God the OG sprite is so ugly...[OVERVIEW]
Even in a tier as stacked with brutally strong threats as Ubers, Palkia still manages to stand out thanks to its incredible STAB combination, great Speed tier, and useful defensive attributes. Palkia's signature move, Spacial Rend, is the single most spammable Dragon-type move in the game, and it wields this tool extremely well thanks to secondary Water-type STAB moves that heavily discourage Steel-type switch-ins, especially when boosted by Kyogre's rain. Combine this with a sky-high Special Attack stat and all the coverage options it could need, and Palkia becomes nearly unwallable in the right conditions. Base 100 Speed is also a critical benchmark for Palkia to meet, giving it the jump on base 90 Speed threats like Kyogre, Groudon, Giratina-O, and Ho-Oh, as well as Rayquaza. Defensively, Palkia's great natural bulk and typing makes it a solid switch-in to the mighty Kyogre, Choice Specs sets included, as well as a usable offensive check to other threats like Ho-Oh, Kabutops, Tyranitar, and Lucario.
Despite all these advantages, though, Palkia is not quite as splashable and easy to use as it first appears, especially compared to its box-art brother Dialga. Its vulnerability to all forms of entry hazards is a major mark against it in such a hazard-centric metagame, and fitting it often comes at the cost of exacerbating a team's weakness to Toxic Spikes in particular. Additionally, while its Speed tier has many useful applications, it's still liable to being revenge killed by Choice Scarf users and naturally fast threats like Garchomp, Latios, Darkrai, and Mewtwo, which can limit its opportunities to make progress even further in conjunction with hazard damage. Palkia is forced to play at quite a fast pace to be most effective, but given how naturally fast DPP Ubers is, that's not the worst problem to have; just don't expect it to plow through stall teams singlehandedly.
[SET]
name: All-out Attacker
move 1: Spacial Rend
move 2: Surf
move 3: Thunder
move 4: Fire Blast / Draco Meteor / Outrage
item: Lustrous Orb / Haban Berry / Lum Berry
ability: Pressure
nature: Timid / Hasty
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Palkia's synergistic STAB moves and diverse coverage make it a great candidate for a simple wallbreaking set with four attacks. Spacial Rend and Surf are both fairly safe moves to throw out when uncertain about the opponent's switch-in, and most of the metagame is covered by them alone. Thunder is important for the super effective hit it lands on Kyogre, ensuring Palkia can actually check the mighty whale instead of just switching into its attacks. Fire Blast ensures Palkia effectively has two STAB moves in sun as well as in rain, roasting Steel-types like Bronzong, Skarmory, and Jirachi and hitting Groudon harder than Spacial Rend or a sun-weakened Surf. If a less weather-dependent move is preferred, Draco Meteor is a solid all-purpose nuke that lands OHKOs on certain targets that Spacial Rend falls short of, such as Latias, Giratina, and Haban Berry Rayquaza. Outrage performs a similar function, but with the added benefit of blasting through Blissey at the cost of worse damage against the rest of the tier. Aqua Tail provides a similar method of bypassing Blissey, but it needs rain to be truly threatening and doesn't have as many other applications as Outrage does.
Set Details
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Palkia needs maximum Speed investment and a Speed-boosting nature to avoid being outrun by Rayquaza and invested base 90 Speed Pokemon, such as Lucario and Choice Specs Kyogre. Timid is the default choice, but Hasty should be used with Outrage to maximize its damage output. Lustrous Orb does wonders for Palkia's damage output, notably guaranteeing an OHKO on Latios with Spacial Rend after Stealth Rock and dashing any hopes Bronzong might otherwise have about surviving two rain-boosted Surfs. However, there are good arguments for other item choices: Haban Berry lets Palkia survive many Dragon-type attacks it otherwise wouldn't and flip many matchups on their head; this is especially useful against Choice Scarf revenge killers like Dialga, Garchomp, and opposing Palkia, none of which can OHKO a Haban Berry Palkia after Stealth Rock. Lum Berry is similarly useful for avoiding Thunder Wave or Thunder paralysis from Kyogre, as well as granting a one-time immunity to Toxic Spikes.
Usage Tips
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Getting Palkia on the field usually involves switching it into Kyogre or a passive defensive Pokemon like Bronzong, or putting it in after a sacrifice. In the latter case, Palkia can greatly benefit from bluffing its Choice Scarf set, which can frequently force switches in situations where it shouldn't otherwise be able to. Once it's in position, piloting this set is quite simple: select the appropriate attack for your expected target. Since it can hit nearly everything in the tier quite hard, all-out attacking Palkia is most effective as an early- to mid-game wallbreaker that can severely damage an opponent's defensive core to make way for fast cleaners later on.
Team Options
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Because it leverages some of the best and most common attacking types in Ubers, Palkia easily slots onto hyper offense structures that seek to break down opposing defensive cores by overloading common checks with combined brute strength. Kyogre is an especially useful part of such teams for Palkia thanks to Drizzle, which elevates Surf to monstrous levels of power and makes Thunder far more reliable. Kyogre is also great thanks to its flexibility with other teammates, being able to function in the lead slot or alongside a dedicated lead like Deoxys-S. If a non-Stealth Rock lead is used, Bronzong makes for a great Stealth Rock setter outside of the lead slot, and it can also switch into opposing Dragon-type attacks for Palkia. Other entry hazard-setting Steel-types, such as Skarmory and Jirachi, can be similarly helpful, and Jirachi can even enhance Palkia's longevity with Wish. U-turn users, like Jirachi and Scizor, can create safer opportunities for Palkia to hit the field. Darkrai can similarly create opportunities for Palkia with Dark Void, and it's also great at forcing Latios and Latias off the field. Wobbuffet provides a more forceful method of dealing with Choice Scarf revenge killers by trapping them with Shadow Tag. Palkia's wallbreaking prowess pairs well with fast late-game cleaners of all stripes; this can include a Choice Scarf user like Dialga, or a dedicated rain sweeper like Kabutops. With Haban Berry, Palkia can even lure Choice Scarf Garchomp for a slower Choice Scarf teammate like Kyogre or Dialga. Specially defensive Dialga is a common stopgap check to Palkia, so other threats that can more immediately pressure it, like bulky Groudon, Lucario, and Tyranitar, are appreciated. Tyranitar can also Pursuit trap Latios and Latias under some circumstances. All of those Pokemon, as well as other strong physical attackers like Garchomp and Bulk Up Dialga, are also great for pressuring Blissey, which gives Palkia major trouble unless it fits physical coverage.
[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Spacial Rend
move 2: Surf / Hydro Pump
move 3: Thunder
move 4: Draco Meteor / Fire Blast / Sleep Talk
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Pressure
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Donning a Choice Scarf allows Palkia to take full advantage of its critical Speed tier, letting it act as an offensive check to opposing Choice Scarf users like Kyogre, as well as Speed-boosting sweepers like Dragon Dance Rayquaza and naturally fast threats like Darkrai, Mewtwo, and Deoxys-A. Palkla's bulk and typing also makes it a scarfer that, when healthy, is unfazed by common priority users like Scizor and Lucario. Spacial Rend is an excellent move that Choice Scarf Dialga would kill for, as its power and spammability makes Palkia an excellent late-game cleaner. Surf is the defauly Water-type STAB move for its reliability, but Hydro Pump is also a tempting choice due to this set's lack of a boosting item; in rain, it is notably the only way for Palkia to OHKO Skarmory and Forretress, and it dents common Water-type switch-ins like Dialga significantly harder. Thunder is necessary to still act as a Kyogre check. Draco Meteor is a great choice in the last slot since an unboosted Spacial Rend often falls short of an OHKO against specially bulky Dragon-types like Latios and some Giratina-O, as well as Haban Berry users like Swords Dance Garchomp. Fire Blast is another solid choice that makes Palkia more reliable in sun, especially against Steel-types. Sleep Talk is a usable option if your team struggles to absorb Darkrai's Dark Void, but keep in mind that Sleep Talk will only work once per switch-in with a Choice item equipped.
Set Details
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Maximum Speed investment with a Timid nature is a requirement to outspeed and revenge kill Choice Scarf Kyogre and +1 Dragon Dance Rayquaza.
Usage Tips
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Team Options
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[SET]
name: Choice Specs
move 1: Spacial Rend
move 2: Surf
move 3: Thunder / Fire Blast
move 4: Fire Blast / Draco Meteor
item: Choice Specs
ability: Pressure
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Details
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Usage Tips
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Team Options
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[SET]
name: Trick Room
move 1: Spacial Rend
move 2: Surf
move 3: Thunder / Fire Blast
move 4: Trick Room
item: Haban Berry / Lustrous Orb
ability: Pressure
nature: Quiet
evs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Details
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Usage Tips
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Team Options
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[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
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Checks and Counters
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[CREDITS]
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/stupidflandrs48.633500/
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Grammar checked by:
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