Sword Dancing Zoroark UU

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Ashaebi

Ashaebi

Swords Dance
Item:
life-orb.png
Life Orb
Ability: Illusion
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Naive/Jolly Nature

Move 1: Swords Dance
Move 2: Sucker Punch
Move 3: Low Kick/Flamethrower
Move 4: Pursuit/U-Turn/Punishment

Besides Nasty Plot, Zoroark also has means to attack physically due to it's access to swords dance as well as a respectable 105 base attack and also has the potential to catch opponents off guard when disguised as another pokemon in your party that does not usually attack physically. Sucker punch is Zoroark's main STAB attack as with a solid 80 base power along with a +1 priority to hit foes that normally outspeed. Depending on the coverage your team needs, Zoroark can either utilize Low Kick or Flamethrower as a coverage move as the former can have a 12.5% chance to OHKO Krookodile at +1 after Swords Dance and intimidate while stealth rock is on the field, downright ohko non-sashed Bisharp and do signifficant damage to Houndoom, Empoleon, Rhyperior, Scrafty before it has setup Dragon Dance and Snorlax while the latter can be used to attack Feroseed, Escavalier and Durant due to their 4x weakness to fire as well as to wear down Tangrowth. As for the last move, Zoroark has a handful of options. Pursuit can be used to trap Chandelure, Mew and Mismagius while U-Turn is capable of gaining momentum assuming Zoroark is capable of forcing an opponent to switch out. Otherwise Zoroark has access to Punishment which is effectively 100 base power after a Swords Dance. Paired this up with a respectable 105 base speed Zoroark is capable of sweeping opponents with a high STAB move after Swords Dance while at the same time has access to a priority STAB move to attack foes that outspeed it.
 
Hi. I felt bad when I saw that this analysis didn't get any feedback yet, especially since it's pretty well done so far.

Outside of the ability to deal high damage with Sucker Punch, the main appeal of such a set in my opinion is to lure common answers to the likes of Heracross, Mienshao, Cobalion or Virizion even more easily. Luring things like Cofagrigus or Slowbro is one of the main purpose of Zoroark in general, but your opponent might be careful when seeing Zoroark's sprite on the opposite team. However, when seeing a Fighting-type using SD, they might let their guard down because SD Zoro is simply not extremely common and it would be very dangerous to leave something like SD Hera without bringing a solid answer or RK to it. Not sure how many of this should go on the analysis but I think you need to mention some partners.

I'm not sure if Flamethrower is worth slashing because none of its target are very common in my experience, except maybe Bronzong if you don't want to risk 50/50 with Sucker Punch.

You said that Punshiment has a 100 base Power after one SD but:
+2 252 Atk Life Orb Zoroark Punishment (60 BP) vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Cofagrigus: 242-289 (75.8 - 90.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
+2 252 Atk Life Orb Zoroark Night Slash vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Cofagrigus: 283-338 (88.7 - 105.9%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO after Leftovers recovery Punshimnent only works better when you're facing a boosting foe, otherwise Night Slash works better. Speaking of this, I think that this move should be first slashed in the 4th slot, since it woulkd be pretty sad to be unable to touch Slowbro, Cresselia and defensive Cofagrigus and getting statued. Pursuit can be useful but since Zoro already aims to attract and kill Psychic and Ghost types while being disguised, it might be unnecessary.

Finally, you mentionned Chandelure but it's currently banned from BW UU.

Once again, solid work.
 
Jellicent said:
Tagging BW UU Cup semi-finalists for some input on this set: Accelgor, Alfredo_Rivero, Finchinator, YABO. There's no formal QC team for BW UU, but I figured you guys might either be interested in helping with this one or know who would be. Thanks to anyone that does weigh in!
Click to expand...


Zoroark @ Life Orb
Ability: Illusion
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Sucker Punch
- Night Slash
- Low Kick

This is the only set to use, in my opinion, when considering Swords Dance Zoroark. I don't think Flamethrower, Pursuit, U-turn, or Punishment are meritable options and seem to be adding to the inconsistency Zoroark already deals with when using this set. I'm of the same opinion as Wenderz in regards to these moves, as they either offer some very niche possibilities or are generally less effective as compared to any one of Zoroark's more intuitive options. Night Slash is the most consistent physical STAB option available and deals consistent damage to bulky foes, 2HKOing or OHKOing Pokemon like Swampert and Zapdos, respectively, after a +2 Attack boost with entry hazard(s) support. Low Kick is a must on this set, as it complements Zoroark's Dark-type STABs and offers some great Dark- and Fighting-type coverage. With some chip damage and a +2 Attack boost under its belt, it can 2HKO defensive behemoths like Umbreon, Porygon2, and Rhyperior while threatening to OHKO others such as Snorlax, Empoleon, and Registeel. This Zoroark set is probably one not worth using when considering the other sets it can utilize to fruition, but if you do choose to roll with it, then Zoroark's decent Dark / Fighting coverage is a must-use option to get the most out of it.
 
Agree with Accel, the only other thing id note would be adding sash as an option since +2 low kick kills the only real offensive switch being Cobalion. The power is for sure missed but it's tough to find one shots even with the boost so partnered with good hazard pressure and patient play, sash can be more consistent.

in my experience, its really not that great of a set regardless though.
 
Accelgor said:
This Zoroark set is probably one not worth using when considering the other sets it can utilize to fruition
Click to expand...
YABO said:
in my experience, its really not that great of a set regardless though.
Click to expand...
This sounds like the set isn't really that good. The OO currently says, "Zoroark does have the Attack stat to use a Swords Dance set, but it does not have the physical movepool to pull off an effective one." Granted, it's pretty old (still mentions Chandelure, which was banned over 4 years ago), so I wasn't sure if that was still considered the case.

Should this set be added to the analysis?
 
Jellicent said:
This sounds like the set isn't really that good. The OO currently says, "Zoroark does have the Attack stat to use a Swords Dance set, but it does not have the physical movepool to pull off an effective one." Granted, it's pretty old (still mentions Chandelure, which was banned over 4 years ago), so I wasn't sure if that was still considered the case.

Should this set be added to the analysis?
Click to expand...

I'd prefer for it not to be added as an exclusive set. It's an updated OO mention at best imo since it requires a ton of support to work and is generally a worse Weavile.
 
Swords Dance (first edit)

Zoroark @ Life Orb/Focus Sash
Ability: Illusion
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Sucker Punch
- Low Kick
- Night Slash/Counter

With a respectable 105 base attack along with a respectable 105 speed and access to swords dance, Zoroark also possess an alternative means to apply offensive pressure to opponents especially when disguised as another pokemon in your party that does not normally attack physically. With an 80bp and a +1 priority attack, Sucker Punch is a dependable STAB move for Zoroark to deal damage and hit foes first that normally outspeed it. Low Kick is a great coverage move to deal significant damage to Krookodile at +1 which can have a 12.5% chance to OHKO while Stealth rock is up. After 1 Swords dance, Zoroark threatens to 2HKO many defensive walls including Umbreon, Porygon2 and Rhyperior if prior chip damage has been taken while downright OHKOing non-sashed Bisharp, Houndoom, Empoleon, Scrafty and Snorlax. Night Slash provides an alternative consistent STAB attack for Zoroark to break defensive walls including Cresselia, defensive Cofagrigus and Slowbro especially if the opponent decides to use a status move instead of an attacking move. Items that can be utilized here can either be Life Orb or Focus Sash. Life Orb provides the maximum damage output Zoroark can dish out while Focus Sash can buy Zoroark an extra turn to take damage and dish out damage back but in exchange for a slight reduction in power. If Focus Sash is utilized, an alternative to Night Slash can be counter as this allows Zoroark to sponge a physical attack and return damage back to the opponent.


I've made my first edit using the inputs as suggested from you peeps! Hope I can get some feedback from here! I added counter because counter + focus sash is always a gimmick that can be useful.
 
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BTW just one thing I wanna add a team option for gen 5. The gen 6 analysis had options on what good team options and synergies can allow a team to utilize Zoroark to its full potential but we don't seem to have this for the gen 5 analysis. I wish I can work on that if someone needs to.
 
This looks like it never really took off and hasn't been touched for over a year, therefore it's quite outdated. Going to lock this but please contact me if you still have further interest in completing this and we can work it out.
 
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