[overview]
**Draft Order**: Round 5 onwards
**Price Range**: 11-12 points
**Overview**: Volcarona greatly suffers from the metagame dynamics present in Draft, becoming highly matchup-dependent and requiringthe proper support to be effective. On the right teams, it can be a formidable setup sweeper with Quiver Dance, tearing through weakened teams with its powerful STAB moves and running either bulky or fast sets as necessary. However, Volcarona struggles against many special walls, is normally forced to run Heavy-Duty Boots, and has four-moveslot syndrome between STAB moves, coverage moves, Will-O-Wisp, and Morning Sun all fighting for space alongside Quiver Dance. It also has a hard time setting up against even foes it normally exploits, as the advance warning and preparation the format gives them means that they can run coverage to deal with it.
[strategy comments]
Common Roles
========
**Setup Sweeper**: Volcarona can use Quiver Dance to quickly snowball into a threatening sweeper, especially with Fiery Dance to allow it to set up further while attacking. It can go in a bulkier direction, taking advantage of Flame Body, Will-O-Wisp, and Morning Sun to set up on physical attackers, or in a more purely offensive direction, maximizing its Speed and Special Attack to outrun and KO the opposing team.
**Bulky Pivot**: Alternatively, Volcarona can sometimes forsake Quiver Dance entirely to take advantage of its solid defenses and utility moves and ambush foes expecting its setup set. It can burn physical attackers with Will-O-Wisp and Flame Body, provide pivoting with U-turn, maintain its longevity with Morning Sun, or phaze setup sweepers with Whirlwind while still being specially threatening with Fiery Dance. It does this most often in matchups against teams with too many checks to it, where its setup sweeper set cannot function.
**Wallbreaker**: Rarely, Volcarona can use Choice Specs or another damage-boosting item over Heavy-Duty Boots to increase its damage output to the point where it can wallbreak. This is only viable when the opposing team has weak entry hazard setters and its team is particularly consistent at removing hazards.
Common Moves
========
**Primary STAB Moves**: Fiery Dance, Fire Blast, Flamethrower, Bug Buzz, Overheat
**Setup Moves**: Quiver Dance
**Utility Moves**: Morning Sun, Will-O-Wisp, Substitute, U-turn, Whirlwind
**Coverage**: Giga Drain, Psychic, Hurricane, Air Slash
Niche Moves
========
**Fire Spin**: With Fire Spin, Volcarona can trap and set up on overly passive foes or keep a switch-in on the field while it switches out to a check.
**Light Screen**: Although it cannot set dual screens, as it lacks Reflect, Volcarona can provide Light Screen support to its team. However, it's somewhat unreliable at doing this, since it cannot safely hold Light Clay over Heavy-Duty Boots.
**Solar Beam**: On sun teams or if it can afford to run Power Herb, Volcarona can run Solar Beam to hit Ground-, Rock-, and Water-types harder than with Giga Drain.
Common Items
========
**Heavy-Duty Boots**: Heavy-Duty Boots is practically mandatory for Volcarona, given its severe weakness to Stealth Rock. It can only afford to run other items in a matchup if the opposing team has poor access to Stealth Rock and its team can consistently remove entry hazards.
Niche Items
========
**Leftovers**: Leftovers can increase Volcarona's longevity when setting up and is particularly effective on bulky sets.
**Damage-boosting Items**: More offensive sets can use damage-boosting items like Life Orb and Choice Specs to more easily KO foes.
**Resistance Berries**: Opposing preparation for Volcarona often involves foes running super effective coverage moves to stop it from setting up. The right resistance Berry can give it the turn it needs to set up a crucial Quiver Dance.
**Lum Berry**: Similarly, many of Volcarona's checks attempt to deal with it with status-inflicting moves like Toxic and Thunder Wave. Lum Berry can cure its status and let it break past these checks.
**Mental Herb**: Against Taunt and Encore users, Volcarona can hold Mental Herb to set up despite a disruption attempt.
Tera
========
Volcarona is normally Tera banned, but it should always be used as a Tera Captain if possible. Terastallizing gives it the flexibility in coverage it needs and takes away the benefit of opposing preparation. Some excellent Tera types for it are Tera Grass, Fire, Water, Fairy, and Ground, but it can viably run any Tera type that gives it necessary coverage or room to set up. Tera Volcarona is extremely difficult to prepare for, as it can easily turn the tables on its checks with its variety of viable Tera types.
Draft Strategy
========
Volcarona may look tempting to build around, but it's unreliable as a main setup sweeper. It works best when it's accompanied by other offensive Pokemon that can wear down its checks while presenting more threats for the opponent to prepare for, diluting the opponent's ability to deal with it.
**Offensive Pokemon**: Volcarona shines alongside physical wallbreakers that deal with the special walls that beat it and special wallbreakers that can wear down the checks they share. It also prefers not to be the main setup sweeper on a draft due to its many weaknesses and the ease of opposing preparation to deal with it. Offensive Pokemon that work well with Volcarona include Iron Valiant, Ogerpon-W, Palafin, Serperior, and Landorus.
**Knock Off Absorbers**: Losing its Heavy-Duty Boots is devastating to Volcarona. Dark-resistant teammates that don't mind losing their item, such as Ting-Lu and Clefable, can switch into Knock Off for it.
**Entry Hazard Control**: Although Volcarona normally runs Heavy-Duty Boots, entry hazard control can be useful in case its item is removed by means such as Knock Off and Trick or another item is particularly good in a matchup. Hazard removers that pair well with Volcarona include Great Tusk, Quaquaval, and Galarian Weezing.
**Status Absorbers**: Teammates like Galarian Slowking and Clefable that can ignore Toxic and paralysis, which greatly hinder Volcarona, are highly useful.
**Dual Screens**: Dual screens can increase Volcarona's bulk for the turn or two it needs to set up, protecting it against dangerous coverage moves and potent offensive foes. Setters like Alolan Ninetales and Grimmsnarl work well with Volcarona.
Checks and Counters
========
**Specially Defensive Pokemon**: Special walls, common on Draft rosters, are the bane of Volcarona's existence. It often can't break specially defensive Pokemon that can deal with its setup in some way and aren't weak to its few coverage moves. These include Volcanion, Skeledirge, Galarian Slowking, and especially Heatran. It also struggles with bulky foes that can equip an Assault Vest to deal with it, such as Alolan Muk and Iron Hands.
**Rock-type Coverage**: A large variety of Pokemon learn Rock-type coverage moves like Rock Slide, Stone Edge, Power Gem, and even Rock Tomb and can run them to force out or ambush Volcarona. This includes a wide variety of foes it could otherwise check or set up on.
**Status**: As a setup sweeper dependent on staying on the battlefield and boosting its Speed, Toxic and paralysis are devastating to Volcarona. Foes such as Thundurus and Blissey can safely status it and stop it in its tracks.
**Entry Hazards**: Volcarona is reliant on Heavy-Duty Boots, since it is extremely weak to Stealth Rock. It can often be forced in early and get its item removed with Knock Off from users such as Iron Valiant, Mandibuzz, and Empoleon, leaving it unable to re-enter the field later on. As such, it must be careful setting up against these foes.
**Disruption**: Since most of Volcarona's appeal lies in setting up with Quiver Dance, phazers can check it by taking away its boosts and leaving it too damaged to set up again, and disruption move users can check it as well by preventing it from setting up with Taunt, locking it into Quiver Dance with Encore, or giving it a Choice item with Trick to Choice-lock it. This is especially effective if Volcarona's item has already been removed by Knock Off. Some examples of threatening phazers and disruptors are both Goodra formes, Assault Vest Archaludon, Scream Tail, and Grimmsnarl.
**Mirror Herb**: Quiver Dance is extremely predictable on Volcarona; as such, opponents can prepare for it by bringing a Mirror Herb user to switch in on an anticipated Quiver Dance, copy the boosts, and countersweep.
[credits]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/solarbeam.470115/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/techno.527276/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/scribble.356084/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/autumn.384270/
**Draft Order**: Round 5 onwards
**Price Range**: 11-12 points
**Overview**: Volcarona greatly suffers from the metagame dynamics present in Draft, becoming highly matchup-dependent and requiring
[strategy comments]
Common Roles
========
**Setup Sweeper**: Volcarona can use Quiver Dance to quickly snowball into a threatening sweeper, especially with Fiery Dance to allow it to set up further while attacking. It can go in a bulkier direction, taking advantage of Flame Body, Will-O-Wisp, and Morning Sun to set up on physical attackers, or in a more purely offensive direction, maximizing its Speed and Special Attack to outrun and KO the opposing team.
**Bulky Pivot**: Alternatively, Volcarona can sometimes forsake Quiver Dance entirely to take advantage of its solid defenses and utility moves and ambush foes expecting its setup set. It can burn physical attackers with Will-O-Wisp and Flame Body, provide pivoting with U-turn, maintain its longevity with Morning Sun, or phaze setup sweepers with Whirlwind while still being specially threatening with Fiery Dance. It does this most often in matchups against teams with too many checks to it, where its setup sweeper set cannot function.
**Wallbreaker**: Rarely, Volcarona can use Choice Specs or another damage-boosting item over Heavy-Duty Boots to increase its damage output to the point where it can wallbreak. This is only viable when the opposing team has weak entry hazard setters and its team is particularly consistent at removing hazards.
Common Moves
========
**Primary STAB Moves**: Fiery Dance, Fire Blast, Flamethrower, Bug Buzz, Overheat
**Setup Moves**: Quiver Dance
**Utility Moves**: Morning Sun, Will-O-Wisp, Substitute, U-turn, Whirlwind
**Coverage**: Giga Drain, Psychic, Hurricane, Air Slash
Niche Moves
========
**Fire Spin**: With Fire Spin, Volcarona can trap and set up on overly passive foes or keep a switch-in on the field while it switches out to a check.
**Light Screen**: Although it cannot set dual screens, as it lacks Reflect, Volcarona can provide Light Screen support to its team. However, it's somewhat unreliable at doing this, since it cannot safely hold Light Clay over Heavy-Duty Boots.
**Solar Beam**: On sun teams or if it can afford to run Power Herb, Volcarona can run Solar Beam to hit Ground-, Rock-, and Water-types harder than with Giga Drain.
Common Items
========
**Heavy-Duty Boots**: Heavy-Duty Boots is practically mandatory for Volcarona, given its severe weakness to Stealth Rock. It can only afford to run other items in a matchup if the opposing team has poor access to Stealth Rock and its team can consistently remove entry hazards.
Niche Items
========
**Leftovers**: Leftovers can increase Volcarona's longevity when setting up and is particularly effective on bulky sets.
**Damage-boosting Items**: More offensive sets can use damage-boosting items like Life Orb and Choice Specs to more easily KO foes.
**Resistance Berries**: Opposing preparation for Volcarona often involves foes running super effective coverage moves to stop it from setting up. The right resistance Berry can give it the turn it needs to set up a crucial Quiver Dance.
**Lum Berry**: Similarly, many of Volcarona's checks attempt to deal with it with status-inflicting moves like Toxic and Thunder Wave. Lum Berry can cure its status and let it break past these checks.
**Mental Herb**: Against Taunt and Encore users, Volcarona can hold Mental Herb to set up despite a disruption attempt.
Tera
========
Volcarona is normally Tera banned, but it should always be used as a Tera Captain if possible. Terastallizing gives it the flexibility in coverage it needs and takes away the benefit of opposing preparation. Some excellent Tera types for it are Tera Grass, Fire, Water, Fairy, and Ground, but it can viably run any Tera type that gives it necessary coverage or room to set up. Tera Volcarona is extremely difficult to prepare for, as it can easily turn the tables on its checks with its variety of viable Tera types.
Draft Strategy
========
Volcarona may look tempting to build around, but it's unreliable as a main setup sweeper. It works best when it's accompanied by other offensive Pokemon that can wear down its checks while presenting more threats for the opponent to prepare for, diluting the opponent's ability to deal with it.
**Offensive Pokemon**: Volcarona shines alongside physical wallbreakers that deal with the special walls that beat it and special wallbreakers that can wear down the checks they share. It also prefers not to be the main setup sweeper on a draft due to its many weaknesses and the ease of opposing preparation to deal with it. Offensive Pokemon that work well with Volcarona include Iron Valiant, Ogerpon-W, Palafin, Serperior, and Landorus.
**Knock Off Absorbers**: Losing its Heavy-Duty Boots is devastating to Volcarona. Dark-resistant teammates that don't mind losing their item, such as Ting-Lu and Clefable, can switch into Knock Off for it.
**Entry Hazard Control**: Although Volcarona normally runs Heavy-Duty Boots, entry hazard control can be useful in case its item is removed by means such as Knock Off and Trick or another item is particularly good in a matchup. Hazard removers that pair well with Volcarona include Great Tusk, Quaquaval, and Galarian Weezing.
**Status Absorbers**: Teammates like Galarian Slowking and Clefable that can ignore Toxic and paralysis, which greatly hinder Volcarona, are highly useful.
**Dual Screens**: Dual screens can increase Volcarona's bulk for the turn or two it needs to set up, protecting it against dangerous coverage moves and potent offensive foes. Setters like Alolan Ninetales and Grimmsnarl work well with Volcarona.
Checks and Counters
========
**Specially Defensive Pokemon**: Special walls, common on Draft rosters, are the bane of Volcarona's existence. It often can't break specially defensive Pokemon that can deal with its setup in some way and aren't weak to its few coverage moves. These include Volcanion, Skeledirge, Galarian Slowking, and especially Heatran. It also struggles with bulky foes that can equip an Assault Vest to deal with it, such as Alolan Muk and Iron Hands.
**Rock-type Coverage**: A large variety of Pokemon learn Rock-type coverage moves like Rock Slide, Stone Edge, Power Gem, and even Rock Tomb and can run them to force out or ambush Volcarona. This includes a wide variety of foes it could otherwise check or set up on.
**Status**: As a setup sweeper dependent on staying on the battlefield and boosting its Speed, Toxic and paralysis are devastating to Volcarona. Foes such as Thundurus and Blissey can safely status it and stop it in its tracks.
**Entry Hazards**: Volcarona is reliant on Heavy-Duty Boots, since it is extremely weak to Stealth Rock. It can often be forced in early and get its item removed with Knock Off from users such as Iron Valiant, Mandibuzz, and Empoleon, leaving it unable to re-enter the field later on. As such, it must be careful setting up against these foes.
**Disruption**: Since most of Volcarona's appeal lies in setting up with Quiver Dance, phazers can check it by taking away its boosts and leaving it too damaged to set up again, and disruption move users can check it as well by preventing it from setting up with Taunt, locking it into Quiver Dance with Encore, or giving it a Choice item with Trick to Choice-lock it. This is especially effective if Volcarona's item has already been removed by Knock Off. Some examples of threatening phazers and disruptors are both Goodra formes, Assault Vest Archaludon, Scream Tail, and Grimmsnarl.
**Mirror Herb**: Quiver Dance is extremely predictable on Volcarona; as such, opponents can prepare for it by bringing a Mirror Herb user to switch in on an anticipated Quiver Dance, copy the boosts, and countersweep.
[credits]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/solarbeam.470115/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/techno.527276/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/scribble.356084/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/autumn.384270/
Last edited:
