Taken from Colonel M. I'm not going to rewrite too much, just change a lot of content and reword a lot of stuff/remove filler sentences.
(I'll also be changing the physically defensive set to a specially defensive one and rewriting a lot of it)
Overview
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With a base 125 Attack stat and access to Dragon Dance, Gyarados is an offensive powerhouse. Thanks to its typing, which gives it resistances to numerous common attacks such as Close Combat and U-turn, and two excellent abilities in Intimidate and Moxie, Gyarados can easily set up and tear massive holes in teams. That's not all, though—Gyarados's great defensive typing, access to Intimidate, and good support movepool allow it to function well as a defensive Pokemon that can check top threats such as Landorus. Unfortunately, Gyarados's middling Speed, even after a Dragon Dance, can leave it prone to revenge killers such as Choice Scarf Garchomp. Its weakness to Stealth Rock can also be crippling as this reduces Gyarados's otherwise good longevity.
Gyarados is also blessed with access to a Mega Evolution. Mega Gyarados swaps out its Flying typing for the Dark-type, allowing it to set up on Pokemon that rely on moves like Stone Edge to take it out. Furthermore, Gyarados's offensive and defensive stats significantly increase upon Mega Evolving. Mold Breaker, its new ability, allows Mega Gyarados to punish Pokemon that rely on their abilities to circumvent its attacks, including Rotom-W and Quagsire. Although Mega Gyarados gains weaknesses to many notable moves such as Mach Punch and U-turn, it loses its nasty quadruple weakness to Electric-type attacks. Gyarados is a very versatile Pokemon both offensively and defensively, and its capabilities as Mega Gyarados only add to the number of ways in which it can help its team.
Mega Dragon Dance
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name: Mega Dragon Dance
move 1: Dragon Dance
move 2: Waterfall
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Ice Fang / Substitute / Taunt
ability: Intimidate
item: Gyaradosite
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Moves
========
This set's goal is to set up Dragon Dance in order to let Gyarados sweep opposing teams. Waterfall is Gyarados's STAB move of choice, coming with steady power, perfect accuracy, and a handy 20% flinch rate. Earthquake complements Waterfall as it too has perfect accuracy and great power, hitting many of the targets that resist Waterfall. Thanks to Mold Breaker, Earthquake can hit Levitate users such as Rotom-W and Gengar. Ice Fang is Gyarados's best option in the last slot, as after a Dragon Dance, it can 2HKO Calm Mega Venusaur while still harming Latias, Garchomp, and Dragonite. Courtesy of Mold Breaker, Gyarados ignores Mega Venusaur's Thick Fat and Dragonite's Multiscale when using Ice Fang. Substitute might seem like an odd option on a set that doesn't utilize Leftovers as an item, but it is great for helping Gyarados set up on targets such as Scizor and Heatran lacking Roar or Taunt. Substitute can also prevent Intimidate from lowering Gyarados's Attack and prevent moves such as Will-O-Wisp, Thunder Wave, and Leech Seed from crippling Gyarados. Alternatively, Taunt is another great option that shuts down walls such as Skarmory and Hippowdon. With Mold Breaker, Taunt hits through Magic Bounce, which can be nifty in stopping Espeon from setting up Calm Mind or dual screens.
Bounce is also a viable alternative to use on this set to KO Mega Venusaur and Keldeo as regular Gyarados, which can open the door for a Mega Gyarados sweep later in the game. After Stealth Rock damage, a +1 Bounce is capable of OHKOing Mega Venusaur 50% of the time and will also OHKO Amoonguss and Chesnaught. Stone Edge is great for hitting opposing Gyarados, Zapdos, and Kyurem-B, while still hitting Dragonite. Bite can be used to hit Slowbro, Latias, and Latios, but it is suboptimal in most cases due to its mediocre Base Power.
Set Details
========
252 Speed EVs allow Gyarados to outspeed Adamant Dragonite before a boost. Intimidate is the recommended ability on this set as Gyarados appreciates the Attack drop it provides, which maximizes Gyarados's tanking capabilities while it sets up Dragon Dance. Moxie, while not as useful as Intimidate, is great for punishing opponents that sacrifice a Pokemon to safely switch in their Gyarados check. Because Gyarados doesn't need to Mega Evolve immediately, Moxie can be used to give Mega Gyarados some extra power while lowering the number of Dragon Dances it needs to sweep. Moxie also allows Gyarados to safely check Bisharp, as Moxie does not give Bisharp a Defiant boost when Gyarados switches in.
Usage Tips
========
Gyarados has a very flexible Mega Evolution; staying as regular Gyarados to take advantage of Intimidate and Flying's great resistances can ease setup. Because Mega Gyarados will usually draw in attacks such as Keldeo's Secret Sword and Conkeldurr's Mach Punch, Gyarados can hold off on Mega Evolving in order to set up on moves that Mega Gyarados is weak to that opponents might attempt to target. This can also work the other way around, with Gyarados using its Flying typing to find room for a free Dragon Dance as Mega Gyarados. For example, Gyarados can switch into Landorus-T and Mega Evolve to take laughable damage from Stone Edge. Another great example is delaying Gyarados's Mega Evolution to lure in Rotom-W and then immediately Mega Evolving to shut it down with a Mold Breaker Earthquake.
If using Moxie, Gyarados should be held back and used later in the game or when the opponent has a significant number of Pokemon to use as fodder. As many Moxie boosts as possible should be accumulated before Gyarados Mega Evolves, as it will then lose Moxie for Mold Breaker. The chosen coverage move is crucial in determining the threats Gyarados will need eliminated before it can attempt to sweep. Finally, remember that Gyarados's number one counter is Ferrothorn. Unless Gyarados is using Bounce, Ferrothorn and Mega Venusaur being either weakened or eliminated is an absolute must before Gyarados attempts to sweep.
Team Options
========
Gyarados has a very threatening offensive presence, but as always, it appreciates support from other Pokemon. It is an excellent late-game cleaner, so packing heavily offensive Pokemon such as Kyurem-B is a good idea. Kyurem-B can easily plow through many of Gyarados's checks and counters with Fusion Bolt and its STAB Ice Beam. Latias can also puncture Mega Venusaur thanks to STAB Psyshock, and it can also provide support with Defog. Similarly, Latios can be used as an offensive Defog user, and if it runs Hidden Power Fire, Skarmory and Ferrothorn become less of an issue. Talonflame is an excellent offensive teammate with access to Brave Bird to take out Conkeldurr and Breloom while using its STAB Flare Blitz to hit Ferrothorn and Skarmory. Ferrothorn itself has multiple methods of supporting Gyarados, such as entry hazards, paralysis, and Leech Seed. For entry hazard removal, consider Excadrill and Starmie for Rapid Spin and their ability to take on a few of Gyarados's checks. As Defog users, Scizor and Zapdos both work well. Zapdos does well at beating bulky Water-types and keeping Ferrothorn on its toes with Heat Wave. Scizor can use its STAB U-turn to help Gyarados switch in. Thundurus's Prankster Thunder Wave is a huge nuisance to Gyarados—for this reason, Clefable and Sylveon are great teammates that can use Heal Bell and Wish to keep Gyarados in good shape.
Bulky Dragon Dance
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name: Bulky Dragon Dance
move 1: Substitute / Taunt
move 2: Dragon Dance
move 3: Waterfall
move 4: Bounce
ability: Intimidate
item: Leftovers
evs: 88 HP / 192 Atk / 4 Def / 224 Spe
nature: Adamant
Moves
========
This set takes a different approach from Gyarados's fully offensive sets. Ideally, Gyarados utilizes its great typing, natural bulk, and Intimidate to set up multiple Dragon Dances and then attempt to sweep. Taunt and Substitute are the two possible moves of choice to help Gyarados set up Dragon Dances or sweep easier. Taunt does an excellent job of shutting down recovery and stopping moves such as Will-O-Wisp, Thunder Wave, and Toxic from hampering Gyarados's sweep, while also preventing Roar and Whirlwind from forcing Gyarados out. Specifically, Taunt is great for threats such as Skarmory and Gliscor, as they are often dependent on support moves such as Whirlwind and Roost. Substitute helps by preventing status from hampering Gyarados, blocking weak attacks to ease setting up Dragon Dance, obtaining extra recovery from Leftovers, and preventing Gyarados from being easy to revenge kill. Waterfall is Gyarados's obligatory Water-type STAB move, and Bounce is its best option for a secondary attack. Bounce allows Gyarados to take out some of its biggest counters—Mega Venusaur, Amoonguss, and Chesnaught—while the charge-up turn allows Gyarados to recover HP with Leftovers and protect its Substitute. Taunt and Bounce are great together because Taunt completely shuts down the opponent's attempts at blocking Bounce with Substitute or Protect. Although Bounce is superior most of the time, Stone Edge is an option to beat opposing Gyarados, Kyurem-B, and Rotom-W more easily.
Set Details
========
The given Speed EVs allow Gyarados to outspeed Timid Noivern after a Dragon Dance. The HP and Defense EVs allow Gyarados to take a burned Ferrothorn's Power Whip from behind a Substitute, leaving the Substitute intact. They also prevent many Water-types, such as Slowbro without a Psychic-type move, from breaking Gyarados's Substitute in one hit. The remaining EVs are placed into Attack to make Gyarados's attacks hit reasonably hard after a single Dragon Dance. After Stealth Rock damage, a +1 Bounce can OHKO Calm Mega Venusaur and max HP Conkeldurr. With that said, Gyarados can opt to go slower in exchange for extra power. After a Dragon Dance, an investment of 176 Speed EVs guarantees that Gyarados will outspeed Raikou and Starmie. Leftovers further augments Gyarados's bulk, though Lum Berry is usable to allow Gyarados to switch in easier and to bluff Gyaradosite.
Usage Tips
========
Bulky Dragon Dance Gyarados is a very flexible Pokemon due to its offensive and defensive prowess. The choice between Substitute and Taunt is crucial to Gyarados setting up Dragon Dance successfully. Using Taunt means running a few more risks with Dragon Tail, Scald, and Lava Plume; however, Substitute leaves Gyarados vulnerable to Roar, Whirlwind, and having Bounce blocked by Protect and Substitute. Gyarados can switch into a variety of offensive and defensive Pokemon and begin setting up. With Taunt, Gyarados can switch into an opposing Skarmory and Taunt it to prevent it from using Whirlwind and Roost. Thanks to Intimidate and Gyarados's defensive EV spread, Brave Bird can only manage a 5HKO while Skarmory takes recoil damage in the process, making a 2HKO from a boosted Waterfall easier. Substitute is great against Pokemon such as Gastrodon that rely on status to cripple their opponents, letting Gyarados continuously set up with Dragon Dance. Best of all, Substitute can make Gyarados more difficult to revenge kill.
Team Options
========
This variant of Gyarados works exceptionally well on balanced teams that combine offensive and defensive Pokemon. Mega Venusaur is a great defensive Grass-type that can harass a lot of Gyarados's checks and counters with its great defenses and solid movepool. For example, it can use its STAB Sludge Bomb to hit Unaware Clefable, and its STAB Giga Drain eliminates Rotom-W. Hidden Power Fire further aids Gyarados by weakening or KOing Ferrothorn. Ferrothorn itself resists many moves Gyarados is weak to and can help Gyarados remain bulky with Leech Seed, ensure KOs with Stealth Rock, or slow opponents down with Thunder Wave. Water-types with Scald or Will-O-Wisp, such as Slowbro and Rotom-W, are great for luring in Ferrothorn to help Gyarados set up on it. Latias, Scizor, and Zapdos are great users of Defog, which helps Gyarados out tremendously as it is weak to Stealth Rock. Scizor and Zapdos can use their STAB U-turn and Volt Switch, respectively, to pivot out to Gyarados to help it set up. Latios is a more offensive alternative to Latias for a Defog user as it can KO or severely dent various Pokemon that Gyarados might struggle against, such as Mega Venusaur, Ferrothorn, and Skarmory. Thanks to Magnet Pull, Magnezone is a great way of completely removing Steel-type threats such as Skarmory and Ferrothorn. Excadrill is another Steel-type that has perfect defensive synergy with Gyarados. Finally, this variant of Gyarados appreciates Wish and Heal Bell support, as Gyarados is often needed to check dangerous threats such as Landorus and Keldeo. Sylveon and Clefable are great for sponging status and passing Wish around.
RestTalk
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name: RestTalk
move 1: Waterfall
move 2: Rest
move 3: Sleep Talk
move 4: Thunder Wave / Dragon Tail / Roar
ability: Intimidate
item: Leftovers
evs: 248 HP / 252 SpD / 8 Spe
nature: Careful
Moves
========
Waterfall is the mandatory Water-type STAB move and helps Gyarados check threats such as Landorus, Heatran, and Charizard. With Rest and Sleep Talk, Gyarados can cure itself of status, keep itself healthy, and avoid being completely helpless while asleep. Thunder Wave allows Gyarados to cripple Speed-reliant Pokemon such as Keldeo and Greninja, while Dragon Tail deals minor damage and allows Gyarados to phaze. Alternatively, Roar can be used in order to phaze Fairy-types and Substitute users. Toxic is another interesting option that can catch many common switch-ins to Gyarados off-guard, including Mandibuzz, Kyurem-B, Azumarill, and Alomomola.
Set Details
========
This set takes advantage of Intimidate and Gyarados's great typing and bulk, turning Gyarados into a defensive status absorber and utility counter. The given EVs and nature maximize Gyarados's special bulk, and Intimidate softens physical blows considerably. 8 Speed EVs allow Gyarados to outspeed Adamant Azumarill and Mawile. A physically defensive spread is also an option to allow Gyarados to check threats such as Mega Charizard X more effectively. Leftovers is necessary on this set to keep Gyarados healthy.
Usage Tips
========
With the listed EV spread, Gyarados is a fantastic switch-in to specially based threats such as Landorus, Mega Charizard Y, Heatran, Keldeo, and Greninja. Thanks to Intimidate, it can also check several physically based threats, such as Scizor, Conkeldurr, and Mamoswine lacking Freeze-Dry. Gyarados should be switched in on one of these threats and proceed to spread status with Thunder Wave, shuffle the opponent's team around with Dragon Tail or Roar, or simply damage the opposing Pokemon with Waterfall. Usage of Rest and Sleep Talk is rather straightforward—Rest should be used to heal Gyarados and cleanse it of any status ailments, and Sleep Talk should be used while asleep. These two moves also allow Gyarados to switch into and absorb status moves.
Team Options
========
Stealth Rock is a great way to punish the opposing Pokemon when shuffling them around with Dragon Tail or Roar. Ferrothorn is a good teammate, as it can lay down Stealth Rock or Spikes to help Gyarados with phazing, spread paralysis to completely cripple offensive threats, and use Leech Seed to help Gyarados passively recover HP against some targets. As Dragon Tail can be a liability against Fairy-types, Excadrill can be used to KO them with its STAB Iron Head, and it can also remove entry hazards with Rapid Spin. Mega Venusaur is also a great teammate, and Gyarados's Intimidate can temporarily improve its physical bulk, potentially allowing it to switch in and get off a Synthesis or Mega Evolve freely. Using another Pokemon with Intimidate such as Landorus-T or Krookodile can be great to scare off physically inclined threats or make their attacks significantly weaker than usual.
Offensive Dragon Dance
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name: Offensive Dragon Dance
move 1: Dragon Dance
move 2: Waterfall / Aqua Tail
move 3: Bounce
move 4: Stone Edge
ability: Moxie / Intimidate
item: Lum Berry / Life Orb
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Moves
========
This Gyarados set trades any attempt at being bulky for pure offensive might. Waterfall is Gyarados's primary STAB move, though Aqua Tail is a stronger yet slightly inaccurate alternative. With Stealth Rock up, a +1 Life Orb-boosted Aqua Tail can OHKO Mega Mawile, max HP Scizor, and Mega Charizard X. Bounce is a secondary STAB move that allows Gyarados to defeat Mega Venusaur and Keldeo, as well as other Pokemon like Amoonguss. Stone Edge is used in the last slot to eliminate Zapdos, Dragonite, and Mandibuzz. Earthquake is also an option to deal more damage to grounded Electric-types, while Taunt can grant Gyarados more opportunities to set up.
Set Details
========
An Adamant nature with maximum Attack and Speed investment is recommended on this set to help maximize Gyarados's sweeping potential. Intimidate is a viable ability to help Gyarados set up Dragon Dance; however, Moxie can allow Gyarados to sweep with fewer Dragon Dances and is thus the preferred ability. Lum Berry protects Gyarados from status such as burns and paralysis, while Life Orb is great for maximizing Gyarados's power and 2HKOing Skarmory with Waterfall after a Dragon Dance.
Usage Tips
========
It is best to use Gyarados as either a late-game sweeper or a Pokemon that can create dents in the opponent's team mid-game. Thus, you want your opponent to save Pokemon as potential sacrifices for Gyarados to give it Attack boosts from Moxie. Though it might seem questionable to use Gyarados as a Pokemon that punches holes instead of sweeping through the opponent's team, other Pokemon such as Charizard can take advantage of weakened threats and sweep through the remaining Pokemon. This is partly because this Gyarados should not attempt to set up too many Dragon Dances. Instead, this set wants to take advantage of one or two boosts and then utilize Moxie for any remaining attacking power that Gyarados might need. If a Lum Berry is used, it can help Gyarados obtain multiple Dragon Dances or safely 2HKO potential checks that rely on status to stop it.
Team Options
========
This variant of Gyarados appreciates powerful Pokemon that can pierce through teams and weaken them significantly to help Gyarados finish them off. Kyurem-B is a great example of this, as it can handle Rotom-W with Substitute and Earth Power, Skarmory and bulky Water-types with Fusion Bolt, and Mega Venusaur with Ice Beam. As this Gyarados doesn't use Gyaradosite, various Mega Evolutions can help punch holes in the opponent's team. For example, Mega Charizard X can use Flare Blitz to break through Skarmory and Ferrothorn while heavily damaging bulky Water-types such as Rotom-W with Dragon Claw. Entry hazard removal is very vital. Excadrill and Starmie can spin away entry hazards, while Latias, Scizor, and Zapdos are great Defog users. Latias can Defog for Gyarados while using its STAB Psyshock to harass Mega Venusaur. Zapdos can use STAB Thunderbolt or Volt Switch to tackle bulky Water-types. Scizor can use U-turn to help Gyarados switch in easier. Latios is a great offensive teammate for Gyarados as it can also utilize Defog to clear out Stealth Rock while punishing Mega Venusaur with Psyshock as well as Skarmory and Ferrothorn with Hidden Power Fire.
Other Options
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Choice Band and Choice Scarf can be used on Gyarados with Moxie as its ability. While having an immediate boost to power or Speed and using Moxie to help boost Gyarados's Attack might seem appealing, these items restrict Gyarados to one attack, and Waterfall isn't powerful enough outside of rain to be used as a standalone attack most of the time. Wacan Berry can be used on the non-Mega offensive set to allow Gyarados to survive an Electric-type attack, but it is far more situational than Lum Berry or Life Orb. Though it requires a Lonely or Naughty nature, Fire Blast is Gyarados's fastest way of eliminating Ferrothorn and 2HKOing Skarmory. A Jolly nature can be used on the offensive sets in order to let Gyarados outspeed Mega Manectric after a boost, but Gyarados needs all the power it can get.
Checks & Counters
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**Bulky Grass-types**: Without Bounce or Ice Fang, Gyarados is prone to Grass-types hampering its sweep. Ferrothorn, Gourgeist-S, Mega Venusaur, Amoonguss, and Chesnaught are the best examples as all of these Pokemon have methods of crippling Gyarados or stopping its sweep. Ferrothorn is arguably the best counter to Gyarados thanks to its great typing and Power Whip, access to Stealth Rock, and ability to cripple Gyarados with Leech Seed or Thunder Wave. Ferrothorn's ability also is a major nuisance to Gyarados, as Waterfall, Bounce, Bite, and Ice Fang are all contact moves. With Substitute, Gourgeist-S can stall out Bounce while using Leech Seed, Will-O-Wisp, and STAB Seed Bomb to harass Gyarados. Mega Venusaur, Amoonguss, and Chesnaught are more prone to Bounce, though. With STAB Giga Drain, Mega Venusaur and Amoonguss can completely stop Gyarados's sweep while recovering their own health. Amoonguss can also remove any boosts Gyarados has obtained by using Clear Smog. Chesnaught can use Leech Seed and Spiky Shield to harass Gyarados or simply attack Gyarados with its STAB Wood Hammer.
**Bulky Water-types**: Rotom-W is a great check to regular Gyarados thanks to its access to STAB Volt Switch and Will-O-Wisp to cripple Gyarados. Slowbro theatens Gyarados with Thunder Wave, Toxic, or a burn from Scald. Unaware Quagsire can threaten regular Gyarados as it ignores all of its stat boosts.
**Electric-types**: Thundurus gets a special mention as a check to Gyarados because it can use its Prankster Thunder Wave to shut down any Dragon Dance set, provided Gyarados isn't behind a Substitute. It also packs a strong Thunderbolt that easily OHKOes regular Gyarados and does a lot of damage to Mega Gyarados. Mega Manectric outspeeds Adamant Gyarados even after a boost, lowers its Attack with Intimidate, and inflicts heavy damage with an Electric-type move. Zapdos and Raikou are also acceptable checks to Gyarados. While not an Electric-type, Kyurem-B resists Waterfall and defeats Gyarados with Fusion Bolt.
**Physical Walls**: Physical walls such as Mandibuzz, Skarmory, and Mega Aggron can give Gyarados a lot of trouble. Mandibuzz can beat any Gyarados without Stone Edge by using Toxic or Foul Play; a +1 Foul Play will OHKO regular Gyarados. Bulkier variants can be phazed out with Whirlwind, and without Stealth Rock support, Mega Gyarados will fail to 2HKO Mandibuzz with Waterfall. Skarmory is only 2HKOed by a +1 Mega Gyarados's Aqua Tail or a +1 Life Orb Gyarados's Waterfall. While Skarmory loses to Taunt sets, it is capable of setting up Stealth Rock to limit Gyarados's opportunities to switch in, using Roost to heal itself, or using Whirlwind to phaze Gyarados out. It can also simply attack Gyarados with Brave Bird or cripple it with Toxic. Mega Aggron can shrug off a boosted Earthquake from regular Gyarados thanks to Filter and set up Curse in front of it. Be wary of a Mold Breaker Earthquake from Mega Gyarados, as at +1, Earthquake 2HKOes Mega Aggron. Mega Aggron can also carry Thunder Wave or phaze Gyarados out with Roar or Dragon Tail. Umbreon can withstand a +1 Waterfall from regular Gyarados and OHKO back with STAB Foul Play. It can also use Roar to phaze Gyarados out, cripple it with Toxic, or use Taunt to prevent Gyarados from setting up further. Clefable is a good answer as it can use Unaware to ignore regular Gyarados's boosts while 3HKOing most Gyarados with a STAB Moonblast. Clefable can also Encore Gyarados as it uses Dragon Dance or Substitute and proceed to cripple it with status or provide a free switch-in for a teammate.
**Choice Scarf Users**: Garchomp and Landorus-T can threaten regular Gyarados with Stone Edge, and both have access to STAB Earthquake to hit Mega Gyarados. Rotom-W can outspeed +1 Gyarados and shut it down with a STAB Volt Switch. Terrakion and Keldeo both outspeed +1 Gyarados and can OHKO it with Stone Edge and Hidden Power Electric, respectively.
(I'll also be changing the physically defensive set to a specially defensive one and rewriting a lot of it)
Overview
########
With a base 125 Attack stat and access to Dragon Dance, Gyarados is an offensive powerhouse. Thanks to its typing, which gives it resistances to numerous common attacks such as Close Combat and U-turn, and two excellent abilities in Intimidate and Moxie, Gyarados can easily set up and tear massive holes in teams. That's not all, though—Gyarados's great defensive typing, access to Intimidate, and good support movepool allow it to function well as a defensive Pokemon that can check top threats such as Landorus. Unfortunately, Gyarados's middling Speed, even after a Dragon Dance, can leave it prone to revenge killers such as Choice Scarf Garchomp. Its weakness to Stealth Rock can also be crippling as this reduces Gyarados's otherwise good longevity.
Gyarados is also blessed with access to a Mega Evolution. Mega Gyarados swaps out its Flying typing for the Dark-type, allowing it to set up on Pokemon that rely on moves like Stone Edge to take it out. Furthermore, Gyarados's offensive and defensive stats significantly increase upon Mega Evolving. Mold Breaker, its new ability, allows Mega Gyarados to punish Pokemon that rely on their abilities to circumvent its attacks, including Rotom-W and Quagsire. Although Mega Gyarados gains weaknesses to many notable moves such as Mach Punch and U-turn, it loses its nasty quadruple weakness to Electric-type attacks. Gyarados is a very versatile Pokemon both offensively and defensively, and its capabilities as Mega Gyarados only add to the number of ways in which it can help its team.
Mega Dragon Dance
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name: Mega Dragon Dance
move 1: Dragon Dance
move 2: Waterfall
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Ice Fang / Substitute / Taunt
ability: Intimidate
item: Gyaradosite
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Moves
========
This set's goal is to set up Dragon Dance in order to let Gyarados sweep opposing teams. Waterfall is Gyarados's STAB move of choice, coming with steady power, perfect accuracy, and a handy 20% flinch rate. Earthquake complements Waterfall as it too has perfect accuracy and great power, hitting many of the targets that resist Waterfall. Thanks to Mold Breaker, Earthquake can hit Levitate users such as Rotom-W and Gengar. Ice Fang is Gyarados's best option in the last slot, as after a Dragon Dance, it can 2HKO Calm Mega Venusaur while still harming Latias, Garchomp, and Dragonite. Courtesy of Mold Breaker, Gyarados ignores Mega Venusaur's Thick Fat and Dragonite's Multiscale when using Ice Fang. Substitute might seem like an odd option on a set that doesn't utilize Leftovers as an item, but it is great for helping Gyarados set up on targets such as Scizor and Heatran lacking Roar or Taunt. Substitute can also prevent Intimidate from lowering Gyarados's Attack and prevent moves such as Will-O-Wisp, Thunder Wave, and Leech Seed from crippling Gyarados. Alternatively, Taunt is another great option that shuts down walls such as Skarmory and Hippowdon. With Mold Breaker, Taunt hits through Magic Bounce, which can be nifty in stopping Espeon from setting up Calm Mind or dual screens.
Bounce is also a viable alternative to use on this set to KO Mega Venusaur and Keldeo as regular Gyarados, which can open the door for a Mega Gyarados sweep later in the game. After Stealth Rock damage, a +1 Bounce is capable of OHKOing Mega Venusaur 50% of the time and will also OHKO Amoonguss and Chesnaught. Stone Edge is great for hitting opposing Gyarados, Zapdos, and Kyurem-B, while still hitting Dragonite. Bite can be used to hit Slowbro, Latias, and Latios, but it is suboptimal in most cases due to its mediocre Base Power.
Set Details
========
252 Speed EVs allow Gyarados to outspeed Adamant Dragonite before a boost. Intimidate is the recommended ability on this set as Gyarados appreciates the Attack drop it provides, which maximizes Gyarados's tanking capabilities while it sets up Dragon Dance. Moxie, while not as useful as Intimidate, is great for punishing opponents that sacrifice a Pokemon to safely switch in their Gyarados check. Because Gyarados doesn't need to Mega Evolve immediately, Moxie can be used to give Mega Gyarados some extra power while lowering the number of Dragon Dances it needs to sweep. Moxie also allows Gyarados to safely check Bisharp, as Moxie does not give Bisharp a Defiant boost when Gyarados switches in.
Usage Tips
========
Gyarados has a very flexible Mega Evolution; staying as regular Gyarados to take advantage of Intimidate and Flying's great resistances can ease setup. Because Mega Gyarados will usually draw in attacks such as Keldeo's Secret Sword and Conkeldurr's Mach Punch, Gyarados can hold off on Mega Evolving in order to set up on moves that Mega Gyarados is weak to that opponents might attempt to target. This can also work the other way around, with Gyarados using its Flying typing to find room for a free Dragon Dance as Mega Gyarados. For example, Gyarados can switch into Landorus-T and Mega Evolve to take laughable damage from Stone Edge. Another great example is delaying Gyarados's Mega Evolution to lure in Rotom-W and then immediately Mega Evolving to shut it down with a Mold Breaker Earthquake.
If using Moxie, Gyarados should be held back and used later in the game or when the opponent has a significant number of Pokemon to use as fodder. As many Moxie boosts as possible should be accumulated before Gyarados Mega Evolves, as it will then lose Moxie for Mold Breaker. The chosen coverage move is crucial in determining the threats Gyarados will need eliminated before it can attempt to sweep. Finally, remember that Gyarados's number one counter is Ferrothorn. Unless Gyarados is using Bounce, Ferrothorn and Mega Venusaur being either weakened or eliminated is an absolute must before Gyarados attempts to sweep.
Team Options
========
Gyarados has a very threatening offensive presence, but as always, it appreciates support from other Pokemon. It is an excellent late-game cleaner, so packing heavily offensive Pokemon such as Kyurem-B is a good idea. Kyurem-B can easily plow through many of Gyarados's checks and counters with Fusion Bolt and its STAB Ice Beam. Latias can also puncture Mega Venusaur thanks to STAB Psyshock, and it can also provide support with Defog. Similarly, Latios can be used as an offensive Defog user, and if it runs Hidden Power Fire, Skarmory and Ferrothorn become less of an issue. Talonflame is an excellent offensive teammate with access to Brave Bird to take out Conkeldurr and Breloom while using its STAB Flare Blitz to hit Ferrothorn and Skarmory. Ferrothorn itself has multiple methods of supporting Gyarados, such as entry hazards, paralysis, and Leech Seed. For entry hazard removal, consider Excadrill and Starmie for Rapid Spin and their ability to take on a few of Gyarados's checks. As Defog users, Scizor and Zapdos both work well. Zapdos does well at beating bulky Water-types and keeping Ferrothorn on its toes with Heat Wave. Scizor can use its STAB U-turn to help Gyarados switch in. Thundurus's Prankster Thunder Wave is a huge nuisance to Gyarados—for this reason, Clefable and Sylveon are great teammates that can use Heal Bell and Wish to keep Gyarados in good shape.
Bulky Dragon Dance
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name: Bulky Dragon Dance
move 1: Substitute / Taunt
move 2: Dragon Dance
move 3: Waterfall
move 4: Bounce
ability: Intimidate
item: Leftovers
evs: 88 HP / 192 Atk / 4 Def / 224 Spe
nature: Adamant
Moves
========
This set takes a different approach from Gyarados's fully offensive sets. Ideally, Gyarados utilizes its great typing, natural bulk, and Intimidate to set up multiple Dragon Dances and then attempt to sweep. Taunt and Substitute are the two possible moves of choice to help Gyarados set up Dragon Dances or sweep easier. Taunt does an excellent job of shutting down recovery and stopping moves such as Will-O-Wisp, Thunder Wave, and Toxic from hampering Gyarados's sweep, while also preventing Roar and Whirlwind from forcing Gyarados out. Specifically, Taunt is great for threats such as Skarmory and Gliscor, as they are often dependent on support moves such as Whirlwind and Roost. Substitute helps by preventing status from hampering Gyarados, blocking weak attacks to ease setting up Dragon Dance, obtaining extra recovery from Leftovers, and preventing Gyarados from being easy to revenge kill. Waterfall is Gyarados's obligatory Water-type STAB move, and Bounce is its best option for a secondary attack. Bounce allows Gyarados to take out some of its biggest counters—Mega Venusaur, Amoonguss, and Chesnaught—while the charge-up turn allows Gyarados to recover HP with Leftovers and protect its Substitute. Taunt and Bounce are great together because Taunt completely shuts down the opponent's attempts at blocking Bounce with Substitute or Protect. Although Bounce is superior most of the time, Stone Edge is an option to beat opposing Gyarados, Kyurem-B, and Rotom-W more easily.
Set Details
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The given Speed EVs allow Gyarados to outspeed Timid Noivern after a Dragon Dance. The HP and Defense EVs allow Gyarados to take a burned Ferrothorn's Power Whip from behind a Substitute, leaving the Substitute intact. They also prevent many Water-types, such as Slowbro without a Psychic-type move, from breaking Gyarados's Substitute in one hit. The remaining EVs are placed into Attack to make Gyarados's attacks hit reasonably hard after a single Dragon Dance. After Stealth Rock damage, a +1 Bounce can OHKO Calm Mega Venusaur and max HP Conkeldurr. With that said, Gyarados can opt to go slower in exchange for extra power. After a Dragon Dance, an investment of 176 Speed EVs guarantees that Gyarados will outspeed Raikou and Starmie. Leftovers further augments Gyarados's bulk, though Lum Berry is usable to allow Gyarados to switch in easier and to bluff Gyaradosite.
Usage Tips
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Bulky Dragon Dance Gyarados is a very flexible Pokemon due to its offensive and defensive prowess. The choice between Substitute and Taunt is crucial to Gyarados setting up Dragon Dance successfully. Using Taunt means running a few more risks with Dragon Tail, Scald, and Lava Plume; however, Substitute leaves Gyarados vulnerable to Roar, Whirlwind, and having Bounce blocked by Protect and Substitute. Gyarados can switch into a variety of offensive and defensive Pokemon and begin setting up. With Taunt, Gyarados can switch into an opposing Skarmory and Taunt it to prevent it from using Whirlwind and Roost. Thanks to Intimidate and Gyarados's defensive EV spread, Brave Bird can only manage a 5HKO while Skarmory takes recoil damage in the process, making a 2HKO from a boosted Waterfall easier. Substitute is great against Pokemon such as Gastrodon that rely on status to cripple their opponents, letting Gyarados continuously set up with Dragon Dance. Best of all, Substitute can make Gyarados more difficult to revenge kill.
Team Options
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This variant of Gyarados works exceptionally well on balanced teams that combine offensive and defensive Pokemon. Mega Venusaur is a great defensive Grass-type that can harass a lot of Gyarados's checks and counters with its great defenses and solid movepool. For example, it can use its STAB Sludge Bomb to hit Unaware Clefable, and its STAB Giga Drain eliminates Rotom-W. Hidden Power Fire further aids Gyarados by weakening or KOing Ferrothorn. Ferrothorn itself resists many moves Gyarados is weak to and can help Gyarados remain bulky with Leech Seed, ensure KOs with Stealth Rock, or slow opponents down with Thunder Wave. Water-types with Scald or Will-O-Wisp, such as Slowbro and Rotom-W, are great for luring in Ferrothorn to help Gyarados set up on it. Latias, Scizor, and Zapdos are great users of Defog, which helps Gyarados out tremendously as it is weak to Stealth Rock. Scizor and Zapdos can use their STAB U-turn and Volt Switch, respectively, to pivot out to Gyarados to help it set up. Latios is a more offensive alternative to Latias for a Defog user as it can KO or severely dent various Pokemon that Gyarados might struggle against, such as Mega Venusaur, Ferrothorn, and Skarmory. Thanks to Magnet Pull, Magnezone is a great way of completely removing Steel-type threats such as Skarmory and Ferrothorn. Excadrill is another Steel-type that has perfect defensive synergy with Gyarados. Finally, this variant of Gyarados appreciates Wish and Heal Bell support, as Gyarados is often needed to check dangerous threats such as Landorus and Keldeo. Sylveon and Clefable are great for sponging status and passing Wish around.
RestTalk
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name: RestTalk
move 1: Waterfall
move 2: Rest
move 3: Sleep Talk
move 4: Thunder Wave / Dragon Tail / Roar
ability: Intimidate
item: Leftovers
evs: 248 HP / 252 SpD / 8 Spe
nature: Careful
Moves
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Waterfall is the mandatory Water-type STAB move and helps Gyarados check threats such as Landorus, Heatran, and Charizard. With Rest and Sleep Talk, Gyarados can cure itself of status, keep itself healthy, and avoid being completely helpless while asleep. Thunder Wave allows Gyarados to cripple Speed-reliant Pokemon such as Keldeo and Greninja, while Dragon Tail deals minor damage and allows Gyarados to phaze. Alternatively, Roar can be used in order to phaze Fairy-types and Substitute users. Toxic is another interesting option that can catch many common switch-ins to Gyarados off-guard, including Mandibuzz, Kyurem-B, Azumarill, and Alomomola.
Set Details
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This set takes advantage of Intimidate and Gyarados's great typing and bulk, turning Gyarados into a defensive status absorber and utility counter. The given EVs and nature maximize Gyarados's special bulk, and Intimidate softens physical blows considerably. 8 Speed EVs allow Gyarados to outspeed Adamant Azumarill and Mawile. A physically defensive spread is also an option to allow Gyarados to check threats such as Mega Charizard X more effectively. Leftovers is necessary on this set to keep Gyarados healthy.
Usage Tips
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With the listed EV spread, Gyarados is a fantastic switch-in to specially based threats such as Landorus, Mega Charizard Y, Heatran, Keldeo, and Greninja. Thanks to Intimidate, it can also check several physically based threats, such as Scizor, Conkeldurr, and Mamoswine lacking Freeze-Dry. Gyarados should be switched in on one of these threats and proceed to spread status with Thunder Wave, shuffle the opponent's team around with Dragon Tail or Roar, or simply damage the opposing Pokemon with Waterfall. Usage of Rest and Sleep Talk is rather straightforward—Rest should be used to heal Gyarados and cleanse it of any status ailments, and Sleep Talk should be used while asleep. These two moves also allow Gyarados to switch into and absorb status moves.
Team Options
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Stealth Rock is a great way to punish the opposing Pokemon when shuffling them around with Dragon Tail or Roar. Ferrothorn is a good teammate, as it can lay down Stealth Rock or Spikes to help Gyarados with phazing, spread paralysis to completely cripple offensive threats, and use Leech Seed to help Gyarados passively recover HP against some targets. As Dragon Tail can be a liability against Fairy-types, Excadrill can be used to KO them with its STAB Iron Head, and it can also remove entry hazards with Rapid Spin. Mega Venusaur is also a great teammate, and Gyarados's Intimidate can temporarily improve its physical bulk, potentially allowing it to switch in and get off a Synthesis or Mega Evolve freely. Using another Pokemon with Intimidate such as Landorus-T or Krookodile can be great to scare off physically inclined threats or make their attacks significantly weaker than usual.
Offensive Dragon Dance
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name: Offensive Dragon Dance
move 1: Dragon Dance
move 2: Waterfall / Aqua Tail
move 3: Bounce
move 4: Stone Edge
ability: Moxie / Intimidate
item: Lum Berry / Life Orb
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Moves
========
This Gyarados set trades any attempt at being bulky for pure offensive might. Waterfall is Gyarados's primary STAB move, though Aqua Tail is a stronger yet slightly inaccurate alternative. With Stealth Rock up, a +1 Life Orb-boosted Aqua Tail can OHKO Mega Mawile, max HP Scizor, and Mega Charizard X. Bounce is a secondary STAB move that allows Gyarados to defeat Mega Venusaur and Keldeo, as well as other Pokemon like Amoonguss. Stone Edge is used in the last slot to eliminate Zapdos, Dragonite, and Mandibuzz. Earthquake is also an option to deal more damage to grounded Electric-types, while Taunt can grant Gyarados more opportunities to set up.
Set Details
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An Adamant nature with maximum Attack and Speed investment is recommended on this set to help maximize Gyarados's sweeping potential. Intimidate is a viable ability to help Gyarados set up Dragon Dance; however, Moxie can allow Gyarados to sweep with fewer Dragon Dances and is thus the preferred ability. Lum Berry protects Gyarados from status such as burns and paralysis, while Life Orb is great for maximizing Gyarados's power and 2HKOing Skarmory with Waterfall after a Dragon Dance.
Usage Tips
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It is best to use Gyarados as either a late-game sweeper or a Pokemon that can create dents in the opponent's team mid-game. Thus, you want your opponent to save Pokemon as potential sacrifices for Gyarados to give it Attack boosts from Moxie. Though it might seem questionable to use Gyarados as a Pokemon that punches holes instead of sweeping through the opponent's team, other Pokemon such as Charizard can take advantage of weakened threats and sweep through the remaining Pokemon. This is partly because this Gyarados should not attempt to set up too many Dragon Dances. Instead, this set wants to take advantage of one or two boosts and then utilize Moxie for any remaining attacking power that Gyarados might need. If a Lum Berry is used, it can help Gyarados obtain multiple Dragon Dances or safely 2HKO potential checks that rely on status to stop it.
Team Options
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This variant of Gyarados appreciates powerful Pokemon that can pierce through teams and weaken them significantly to help Gyarados finish them off. Kyurem-B is a great example of this, as it can handle Rotom-W with Substitute and Earth Power, Skarmory and bulky Water-types with Fusion Bolt, and Mega Venusaur with Ice Beam. As this Gyarados doesn't use Gyaradosite, various Mega Evolutions can help punch holes in the opponent's team. For example, Mega Charizard X can use Flare Blitz to break through Skarmory and Ferrothorn while heavily damaging bulky Water-types such as Rotom-W with Dragon Claw. Entry hazard removal is very vital. Excadrill and Starmie can spin away entry hazards, while Latias, Scizor, and Zapdos are great Defog users. Latias can Defog for Gyarados while using its STAB Psyshock to harass Mega Venusaur. Zapdos can use STAB Thunderbolt or Volt Switch to tackle bulky Water-types. Scizor can use U-turn to help Gyarados switch in easier. Latios is a great offensive teammate for Gyarados as it can also utilize Defog to clear out Stealth Rock while punishing Mega Venusaur with Psyshock as well as Skarmory and Ferrothorn with Hidden Power Fire.
Other Options
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Choice Band and Choice Scarf can be used on Gyarados with Moxie as its ability. While having an immediate boost to power or Speed and using Moxie to help boost Gyarados's Attack might seem appealing, these items restrict Gyarados to one attack, and Waterfall isn't powerful enough outside of rain to be used as a standalone attack most of the time. Wacan Berry can be used on the non-Mega offensive set to allow Gyarados to survive an Electric-type attack, but it is far more situational than Lum Berry or Life Orb. Though it requires a Lonely or Naughty nature, Fire Blast is Gyarados's fastest way of eliminating Ferrothorn and 2HKOing Skarmory. A Jolly nature can be used on the offensive sets in order to let Gyarados outspeed Mega Manectric after a boost, but Gyarados needs all the power it can get.
Checks & Counters
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**Bulky Grass-types**: Without Bounce or Ice Fang, Gyarados is prone to Grass-types hampering its sweep. Ferrothorn, Gourgeist-S, Mega Venusaur, Amoonguss, and Chesnaught are the best examples as all of these Pokemon have methods of crippling Gyarados or stopping its sweep. Ferrothorn is arguably the best counter to Gyarados thanks to its great typing and Power Whip, access to Stealth Rock, and ability to cripple Gyarados with Leech Seed or Thunder Wave. Ferrothorn's ability also is a major nuisance to Gyarados, as Waterfall, Bounce, Bite, and Ice Fang are all contact moves. With Substitute, Gourgeist-S can stall out Bounce while using Leech Seed, Will-O-Wisp, and STAB Seed Bomb to harass Gyarados. Mega Venusaur, Amoonguss, and Chesnaught are more prone to Bounce, though. With STAB Giga Drain, Mega Venusaur and Amoonguss can completely stop Gyarados's sweep while recovering their own health. Amoonguss can also remove any boosts Gyarados has obtained by using Clear Smog. Chesnaught can use Leech Seed and Spiky Shield to harass Gyarados or simply attack Gyarados with its STAB Wood Hammer.
**Bulky Water-types**: Rotom-W is a great check to regular Gyarados thanks to its access to STAB Volt Switch and Will-O-Wisp to cripple Gyarados. Slowbro theatens Gyarados with Thunder Wave, Toxic, or a burn from Scald. Unaware Quagsire can threaten regular Gyarados as it ignores all of its stat boosts.
**Electric-types**: Thundurus gets a special mention as a check to Gyarados because it can use its Prankster Thunder Wave to shut down any Dragon Dance set, provided Gyarados isn't behind a Substitute. It also packs a strong Thunderbolt that easily OHKOes regular Gyarados and does a lot of damage to Mega Gyarados. Mega Manectric outspeeds Adamant Gyarados even after a boost, lowers its Attack with Intimidate, and inflicts heavy damage with an Electric-type move. Zapdos and Raikou are also acceptable checks to Gyarados. While not an Electric-type, Kyurem-B resists Waterfall and defeats Gyarados with Fusion Bolt.
**Physical Walls**: Physical walls such as Mandibuzz, Skarmory, and Mega Aggron can give Gyarados a lot of trouble. Mandibuzz can beat any Gyarados without Stone Edge by using Toxic or Foul Play; a +1 Foul Play will OHKO regular Gyarados. Bulkier variants can be phazed out with Whirlwind, and without Stealth Rock support, Mega Gyarados will fail to 2HKO Mandibuzz with Waterfall. Skarmory is only 2HKOed by a +1 Mega Gyarados's Aqua Tail or a +1 Life Orb Gyarados's Waterfall. While Skarmory loses to Taunt sets, it is capable of setting up Stealth Rock to limit Gyarados's opportunities to switch in, using Roost to heal itself, or using Whirlwind to phaze Gyarados out. It can also simply attack Gyarados with Brave Bird or cripple it with Toxic. Mega Aggron can shrug off a boosted Earthquake from regular Gyarados thanks to Filter and set up Curse in front of it. Be wary of a Mold Breaker Earthquake from Mega Gyarados, as at +1, Earthquake 2HKOes Mega Aggron. Mega Aggron can also carry Thunder Wave or phaze Gyarados out with Roar or Dragon Tail. Umbreon can withstand a +1 Waterfall from regular Gyarados and OHKO back with STAB Foul Play. It can also use Roar to phaze Gyarados out, cripple it with Toxic, or use Taunt to prevent Gyarados from setting up further. Clefable is a good answer as it can use Unaware to ignore regular Gyarados's boosts while 3HKOing most Gyarados with a STAB Moonblast. Clefable can also Encore Gyarados as it uses Dragon Dance or Substitute and proceed to cripple it with status or provide a free switch-in for a teammate.
**Choice Scarf Users**: Garchomp and Landorus-T can threaten regular Gyarados with Stone Edge, and both have access to STAB Earthquake to hit Mega Gyarados. Rotom-W can outspeed +1 Gyarados and shut it down with a STAB Volt Switch. Terrakion and Keldeo both outspeed +1 Gyarados and can OHKO it with Stone Edge and Hidden Power Electric, respectively.
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