Nasty Plot
name: Hydreigon
move 1: Nasty Plot
move 2: Substitute / Dark Pulse
move 3: Draco Meteor
move 4: Flash Cannon / Earth Power / Taunt
item: Leftovers
tera type: Steel / Poison
ability: Levitate
nature: Timid
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
ivs: 0 Atk
[SET COMMENTS]
Paragraph 1 (DONE)
- the role that the Pokemon plays;
- coverage moves that affect its role, there's no need to explain simple STAB moves unless they're slashed;
- a description of the EV spread in one sentence or less; don't focus on "default" things like maximum Attack investment, do give reasoning behind the benchmarks chosen;
- an explanation of Tera types used and why they're beneficial.
Serviceable bulk, a good typing, and an excellent ability allow Hydreigon to function as a niche wallbreaker that can pressure passive Pokemon such as Galarian Slowking, Zapdos, Araquanid, Skeledirge, and Alomomola. Hydeigon’s main appeal is it’s crucial immunity to Ground type attacks, allowing it to easily switch in on defensive Gliscor, Ting-Lu, and lead Glimmora to use as setup fodder, in addition to being one of the few offensive Pokemon with an immunity to Spikes. Draco Meteor is the preferred STAB option, maintaining OKOs on Raging Bolt and Walking Wake while unboosted, and its Special Attack drop can be bypassed with Nasty Plot; Dragon Pulse can be used instead for more consistent power at the cost of missing out on these benchmarks. Substitute allows Hydreigon to have a safety net against status and super-effective attacks, which facilitates its wallbreaking; Leftovers are essential for Hydreigon to be able to make more substitutes over the course of a game. Dark Pulse can be opted for instead in order to hit the numerous Ghost types of the tier and provide a spammable STAB option against Steel types. The last slot is customizable based on team structure; Flash Cannon provides coverage against threatening Fairy types, while Earth Power hits Steel types that would otherwise wall it; both options take care of offensive Glimmora and Garganacl, which can prove problematic. Hydreigon also has a versatile utility movepool that can allow it to disrupt defensive teams at the cost of a coverage option. Taunt shuts down status, recovery, and setup from incoming defensive Gliscor and Clodsire, which could otherwise stall out Hydreigon with Toxic. Stealth Rock can also be used on teams lacking a dedicated Stealth Rock setter, with Hydreigon finding ample opportunities to set hazards from the switches that it often forces. Tera Steel is the go-to choice, with an already excellent defensive typing bolstered further by Levitate, and flipping matchups on Enamorus and Great Tusk lacking Fighting coverage, as well as Clefable and the numerous Dragon types of the tier; this also gives Hydreigon a roll overwhelmingly in its favor to 2KO Leftovers Garganacl with Flash Cannon and stonewalls Landorus-Therian. However, Tera Poison can be opted for instead in order to beat Zamazenta, Iron Valiant, Corviknight, and Darkrai running Focus Blast, while still maintaining a good matchup against Enamorus and Great Tusk; this comes at the cost of becoming vulnerable to Psychic type attacks.
Paragraph 2 (DONE)
- a brief example of teammates that benefit from the analysed Pokemon's presence;
- a brief example of foes that the analysed Pokemon is vulnerable to + teammates to help cover them.
Hydreigon fits best on offense, hyper offense, and bulky offense teams as a wallbreaker and situational sweeper. Hydreigon is particularly vulnerable to faster Pokemon; without Terastalizing, Dragon types such as Walking Wake, Roaring Moon, Dragapult, and Latios, in addition to the aforementioned Fairy types, can easily OKO Hydreigon with no way for it to damage them back; ironically, speed control options such as these are very helpful for dealing with such matchups. Priority options such as Kingambit, Scizor, and Raging Bolt are also good choices to compensate for Hydreigon's middling Speed, with the former two taking on special walls such as Blissey and Galarian Slowking, while the latter is similar to Hydreigon as a somewhat bulky special sweeper that can help to overload shared checks and most importantly switch into threatening Fairy type attacks in a pinch to then threaten the opponent out with Thunderclap. Primarina in particular is a death sentence for Hydreigon, comfortably taking even boosted attacks. Iron Treads and Corviknight are great partners; while Hydreigon doesn't have to worry about Spikes, it dislikes repeatedly coming in on Stealth Rock, which these Pokemon can remove, in addition to providing defensive utility against the Fairy types that give Hydreigon trouble. Great Tusk is another option for hazard removal as well as to take on threatening physical attackers such as Meowscarada, Dragonite, Zamazenta, Weavile, and Low Kick Kingambit that Hydreigon struggles with. Both Great Tusk and Iron Treads can also set Stealth Rock, which helps to put Hydreigon's foes into KO range. Knock Off absorbers on bulkier teams such as Gliscor and Zamazenta can help to keep Hydreigon's Leftovers intact, while on more offensive teams, staple Dark types such as Kingambit, Roaring Moon, Weavile, and Darkrai can work together to overload shared checks; meanwhile, spikers such as Hisuian Samurott, Deoxys-S, and Glimmora can serve as reliable leads that also exert some offensive pressure. Hydreigon also pairs well with Ground-vulnerable Pokemon such as Iron Moth and Glimmora, as well as Iron Treads, Iron Crown, and Iron Head Kingambit, with the former switching into would-be KOs and finding setup opportunities while the latter choices can soak up attacks from and force out threatening Fairy types. Lastly, slow pivots such as Galarian Slowking and Pecharunt are also good teammates on any form of offense, walling the Fairy types that give Hydreigon trouble and providing the entry point that Hydreigon has difficulty achieving.
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/seraphyde.676840/
Quality Checked by:
No one.
Grammar Checked by:
No one.
name: Hydreigon
move 1: Nasty Plot
move 2: Substitute / Dark Pulse
move 3: Draco Meteor
move 4: Flash Cannon / Earth Power / Taunt
item: Leftovers
tera type: Steel / Poison
ability: Levitate
nature: Timid
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
ivs: 0 Atk
[SET COMMENTS]
Paragraph 1 (DONE)
- the role that the Pokemon plays;
- coverage moves that affect its role, there's no need to explain simple STAB moves unless they're slashed;
- a description of the EV spread in one sentence or less; don't focus on "default" things like maximum Attack investment, do give reasoning behind the benchmarks chosen;
- an explanation of Tera types used and why they're beneficial.
Serviceable bulk, a good typing, and an excellent ability allow Hydreigon to function as a niche wallbreaker that can pressure passive Pokemon such as Galarian Slowking, Zapdos, Araquanid, Skeledirge, and Alomomola. Hydeigon’s main appeal is it’s crucial immunity to Ground type attacks, allowing it to easily switch in on defensive Gliscor, Ting-Lu, and lead Glimmora to use as setup fodder, in addition to being one of the few offensive Pokemon with an immunity to Spikes. Draco Meteor is the preferred STAB option, maintaining OKOs on Raging Bolt and Walking Wake while unboosted, and its Special Attack drop can be bypassed with Nasty Plot; Dragon Pulse can be used instead for more consistent power at the cost of missing out on these benchmarks. Substitute allows Hydreigon to have a safety net against status and super-effective attacks, which facilitates its wallbreaking; Leftovers are essential for Hydreigon to be able to make more substitutes over the course of a game. Dark Pulse can be opted for instead in order to hit the numerous Ghost types of the tier and provide a spammable STAB option against Steel types. The last slot is customizable based on team structure; Flash Cannon provides coverage against threatening Fairy types, while Earth Power hits Steel types that would otherwise wall it; both options take care of offensive Glimmora and Garganacl, which can prove problematic. Hydreigon also has a versatile utility movepool that can allow it to disrupt defensive teams at the cost of a coverage option. Taunt shuts down status, recovery, and setup from incoming defensive Gliscor and Clodsire, which could otherwise stall out Hydreigon with Toxic. Stealth Rock can also be used on teams lacking a dedicated Stealth Rock setter, with Hydreigon finding ample opportunities to set hazards from the switches that it often forces. Tera Steel is the go-to choice, with an already excellent defensive typing bolstered further by Levitate, and flipping matchups on Enamorus and Great Tusk lacking Fighting coverage, as well as Clefable and the numerous Dragon types of the tier; this also gives Hydreigon a roll overwhelmingly in its favor to 2KO Leftovers Garganacl with Flash Cannon and stonewalls Landorus-Therian. However, Tera Poison can be opted for instead in order to beat Zamazenta, Iron Valiant, Corviknight, and Darkrai running Focus Blast, while still maintaining a good matchup against Enamorus and Great Tusk; this comes at the cost of becoming vulnerable to Psychic type attacks.
Paragraph 2 (DONE)
- a brief example of teammates that benefit from the analysed Pokemon's presence;
- a brief example of foes that the analysed Pokemon is vulnerable to + teammates to help cover them.
Hydreigon fits best on offense, hyper offense, and bulky offense teams as a wallbreaker and situational sweeper. Hydreigon is particularly vulnerable to faster Pokemon; without Terastalizing, Dragon types such as Walking Wake, Roaring Moon, Dragapult, and Latios, in addition to the aforementioned Fairy types, can easily OKO Hydreigon with no way for it to damage them back; ironically, speed control options such as these are very helpful for dealing with such matchups. Priority options such as Kingambit, Scizor, and Raging Bolt are also good choices to compensate for Hydreigon's middling Speed, with the former two taking on special walls such as Blissey and Galarian Slowking, while the latter is similar to Hydreigon as a somewhat bulky special sweeper that can help to overload shared checks and most importantly switch into threatening Fairy type attacks in a pinch to then threaten the opponent out with Thunderclap. Primarina in particular is a death sentence for Hydreigon, comfortably taking even boosted attacks. Iron Treads and Corviknight are great partners; while Hydreigon doesn't have to worry about Spikes, it dislikes repeatedly coming in on Stealth Rock, which these Pokemon can remove, in addition to providing defensive utility against the Fairy types that give Hydreigon trouble. Great Tusk is another option for hazard removal as well as to take on threatening physical attackers such as Meowscarada, Dragonite, Zamazenta, Weavile, and Low Kick Kingambit that Hydreigon struggles with. Both Great Tusk and Iron Treads can also set Stealth Rock, which helps to put Hydreigon's foes into KO range. Knock Off absorbers on bulkier teams such as Gliscor and Zamazenta can help to keep Hydreigon's Leftovers intact, while on more offensive teams, staple Dark types such as Kingambit, Roaring Moon, Weavile, and Darkrai can work together to overload shared checks; meanwhile, spikers such as Hisuian Samurott, Deoxys-S, and Glimmora can serve as reliable leads that also exert some offensive pressure. Hydreigon also pairs well with Ground-vulnerable Pokemon such as Iron Moth and Glimmora, as well as Iron Treads, Iron Crown, and Iron Head Kingambit, with the former switching into would-be KOs and finding setup opportunities while the latter choices can soak up attacks from and force out threatening Fairy types. Lastly, slow pivots such as Galarian Slowking and Pecharunt are also good teammates on any form of offense, walling the Fairy types that give Hydreigon trouble and providing the entry point that Hydreigon has difficulty achieving.
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/seraphyde.676840/
Quality Checked by:
No one.
Grammar Checked by:
No one.
Last edited:
