[SET]
name: Sand Rush (Attack)
move 1: Bolt Beak
move 2: Fire Blast
move 3: Draco Meteor / Dragon Claw
move 4: Substitute / Taunt
item: Leftovers / Life Orb
ability: Sand Rush
nature: Naughty
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
With good coverage, Sand Rush, and STAB Bolt Beak, Dracozolt is a fearsome sand sweeper. Bolt Beak is Dracozolt's primary STAB attack and takes advantage of Sand Rush to usually go first, capable of breaking through common defensive Pokemon, notably Rotom-W and Necrozma-DM. Fire Blast hits Grass-types that resist Bolt Beak like Ferrothorn and Kartana, and it's also useful against the former and Skarmory to avoid contact damage from Iron Barbs and Rocky Helmet. Draco Meteor targets Dragon-types like Garchomp and Zekrom, which shrug off the other attacks, while also hitting Landorus-T hard; Dragon Claw is a more consistent option for teams that can reliably remove Landorus-T. In the last moveslot, Substitute eases predictions and blocks foes such as Rayquaza, Kyogre and Choice Scarf Kartana from easily revenge killing Dracozolt, while Taunt prevents recovery moves from defensive stalwarts that Dracozolt can't 2HKO, like Clefable receiving Shuckle's Defense and Gastrodon. Leftovers is preferred with Substitute, and Life Orb without it.
Dracozolt likes receiving high Attack stats from gods like Ho-Oh and Calyrex-I. Ho-Oh stands out as a particularly good pick, as it can remove entry hazards, switch into Ground-types that threaten Dracozolt, and deal with Tangrowth, which walls Dracozolt. A sand setter in Tyranitar or Hippowdon is mandatory for Dracozolt to function; their Stealth Rock also aids Dracozolt in wearing down Tangrowth and Landorus-T. Fellow sand sweepers, most notably Excadrill, can create potent wallbreaking cores with Dracozolt, capable of quickly overwhelming many defensive Pokemon and tearing teams apart. Dracozolt also puts pressure on Skarmory and Corviknight, two Pokemon that Excadrill has a tough time getting past. Dracozolt is quite frail, so it appreciates pivots like Rotom-W bringing it in safely. Rotom-W also provides a switch-in to Rayquaza and Groudon, which can revenge kill Dracozolt. Similarly, Tangrowth deals with Kyogre, which poses a big threat to the sand core. Dracozolt is also quite susceptible to entry hazards because, when combined with Life Orb recoil, they accumulate a lot of chip damage very quickly. Therefore, it loves having hazard removers like the aforementioned Ho-Oh, Rotom-W, and Excadrill around.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Dracozolt can run a combination of Fire Spin and Substitute to trap passive Pokemon, get a Substitute up, and fire off powerful attacks unharmed. However, this forces Dracozolt to give up coverage and can be difficult to fit onto teams. Dracozolt can also use Speed donations from fast gods like Mewtwo, but it is generally underpowered for the role. Outrage 2HKOes sturdy defensive walls that aren't afraid of Bolt Beak, especially Landorus-T, but Dracozolt risks getting revenge killed by Fairy-types after. Hustle grants Dracozolt a massive power boost, but the accuracy drop makes it very inconsistent.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Ground-types**: Ground-types like Landorus-T are not threatened by Dracozolt's coverage and can take it out with a STAB Earthquake. However, they still have to watch out for the rare Outrage.
**Priority Moves**: Dracozolt racks up a lot of chip damage from its Life Orb, making it vulnerable to priority move users like Zygarde-10% and Weavile. Even if they do not KO, priority moves also weaken Bolt Beak and potentially let the target survive.
**Faster Pokemon**: Even with sand up, Dracozolt is still outsped by fast Choice Scarf users such as Blacephalon and Kartana. Rayquaza, Kyogre, and Groudon can also outspeed it by removing sand. However, with the exception of Groudon, these Pokemon struggle to get a safe switch-in and can't beat Dracozolt if it has Substitute up.
**Tangrowth**: Tangrowth, particularly mixed wall variants, barely takes any damage from Dracozolt's moves, can restore lost HP with Regenerator, and can hit it hard with Earthquake.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Wes8888, 584907]]
- Quality checked by: [[UT, 523866], [longhiep341, 500884]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Finland, 517429]]
name: Sand Rush (Attack)
move 1: Bolt Beak
move 2: Fire Blast
move 3: Draco Meteor / Dragon Claw
move 4: Substitute / Taunt
item: Leftovers / Life Orb
ability: Sand Rush
nature: Naughty
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
With good coverage, Sand Rush, and STAB Bolt Beak, Dracozolt is a fearsome sand sweeper. Bolt Beak is Dracozolt's primary STAB attack and takes advantage of Sand Rush to usually go first, capable of breaking through common defensive Pokemon, notably Rotom-W and Necrozma-DM. Fire Blast hits Grass-types that resist Bolt Beak like Ferrothorn and Kartana, and it's also useful against the former and Skarmory to avoid contact damage from Iron Barbs and Rocky Helmet. Draco Meteor targets Dragon-types like Garchomp and Zekrom, which shrug off the other attacks, while also hitting Landorus-T hard; Dragon Claw is a more consistent option for teams that can reliably remove Landorus-T. In the last moveslot, Substitute eases predictions and blocks foes such as Rayquaza, Kyogre and Choice Scarf Kartana from easily revenge killing Dracozolt, while Taunt prevents recovery moves from defensive stalwarts that Dracozolt can't 2HKO, like Clefable receiving Shuckle's Defense and Gastrodon. Leftovers is preferred with Substitute, and Life Orb without it.
Dracozolt likes receiving high Attack stats from gods like Ho-Oh and Calyrex-I. Ho-Oh stands out as a particularly good pick, as it can remove entry hazards, switch into Ground-types that threaten Dracozolt, and deal with Tangrowth, which walls Dracozolt. A sand setter in Tyranitar or Hippowdon is mandatory for Dracozolt to function; their Stealth Rock also aids Dracozolt in wearing down Tangrowth and Landorus-T. Fellow sand sweepers, most notably Excadrill, can create potent wallbreaking cores with Dracozolt, capable of quickly overwhelming many defensive Pokemon and tearing teams apart. Dracozolt also puts pressure on Skarmory and Corviknight, two Pokemon that Excadrill has a tough time getting past. Dracozolt is quite frail, so it appreciates pivots like Rotom-W bringing it in safely. Rotom-W also provides a switch-in to Rayquaza and Groudon, which can revenge kill Dracozolt. Similarly, Tangrowth deals with Kyogre, which poses a big threat to the sand core. Dracozolt is also quite susceptible to entry hazards because, when combined with Life Orb recoil, they accumulate a lot of chip damage very quickly. Therefore, it loves having hazard removers like the aforementioned Ho-Oh, Rotom-W, and Excadrill around.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Dracozolt can run a combination of Fire Spin and Substitute to trap passive Pokemon, get a Substitute up, and fire off powerful attacks unharmed. However, this forces Dracozolt to give up coverage and can be difficult to fit onto teams. Dracozolt can also use Speed donations from fast gods like Mewtwo, but it is generally underpowered for the role. Outrage 2HKOes sturdy defensive walls that aren't afraid of Bolt Beak, especially Landorus-T, but Dracozolt risks getting revenge killed by Fairy-types after. Hustle grants Dracozolt a massive power boost, but the accuracy drop makes it very inconsistent.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Ground-types**: Ground-types like Landorus-T are not threatened by Dracozolt's coverage and can take it out with a STAB Earthquake. However, they still have to watch out for the rare Outrage.
**Priority Moves**: Dracozolt racks up a lot of chip damage from its Life Orb, making it vulnerable to priority move users like Zygarde-10% and Weavile. Even if they do not KO, priority moves also weaken Bolt Beak and potentially let the target survive.
**Faster Pokemon**: Even with sand up, Dracozolt is still outsped by fast Choice Scarf users such as Blacephalon and Kartana. Rayquaza, Kyogre, and Groudon can also outspeed it by removing sand. However, with the exception of Groudon, these Pokemon struggle to get a safe switch-in and can't beat Dracozolt if it has Substitute up.
**Tangrowth**: Tangrowth, particularly mixed wall variants, barely takes any damage from Dracozolt's moves, can restore lost HP with Regenerator, and can hit it hard with Earthquake.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Wes8888, 584907]]
- Quality checked by: [[UT, 523866], [longhiep341, 500884]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Finland, 517429]]
Last edited:
