynamaxed Pokemon.
**Lunala**: Lunala provides Trick Room support and a way to damage Incineroar and Flying-types with Meteor Beam, allowing it to provide support and offensive coverage to Groudon.
**Thundurus**: As Groudon is susceptible to Intimidate, Defiant Thundurus does a great job of pressuring the likes of Incineroar and Landorus-T off the field.
**Gigantamax Venusaur and Charizard**: These are two of the most prominent benefactors of Groudon's Drought in the metagame. Venusaur can outspeed the entire unboosted metagame in sun and fire off Sleep Powders or G-Max Vinelash, while Charizard has access to insanely strong G-Max Wildfires thanks to Solar Power.
**Incineroar and Gastrodon**: Incineroar's Parting Shot and Gastrodon's Storm Drain are vital to helping Groudon win the weather war against Kyogre. They also help to check Pokemon like Landorus-T and Zacian-C.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[zee, 501951]]
- Quality checked by: [[Theorymon, 29010]
- Grammar checked by: [[UT, 523866]]
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