Zygarde
Zygarde has the potential to become one of the physically bulkiest Pokemon in 1v1, Zygarde-C, thanks to Power Construct. Because of that, it is able to soak up many attacks from various physical attacking Pokemon such as Mega Charizard X and non-Taunt Mega Gyarados and some special attacking Pokemon like Primarina. The combination of Zygarde's great utility moves like Coil, Rest, and Substitute, alongside access to a priority move in Extreme Speed, lets it beat various styles of Pokemon, from Taunt-less stall like Jumpluff to hyper offense like Choice Scarf Haxorus. Power Construct also gives it free health after falling below 50% of its actual HP. However, because of Zygarde's 4x weakness to Ice-type attacks, you will have to look out for Pokemon that run Ice-type coverage like Greninja. Special attacking Pokemon or strong Dragon-types like bulky Hoopa-U, Tapu Lele, Kommo-o, and Dragonite can also be a problem for Zygarde. Pokemon with Taunt like Mega Sableye and Tapu Fini or unexpected moves that can catch it off guard like Belly Drum can be very deadly, as before turning into Zygarde-C, Zygarde is relatively vulnerable to special attacks and has mediocre physical bulk. To play around Power Construct, foes can first attack Zygarde with a weaker attack to avoid activating it and get Zygarde in KO range of their Z-Move or recharge move, like Hyper Beam or Giga Impact.
[SET]
name: Physically Defensive
move 1: Thousand Arrows
move 2: Coil
move 3: Extreme Speed
move 4: Rest / Substitute
item: Groundium Z
ability: Power Construct
nature: Impish
evs: 248 HP / 12 Atk / 248 Def
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Thousand Arrows is Zygarde's most useful STAB move, smacking down Flying-types and allowing Tectonic Rage to hit foes such as Landorus-T, Mega Charizard Y, and Mega Charizard X even prior to its Mega Evolution. Coil is helpful in matchups in which Zygarde needs to boost its Attack to hit harder agaisnt stall Pokemon for example or its Defense to take even more attacks from Pokemon like Mega Charizard X, Choice Scarf Landorus-T, and Donphan. Extreme Speed helps a slow Pokemon like Zygarde win against Pokemon like Carracosta and Dragon Dance Mega Charizard X. Rest and Substitute can both be used to help against status moves. Rest helps Zygarde with various stall matchups, like Jumpluff and opposing Zygarde, while Substitute helps Zygarde with status moves like Yawn and Leech Seed.
Set Details
========
The significant HP and Defense investment with an Impish nature lets Zygarde withstand Outrage from Jolly Mega Charizard X. Groundium Z turns Thousand Arrows into Tectonic Rage so that Zygarde can quickly KO foes. The 12 Attack EVs are useful against bulky Pokemon like Mega Charizard X. Its ability, Power Construct, lets Zygarde transform into its bulkier forme, Zygarde-C, doubling its base HP stat.
Usage Tips
========
In most games, Coil should be the first move you use, if you are not able to eliminate to foe with Tectonic Rage immediately. It is ideal to set up Coil first against Pokemon like Choice Scarf Landorus-T, Donphan, and Primarina lacking Substitute. However, sometimes it's worth using Tectonic Rage right off the bat against Pokemon like Magearna, Carracosta, and Registeel lacking Counter. Substitute is preferred to be used as soon as possible if you are playing against a Pokemon that is typically slower than Zygarde and tends to use a Z-Move, as well as against Pokemon that use status moves or attacks like Mirror Coat, Counter, and Metal Burst such as Registeel without Iron Defense, Mega Audino, Magnet Rise Aegislash, and Ferrothorn. If you are using Rest against stall Pokemon to PP stall them, you want to use Rest as much as possible to get the maximum PP advantage. However, if you want to do that, you risk getting critically hit. Rest is preferred against Pokemon like Jumpluff, Mega Slowbro, Registeel, and Mega Gyarados lacking Taunt. When you use Coil and Rest in an attempt to stall the opposing Pokemon, you have to stay out of the foe's critical hit range. The most important matchup, against Mega Charizard X, can be won by using Coil first and using Thousand Arrows + Tectonic Rage if they didn't use Dragon Dance first turn and did not Mega Evolve. If it Mega Evolved on the first turn, you can OHKO it with Tectonic Rage. If they used Dragon Dance, use Coil twice, and use Thousand Arrows if they didn't Mega Evolve or finish them with Tectonic Rage if they did. After two Coils and Thousand Arrows, Extreme Speed is able to OHKO or 2HKO, depending on how bulky the opposing Charizard is.
Team Options
========
Zygarde appreciates partners that beat Pokemon with Ice-type coverage. Consider strong Fire-types like Mega Charizard X and Y as teammates, because Zygarde covers their Rock-type weakness and wins against Pokemon like Crustle. In return, Charizard is covering Zygarde's 4x Ice-type weakness by beating Pokemon like Greninja and Genesect. To further support Zygarde, you need something to cover its Dragon- and Fairy-type weaknesses. A strong special attacking Fairy-, Steel-, or Poison-type would be the best choice, since Zygarde is attacking physically. Pokemon like Magearna and Mega Gardevoir are good choices because they are able to beat some big threats to Zygarde like Naganadel, Mega Aggron, and opposing Mega Gardevoir. In exchange, Zygarde covers their Poison- and Fire-type weaknesses, winning against Pokemon like Mega Venusaur and Mega Charizard X and Y. Strong special attackers such as Porygon-Z and Mega Gardevoir can also be a problem for Zygarde, so a special wall like Type: Null can help cover that weakness. In return, Zygarde wins against most of the heavy-hitting attackers that are a problem for Type: Null like Taunt Heatran, Swords Dance Mega Mawile, Taunt Mega Tyranitar, Mega Blaziken, Crustle, and Victini. Taunt users like Tapu Fini and Mega Gyarados can counter Zygarde, so you might want to consider a Pokemon with the ability Oblivious like Slowbro or your own Taunt user like Tapu Fini. Zygarde helps Slowbro and Tapu Fini by covering their Electric-type weakness, winning against Pokemon like Bolt Strike Victini and Zeraora. Zygarde overall has very shaky matchups against bulky Water-type Pokemon like Primarina and Tapu Fini. Grass-type Pokemon like Kartana are a good addition that help cover this weakness. In return, Zygarde covers Kartana's Fire-type weakness and is capable of beating Pokemon like Mega Charizard X and Y and Heatran.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other options
========
Zygarde can use an alternative spread of 16 HP / 96 Atk / 252 Def / 144 Spe with an Impish nature. This would risk losing the very important Mega Charizard X matchup but also has some upsides. It outspeeds maximum Speed neutral-natured Mega Gyarados and is able to OHKO bulky Tapu Fini. Outrage + Dragonium Z is an offensive change you can make, which helps beat some of the Dragon-types that beat Zygarde, such as Kommo-o if you are using the faster Zygarde spread and Choice Scarf Haxorus.
Checks and Counters
========
**Ice-type Attacks**: Zygarde is heavily threatened by Alolan Ninetales and Ice-type coverage used by Pokemon like Greninja, Choice Scarf Porygon-Z, Genesect, Pheromosa, Manaphy, Mega Swampert, Choice Specs Magnezone, and Mega Medicham, as it will most likely be OHKOed and cannot outspeed them due to its relatively low base Speed.
**Fairy-type Pokemon**: Zygarde gets beaten up by many Fairy-types like Mega Gardevoir, Tapu Lele, Tapu Fini, and Substitute Primarina, as it cannot hit them with a super effective attack and is not fast enough to outspeed them either.
**Dragon-type Pokemon**: Zygarde loses to many faster Dragon-type attackers like non-Choice Scarf Dragonite, Kommo-o, Naganadel, and Latios.
**Defensive Pokemon**: Despite Coil boosting Zygarde's Attack and Defense stats, Zygarde still gets completely walled by some of the prominent stall Pokemon in 1v1 because they often set up their Defense stat faster, have better Defense stats than Zygarde's Attack stat, or resist its attacks. As a result, Pokemon like Mega Slowbro, Mega Altaria, Clefable, and Type: Null all win against Zygarde.
**Swords Dance Users**: Coil only boosts Attack, Defense and Accuracy by one stage per use, so Pokemon with access to Swords Dance like Kartana, Tapu Bulu, and Mega Heracross are going to set up quicker and KO Zygarde.
**Taunt Users**: Although Zygarde most of the time wins against stall Pokemon lacking Taunt due to Rest, it struggles against Taunt users. Taunt prevents it from setting up and from using Rest or Substitute, so it loses against Pokemon like Deoxys-S, Mega Sableye, Kee Berry Mew, and Mega Gyarados.
**Strong Special Attackers**: Zygarde loses to most of the strongest special attacking Pokemon in 1v1, as well as Pokemon that can set up to be very strong using moves like Quiver Dance and Nasty Plot, such as Volcarona and Normalium Z Porygon-Z.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[187 Fan, 469839]]
- Quality checked by: [[Alakazam, 276708], [Osra, 239997], [pqs, 425798]]
- Grammar checked by: [[The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216], [Rabia, 336073]]
Zygarde has the potential to become one of the physically bulkiest Pokemon in 1v1, Zygarde-C, thanks to Power Construct. Because of that, it is able to soak up many attacks from various physical attacking Pokemon such as Mega Charizard X and non-Taunt Mega Gyarados and some special attacking Pokemon like Primarina. The combination of Zygarde's great utility moves like Coil, Rest, and Substitute, alongside access to a priority move in Extreme Speed, lets it beat various styles of Pokemon, from Taunt-less stall like Jumpluff to hyper offense like Choice Scarf Haxorus. Power Construct also gives it free health after falling below 50% of its actual HP. However, because of Zygarde's 4x weakness to Ice-type attacks, you will have to look out for Pokemon that run Ice-type coverage like Greninja. Special attacking Pokemon or strong Dragon-types like bulky Hoopa-U, Tapu Lele, Kommo-o, and Dragonite can also be a problem for Zygarde. Pokemon with Taunt like Mega Sableye and Tapu Fini or unexpected moves that can catch it off guard like Belly Drum can be very deadly, as before turning into Zygarde-C, Zygarde is relatively vulnerable to special attacks and has mediocre physical bulk. To play around Power Construct, foes can first attack Zygarde with a weaker attack to avoid activating it and get Zygarde in KO range of their Z-Move or recharge move, like Hyper Beam or Giga Impact.
[SET]
name: Physically Defensive
move 1: Thousand Arrows
move 2: Coil
move 3: Extreme Speed
move 4: Rest / Substitute
item: Groundium Z
ability: Power Construct
nature: Impish
evs: 248 HP / 12 Atk / 248 Def
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Thousand Arrows is Zygarde's most useful STAB move, smacking down Flying-types and allowing Tectonic Rage to hit foes such as Landorus-T, Mega Charizard Y, and Mega Charizard X even prior to its Mega Evolution. Coil is helpful in matchups in which Zygarde needs to boost its Attack to hit harder agaisnt stall Pokemon for example or its Defense to take even more attacks from Pokemon like Mega Charizard X, Choice Scarf Landorus-T, and Donphan. Extreme Speed helps a slow Pokemon like Zygarde win against Pokemon like Carracosta and Dragon Dance Mega Charizard X. Rest and Substitute can both be used to help against status moves. Rest helps Zygarde with various stall matchups, like Jumpluff and opposing Zygarde, while Substitute helps Zygarde with status moves like Yawn and Leech Seed.
Set Details
========
The significant HP and Defense investment with an Impish nature lets Zygarde withstand Outrage from Jolly Mega Charizard X. Groundium Z turns Thousand Arrows into Tectonic Rage so that Zygarde can quickly KO foes. The 12 Attack EVs are useful against bulky Pokemon like Mega Charizard X. Its ability, Power Construct, lets Zygarde transform into its bulkier forme, Zygarde-C, doubling its base HP stat.
Usage Tips
========
In most games, Coil should be the first move you use, if you are not able to eliminate to foe with Tectonic Rage immediately. It is ideal to set up Coil first against Pokemon like Choice Scarf Landorus-T, Donphan, and Primarina lacking Substitute. However, sometimes it's worth using Tectonic Rage right off the bat against Pokemon like Magearna, Carracosta, and Registeel lacking Counter. Substitute is preferred to be used as soon as possible if you are playing against a Pokemon that is typically slower than Zygarde and tends to use a Z-Move, as well as against Pokemon that use status moves or attacks like Mirror Coat, Counter, and Metal Burst such as Registeel without Iron Defense, Mega Audino, Magnet Rise Aegislash, and Ferrothorn. If you are using Rest against stall Pokemon to PP stall them, you want to use Rest as much as possible to get the maximum PP advantage. However, if you want to do that, you risk getting critically hit. Rest is preferred against Pokemon like Jumpluff, Mega Slowbro, Registeel, and Mega Gyarados lacking Taunt. When you use Coil and Rest in an attempt to stall the opposing Pokemon, you have to stay out of the foe's critical hit range. The most important matchup, against Mega Charizard X, can be won by using Coil first and using Thousand Arrows + Tectonic Rage if they didn't use Dragon Dance first turn and did not Mega Evolve. If it Mega Evolved on the first turn, you can OHKO it with Tectonic Rage. If they used Dragon Dance, use Coil twice, and use Thousand Arrows if they didn't Mega Evolve or finish them with Tectonic Rage if they did. After two Coils and Thousand Arrows, Extreme Speed is able to OHKO or 2HKO, depending on how bulky the opposing Charizard is.
Team Options
========
Zygarde appreciates partners that beat Pokemon with Ice-type coverage. Consider strong Fire-types like Mega Charizard X and Y as teammates, because Zygarde covers their Rock-type weakness and wins against Pokemon like Crustle. In return, Charizard is covering Zygarde's 4x Ice-type weakness by beating Pokemon like Greninja and Genesect. To further support Zygarde, you need something to cover its Dragon- and Fairy-type weaknesses. A strong special attacking Fairy-, Steel-, or Poison-type would be the best choice, since Zygarde is attacking physically. Pokemon like Magearna and Mega Gardevoir are good choices because they are able to beat some big threats to Zygarde like Naganadel, Mega Aggron, and opposing Mega Gardevoir. In exchange, Zygarde covers their Poison- and Fire-type weaknesses, winning against Pokemon like Mega Venusaur and Mega Charizard X and Y. Strong special attackers such as Porygon-Z and Mega Gardevoir can also be a problem for Zygarde, so a special wall like Type: Null can help cover that weakness. In return, Zygarde wins against most of the heavy-hitting attackers that are a problem for Type: Null like Taunt Heatran, Swords Dance Mega Mawile, Taunt Mega Tyranitar, Mega Blaziken, Crustle, and Victini. Taunt users like Tapu Fini and Mega Gyarados can counter Zygarde, so you might want to consider a Pokemon with the ability Oblivious like Slowbro or your own Taunt user like Tapu Fini. Zygarde helps Slowbro and Tapu Fini by covering their Electric-type weakness, winning against Pokemon like Bolt Strike Victini and Zeraora. Zygarde overall has very shaky matchups against bulky Water-type Pokemon like Primarina and Tapu Fini. Grass-type Pokemon like Kartana are a good addition that help cover this weakness. In return, Zygarde covers Kartana's Fire-type weakness and is capable of beating Pokemon like Mega Charizard X and Y and Heatran.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other options
========
Zygarde can use an alternative spread of 16 HP / 96 Atk / 252 Def / 144 Spe with an Impish nature. This would risk losing the very important Mega Charizard X matchup but also has some upsides. It outspeeds maximum Speed neutral-natured Mega Gyarados and is able to OHKO bulky Tapu Fini. Outrage + Dragonium Z is an offensive change you can make, which helps beat some of the Dragon-types that beat Zygarde, such as Kommo-o if you are using the faster Zygarde spread and Choice Scarf Haxorus.
Checks and Counters
========
**Ice-type Attacks**: Zygarde is heavily threatened by Alolan Ninetales and Ice-type coverage used by Pokemon like Greninja, Choice Scarf Porygon-Z, Genesect, Pheromosa, Manaphy, Mega Swampert, Choice Specs Magnezone, and Mega Medicham, as it will most likely be OHKOed and cannot outspeed them due to its relatively low base Speed.
**Fairy-type Pokemon**: Zygarde gets beaten up by many Fairy-types like Mega Gardevoir, Tapu Lele, Tapu Fini, and Substitute Primarina, as it cannot hit them with a super effective attack and is not fast enough to outspeed them either.
**Dragon-type Pokemon**: Zygarde loses to many faster Dragon-type attackers like non-Choice Scarf Dragonite, Kommo-o, Naganadel, and Latios.
**Defensive Pokemon**: Despite Coil boosting Zygarde's Attack and Defense stats, Zygarde still gets completely walled by some of the prominent stall Pokemon in 1v1 because they often set up their Defense stat faster, have better Defense stats than Zygarde's Attack stat, or resist its attacks. As a result, Pokemon like Mega Slowbro, Mega Altaria, Clefable, and Type: Null all win against Zygarde.
**Swords Dance Users**: Coil only boosts Attack, Defense and Accuracy by one stage per use, so Pokemon with access to Swords Dance like Kartana, Tapu Bulu, and Mega Heracross are going to set up quicker and KO Zygarde.
**Taunt Users**: Although Zygarde most of the time wins against stall Pokemon lacking Taunt due to Rest, it struggles against Taunt users. Taunt prevents it from setting up and from using Rest or Substitute, so it loses against Pokemon like Deoxys-S, Mega Sableye, Kee Berry Mew, and Mega Gyarados.
**Strong Special Attackers**: Zygarde loses to most of the strongest special attacking Pokemon in 1v1, as well as Pokemon that can set up to be very strong using moves like Quiver Dance and Nasty Plot, such as Volcarona and Normalium Z Porygon-Z.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[187 Fan, 469839]]
- Quality checked by: [[Alakazam, 276708], [Osra, 239997], [pqs, 425798]]
- Grammar checked by: [[The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216], [Rabia, 336073]]
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