[overview]
**Draft order**: Round 4 onwards
**Price range**: 12-13 points
**Overview**: Ceruledge is a versatile and fearsome setup sweeper thanks to its great STAB combination, abilities, and decent bulk. Its signature move, Bitter Blade, allows it to simultaneously dish out damage and sustain its own HP, giving it great flexibility in choosing setup moves or coverage options. Terastallization makes Ceruledge truly shine, where it takes advantage of its abilities and solid bulk to set up and begin sweeping. Without use of Tera, Ceruledge is let down by its multitude of weaknesses to common offensive types. Additionally, it is relatively weak when unboosted, and its mediocre Speed often allows foes to attack it before it can get set up. However, when positioned well, it is capable of scoring multiple KOs or outright winning games on its own.
[strategy comments]
Common Roles
========
**Weak Armor sweeper**: Ceruledge can boost its Speed when physically attacked thanks to Weak Armor, allowing it to boost to +2 Speed and Attack on the same turn when using Swords Dance, enabling it to sweep through weakened teams with ease.
**Bulky setup**: Great special bulk and the ability Flash Fire allow Ceruledge many opportunities to set up with Bulk Up with the use of Tera. Bitter Blade sustains Ceruledge's HP, and Shadow Sneak patches up its low Speed to pick off faster attackers.
Common Moves
========
**Primary STAB moves**: Bitter Blade, Poltergeist, Shadow Sneak, Shadow Claw, Flare Blitz
**Setup moves**: Swords Dance, Bulk Up, Iron Defense, Flame Charge
**Utility moves**: Will-O-Wisp, Taunt, Destiny Bond, Clear Smog, Substitute, Brick Break
**Coverage**: Close Combat, Iron Head, Poison Jab, Psycho Cut, X-Scissor, Tera Blast
Niche Moves
========
**Solar Blade**: Solar Blade can be used either in sun or with a Power Herb to surprise Pokemon weak to Grass-type moves such as Swampert and Gastrodon.
**Endure**: Endure can be used to trigger Weak Armor and activate pinch Berries or outspeed a target to surprise it with Destiny Bond.
Common Items
========
**Heavy-Duty Boots**: Ceruledge is weak to Stealth Rock and is affected by Spikes, and Heavy-Duty Boots helps it enter the field unimpeded.
**Leftovers**: Leftovers supplements recovery generated from Bitter Blade and allows Ceruledge to stay on the field longer.
**Damage-boosting Items**: Charcoal and Spell Tag boost the power of Ceruledge's STAB moves to help it secure KOs and recover more HP from Bitter Blade.
**Focus Sash**: A Focus Sash can guarantee Ceruledge lives a physical attack, allowing it to set up a Swords Dance and boost its Speed with Weak Armor.
Niche Items
========
**Resistance Berries**: A resistance Berry can help Ceruledge set up by living a super effective attack from an anticipated check either before or after Terastallization.
**Pinch Berries**: Salac or Liechi Berry can be used either alone or in conjunction with Endure and Weak Armor to guarantee activation and a Speed boost to facilitate a sweep.
**Air Balloon**: An Air Balloon helps Ceruledge set up vs Ground-type attacks and often forces coverage moves to break it. This often activates Ceruledge's Weak Armor in the process.
Tera
========
Ceruledge truly shines as a Tera Captain, and you should ideally draft it with the intention of making it one. Two amazing abilities, a multitude of setup moves, and a great offensive movepool make it an extremely robust Tera Captain. Flash Fire sets maintain an immunity to Fire with Tera Grass, Steel, or Bug, and Tera types like Fairy and Flying are effective to check Fire-type threats with strong secondary STAB moves, such as Chi-Yu and Gouging Fire. Weak Armor sets typically take advantage of Tera Ghost or Fire to maximize damage output from Ceruledge's STAB moves, Tera Fighting to boost the power of Close Combat, or another Tera type such as Fairy or Water to provide coverage it lacks via Tera Blast.
Draft Strategy
========
Ceruledge is heavily reliant on Tera to be an effective threat and should be drafted with this in mind. While it can still be a serviceable Weak Armor sweeper without Tera, Ceruledge being unable to Terastallize significantly hamstrings its flexibility.
**Non-Tera-reliant partners**: Early-round Pokemon that are either restricted from Tera use or are not reliant on Tera ideally should be selected to partner with Ceruledge. Pokemon like Great Tusk, Garchomp, and Palafin make great partners due to their ability to perform their roles without Tera.
**Entry hazard control**: Ceruledge makes good use of a wide variety of items, making hazard control essential, especially for Weak Armor variants. Rapid Spin users such as Iron Treads and Terapagos make great partners, as they are non-Tera-reliant spinners. They also enjoy Ceruledge's immunity to Fighting.
**Wallbreakers**: Ceruledge enjoys opposing teams being weakened to help facilitate its sweeping capabilities. Special wallbreakers with pivoting capabilities make especially good partners, as they can bring bring Ceruledge onto the field with a pivoting move. Latios, Primarina, or Iron Bundle are partners that can fulfill this role to great effect.
Checks and Counters
========
**Fire-resistant physical walls**: Fire-resistant Pokemon like Gouging Fire and Dondozo can wear down and defeat Ceruledge by preventing Bitter Blade from restoring meaningful amounts of HP. Checks to Ceruledge can also run no item or consumable items to become immune to Poltergeist.
**Strong special attackers**: Special attacks do not activate Weak Armor, limiting Ceruledge's ability to sweep. Additionally, while Ceruledge's special bulk is excellent, it has no way to boost its Special Defense, making it liable to be worn down with strong special attacks.
**Taunt and Encore**: As Ceruledge is setup-reliant, it can be disrupted with Taunt or Encore, with many faster threats carrying one of these moves to stop its setup.
**Entry hazards**: Ceruledge is susceptible to all forms of entry hazards, including a weakness to Stealth Rock.
[credits]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/diviniya.618293/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/scribble.356084/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/techno6377.527276/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/ken.594478/
**Draft order**: Round 4 onwards
**Price range**: 12-13 points
**Overview**: Ceruledge is a versatile and fearsome setup sweeper thanks to its great STAB combination, abilities, and decent bulk. Its signature move, Bitter Blade, allows it to simultaneously dish out damage and sustain its own HP, giving it great flexibility in choosing setup moves or coverage options. Terastallization makes Ceruledge truly shine, where it takes advantage of its abilities and solid bulk to set up and begin sweeping. Without use of Tera, Ceruledge is let down by its multitude of weaknesses to common offensive types. Additionally, it is relatively weak when unboosted, and its mediocre Speed often allows foes to attack it before it can get set up. However, when positioned well, it is capable of scoring multiple KOs or outright winning games on its own.
[strategy comments]
Common Roles
========
**Weak Armor sweeper**: Ceruledge can boost its Speed when physically attacked thanks to Weak Armor, allowing it to boost to +2 Speed and Attack on the same turn when using Swords Dance, enabling it to sweep through weakened teams with ease.
**Bulky setup**: Great special bulk and the ability Flash Fire allow Ceruledge many opportunities to set up with Bulk Up with the use of Tera. Bitter Blade sustains Ceruledge's HP, and Shadow Sneak patches up its low Speed to pick off faster attackers.
Common Moves
========
**Primary STAB moves**: Bitter Blade, Poltergeist, Shadow Sneak, Shadow Claw, Flare Blitz
**Setup moves**: Swords Dance, Bulk Up, Iron Defense, Flame Charge
**Utility moves**: Will-O-Wisp, Taunt, Destiny Bond, Clear Smog, Substitute, Brick Break
**Coverage**: Close Combat, Iron Head, Poison Jab, Psycho Cut, X-Scissor, Tera Blast
Niche Moves
========
**Solar Blade**: Solar Blade can be used either in sun or with a Power Herb to surprise Pokemon weak to Grass-type moves such as Swampert and Gastrodon.
**Endure**: Endure can be used to trigger Weak Armor and activate pinch Berries or outspeed a target to surprise it with Destiny Bond.
Common Items
========
**Heavy-Duty Boots**: Ceruledge is weak to Stealth Rock and is affected by Spikes, and Heavy-Duty Boots helps it enter the field unimpeded.
**Leftovers**: Leftovers supplements recovery generated from Bitter Blade and allows Ceruledge to stay on the field longer.
**Damage-boosting Items**: Charcoal and Spell Tag boost the power of Ceruledge's STAB moves to help it secure KOs and recover more HP from Bitter Blade.
**Focus Sash**: A Focus Sash can guarantee Ceruledge lives a physical attack, allowing it to set up a Swords Dance and boost its Speed with Weak Armor.
Niche Items
========
**Resistance Berries**: A resistance Berry can help Ceruledge set up by living a super effective attack from an anticipated check either before or after Terastallization.
**Pinch Berries**: Salac or Liechi Berry can be used either alone or in conjunction with Endure and Weak Armor to guarantee activation and a Speed boost to facilitate a sweep.
**Air Balloon**: An Air Balloon helps Ceruledge set up vs Ground-type attacks and often forces coverage moves to break it. This often activates Ceruledge's Weak Armor in the process.
Tera
========
Ceruledge truly shines as a Tera Captain, and you should ideally draft it with the intention of making it one. Two amazing abilities, a multitude of setup moves, and a great offensive movepool make it an extremely robust Tera Captain. Flash Fire sets maintain an immunity to Fire with Tera Grass, Steel, or Bug, and Tera types like Fairy and Flying are effective to check Fire-type threats with strong secondary STAB moves, such as Chi-Yu and Gouging Fire. Weak Armor sets typically take advantage of Tera Ghost or Fire to maximize damage output from Ceruledge's STAB moves, Tera Fighting to boost the power of Close Combat, or another Tera type such as Fairy or Water to provide coverage it lacks via Tera Blast.
Draft Strategy
========
Ceruledge is heavily reliant on Tera to be an effective threat and should be drafted with this in mind. While it can still be a serviceable Weak Armor sweeper without Tera, Ceruledge being unable to Terastallize significantly hamstrings its flexibility.
**Non-Tera-reliant partners**: Early-round Pokemon that are either restricted from Tera use or are not reliant on Tera ideally should be selected to partner with Ceruledge. Pokemon like Great Tusk, Garchomp, and Palafin make great partners due to their ability to perform their roles without Tera.
**Entry hazard control**: Ceruledge makes good use of a wide variety of items, making hazard control essential, especially for Weak Armor variants. Rapid Spin users such as Iron Treads and Terapagos make great partners, as they are non-Tera-reliant spinners. They also enjoy Ceruledge's immunity to Fighting.
**Wallbreakers**: Ceruledge enjoys opposing teams being weakened to help facilitate its sweeping capabilities. Special wallbreakers with pivoting capabilities make especially good partners, as they can bring bring Ceruledge onto the field with a pivoting move. Latios, Primarina, or Iron Bundle are partners that can fulfill this role to great effect.
Checks and Counters
========
**Fire-resistant physical walls**: Fire-resistant Pokemon like Gouging Fire and Dondozo can wear down and defeat Ceruledge by preventing Bitter Blade from restoring meaningful amounts of HP. Checks to Ceruledge can also run no item or consumable items to become immune to Poltergeist.
**Strong special attackers**: Special attacks do not activate Weak Armor, limiting Ceruledge's ability to sweep. Additionally, while Ceruledge's special bulk is excellent, it has no way to boost its Special Defense, making it liable to be worn down with strong special attacks.
**Taunt and Encore**: As Ceruledge is setup-reliant, it can be disrupted with Taunt or Encore, with many faster threats carrying one of these moves to stop its setup.
**Entry hazards**: Ceruledge is susceptible to all forms of entry hazards, including a weakness to Stealth Rock.
[credits]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/diviniya.618293/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/scribble.356084/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/techno6377.527276/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/ken.594478/
Last edited:
