Rayquaza [QC Ready 0/3]

[anttyaalt]

Thanks again to Blitzlefan for his great work on the skeleton ^^

Overview

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- Its base 150 Attack and base 150 Special Attack give it immediate power and make it an excellent mixed attacker
- Excellent boosting moves in Swords Dance and Dragon Dance, which augment its sweeping capabilities
- Handful of devastating moves in its arsenal, including Draco Meteor and V-Create, as well as access to powerful priority in the form of Extreme Speed, though some were nerfed in the shift to XY
- 105/90/90 defensive stats are fairly poor, and the lack of bulk is compounded by a weakness to Stealth Rock (it's immune to Spikes and Toxic Spikes though!), though this is manageable due to the Defog buff
- Average base 95 Speed means it can be revenged by a handful of Choice Scarf users even after a boost
- Outrage is no longer spammable, and can even make Rayquaza a liability at times due to Fairy-types
- Rise of bulky support Arceus with Will-O-Wisp hurts Rayquaza, and Xerneas makes Rayquaza sad
- Air Lock not longer as important due to weather nerf, and by extension, decrease in popularity of Excadrill, Omastar, Kabutops, and other weather-reliant sweepers, though prevents Steel-types from walling Rayquaza in rain


Swords Dance

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Name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Dragon Claw
move 3: Extreme Speed
move 4: V-Create
ability: Air Lock
item: Life Orb
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
nature: Adamant / Jolly

Moves

========

- Swords Dance brings Rayquaza’s attack to 798 with a Jolly nature and 876 with an Adamant one, giving it incredible wallbreaking prowess
- Dragon Claw is a reliable STAB move that deals heavy damage when boosted, though max HP Arceus avoids the OHKO even with Stealth Rock in place
- Extreme Speed is a solid utility move, as priority allows Rayquaza to dent faster Pokemon that can KO Rayquaza such as Palkia and Timid Kyurem-W and has a chance to KO frailer Pokemon such as Darkrai and Mewtwo at +2
- V-Create is Rayquaza's way of dealing with Steel-types such as Skarmory and Steel Arceus and neutral Arceus formes, and a boosted V-Create will take a hefty chunk out of Fairy-types that attempt to come in on Dragon Claw (V-Create is generally an acceptable move to throw out)
+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Rayquaza V-create vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Xerneas: 463-545 (101.5 - 119.5%)

Set Details

========

- Maximum Attack with an Adamant nature bestows upon Rayquaza excellent wallbreaking power, and maximum investment in Speed allows it to outrun slower walls, minimally invested / uninvested base 90s, etc.
- A Jolly nature can be run to speed tie with Kyurem forms and opposing Rayquaza, as well as outspeed max Speed base 90s but this comes at the cost of power
- Life Orb is used for the boost in power
- Earthquake can be run over V-Create, as the set is easily checked and phazed out by Heatran, but Rayquaza will sorely miss the power of V-Create
- Outrage can be run over Dragon Claw for the extra power, though Dragon Claw is usually enough, but will give Fairy-types a free turn if not used carefully

Usage Tips

========

- Stealth Rock support is almost mandatory to ensure KOs with Extreme Speed, as well as break the occasional Sturdy or Focus Sash
- This Rayquaza set focuses on acting as a wallbreaker, ripping through Chansey, Giratina, and other bulkier walls that the team may struggle against

Team Options

========

- Reliable entry hazard users are wonderful partners to Rayquaza, as Rayquaza can easily force switches and capitalize on residual damage to ensure KOs
- Rapid Spin support is very much appreciated, as poor bulk, Life Orb recoil, and residual damage from Stealth Rock will lead quickly to a KO'd Rayquaza
- Faster Fairy-types are excellent teammates, as they can deal with faster Dragon-types such as Palkia that Rayquaza fails against one-on-one
- Steel-types such as Aegislash and Steel Arceus are great teammates for Rayquaza, as they resist Ice-, Fairy-, and Dragon moves-, and a STAB move can heavily damage the Fairy-types that Rayquaza hates
- Pokemon such as Zekrom and Kyurem-W that can deal with Lugia are appreciated, as it can phaze Rayquaza out while not taking too much damage if Multiscale is intact
- If not running Earthquake, Ground- and Fighting-types that can deal with Heatran are helpful too


Mixed Attacker

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name: Mixed Attacker
move 1: Draco Meteor
move 2: Dragon Claw
move 3: Fire Blast / Earthquake
move 4: Extreme Speed
ability: Air Lock
item: Life Orb
evs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
nature: Hasty / Naive

Moves

========

-Draco Meteor hits Groudon and Lugia much harder than Dragon Claw
-Dragon Claw is your more reliable than the alternative
-Fire Blast hits Steel types like Steel Arceus and other Steel types
-ExtremeSpeed can KO any Pokemon that are at low health
-Earthquake can also be used if you want to lure in Heatran and Dialga who otherwise wall this set pretty well

Set Details

========

-Max Special Attack is used so you hit the Pokemon you lure in as hard as possible
-Life Orb is used for the extra damage, but if you want to use this as a lead then a Focus Sash could also be helpful
-A Mild nature lets you almost always OHKO Groudon if have rocks up
252+ SpA Life Orb Rayquaza Draco Meteor vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Groudon: 367-433 (90.8 - 107.1%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

Usage Tips

========

- The purpose of this set is to lure in and KO threats to the team, so you need to predict what will come in or whether to just go for the kill
- Hide Draco Meteor until you have to use it, also try and break Lugia’s Multiscale before using Draco Meteor

Team Options

========

- Stealth Rock support is almost mandatory to ensure KOs as well as break the occasional Sturdy or Focus Sash
- Rapid Spin support is suggested over Defog support as Rayquaza needs hazards to secure crucial KOs and Stealth Rock damage will quickly take its toll
- Steel-types such as Aegislash and Steel Arceus are great teammates for Rayquaza, as they resist Ice-, Fairy-, and Dragon moves-, and a STAB move can heavily damage the Fairy-types that Rayquaza hates
- Blissey / Chansey as well as other Thunder Wave users are beneficial to cripple would-be revenge killers to Rayquaza such as Palkia
- (Mega) Scizor can be a decent partner since Rayquaza’s going to lure and kill off Fire-types and Scizor has priority Bullet Punch that will kill Kyurem-W and Fairy-types and can utilize a slow U-turn to allow Rayquaza to switch in unscathed


Dragon Dance

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name: Dragon Dance
move 1: Dragon Dance
move 2: Outrage / Dragon Claw
move 3: Fire Blast
move 4: Earthquake
ability: Air Lock
item: Life Orb
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
nature: Hasty

Moves

========

- Dragon Dance allows Rayquaza to outspeed the entire unboosted metagame outside of Deoxys-S and grants it extra power
- Outrage is extremely powerful, though due to its locking effect, Dragon Claw is an worthy alternative as a reliable STAB move
- Fire Blast hits Mega Scizor, Grass Arceus, Steel Arceus, Ferrothorn reasonably hard
-Earthquake provides alternative coverage for the likes of Dialga, Aegislash, and Heatran, and allows Rayquaza to hit Fairy-types on the switch

Set Details

========

- Max Attack and Speed allow it to sweep to its maximum potential
- A Hasty nature is used so that Rayquaza can speed tie with other base 95s without gimping the power of Fire Blast, and gives Genesect an Attack boost, meaning that without prior damage, Rayquaza has a chance to survive an Ice Beam
- Life Orb is used for a needed power boost, and due to Rayquaza's frailty, the HP loss isn't too critical
- Iron Tail can be used to smash Fairy-types after a boost

Usage Tips

========

- Rayquaza’s incredibly frail so it should only switch in after something as been KO'd or by means of U-turn or Volt Switch
- Spamming Outrage if the opponent's Arceus forme has not been revealed isn't a good idea unless you are in an emergency situation, as Steel and Fairy Arceus can easily switch in and beat you.
- With this set, Rayquaza functions best as a late-game sweeper, and bringing it in too early to eat SR and LO damage may hurt you later in the game, as Rayquaza can be picked off by priority after switching into SR twice.

Team Options

========

- Stealth Rock support is almost mandatory to ensure KOs as well as break the occasional Sturdy or Focus Sash
- Rapid Spin support is suggested over Defog support as Rayquaza needs hazards to secure crucial KOs and Stealth Rock damage will quickly take its toll
- Steel-types such as Aegislash and Steel Arceus are great teammates for Rayquaza, as they resist Ice-, Fairy-, and Dragon moves-, and a STAB move can heavily damage the Fairy-types that Rayquaza hates
- Blissey / Chansey as well as other Thunder Wave users are beneficial to cripple would-be revenge killers to Rayquaza such as Palkia


Other Options

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- Outrage can be run for increased power over Dragon Claw, but the locking effect can lead to Rayquaza getting KO'd or set up on
- Flamethrower can be run over Fire Blast for consistency, but the power loss is notable and Fire Blast is not terribly inaccurate
- Iron Tail destroys Fairy Arceus and Xerneas at +1 after Stealth Rock (+1 252 Atk Life Orb Rayquaza Iron Tail vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Arceus-Fairy: 406-478 (91.4 - 107.6%) -- 50% chance to OHKO)
- Tailwind is usable on the mixed set and supports the team
- Dragon Tail is kinda usable to stop overeager set-up sweepers but Rayquaza is usually too dangerous to set up on anyway
- Substitute can be used to block status, but most Pokemon will just attack Rayquaza and KO it instead of attempting to status it
- A Focus Sash or Lum berry can be used to ease set up
- Choice items can add immediate speed or power as well as some surprise factor but the freedom to switch moves is appreciated as Rayquaza's common moves all have immunities


Checks & Counters

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- Choice Scarf revenge killers like Palkia, Kyurem, Terrakion etc
- Bulky physical walls that don't care about Fire Blast, namely Lugia, can tank a hit and phaze Rayquaza out
- If Rayquaza doesn’t carry Earthquake then you can’t really hit Heatran hard enough before it burns you or phazes you out
- Fairy Arceus, Wallceus, and Rock Arceus shut Rayquaza down, while Xerneas, Palkia, and naturally faster threats can KO it if unboosted
- Rayquaza is fairly difficult to counter, due to its obscene power, set up moves, and excellent movepool

 

[Manaphy]

I really don't even use Rayquaza and can tell that a lot of your sets are off. Extremespeed is a terrible move on a Dragon Dance set, it's going to be piss weak and you already have a speed boost anyway, it should only be on Swords Dance sets. Same thing goes for V-Create, I have no idea why you'd put an attack that lowers Speed on a Dragon Dance set. Also, a lot of the teammates just seem to ripped from last gen, constant mentions of Forretress need to go especially (I don't even think it's viable anymore).

This might come off as harsh but I think it's needed so that we have the best analysis. Really, I don't think the sets should change that much from last gen's analysis but I haven't used Ray that much this gen.

 

[Cobalt314]

I'd mention Outrage as a slash, or at least in OO. Even though being locked into a Fairy isn't good, it's still a powerful Dragon type move, and with a boost it does a lot of damage even to defensive Pokémon.

 

[Sweep]

Overview

Mention that it has some ridiculously powerful moves at its disposal, including Draco Meteor and V-Create. Rayquaza's immediate and brutal power is its best asset. Also mention that this generation's inclusion of fairies really hurts it as Outrage is no longer as spammable as it once was. The increase of bulky Support Arceus such as Rock Arceus also hurts Rayquaza, though the Defog buff helps Rayquaza out with its longetivity. Talk about how Air Lock is not as important as it was last generation since Excadrill, Omastar, Kabutops, and other weather sweepers are far less common. It still helps prevent Steel types from walling Rayquaza in rain, however. Finally, 95 base speed is average, not "pretty slow."


Dragon Dance

1. Swords Dance is a better set and should go first this generation. Swords Dance has wallbreaking power with V-Create and extremely useful and powerful priority in ExtremeSpeed. Dragon Dance on the other hand struggles with Fairy-types since it cannot simply V-Create them for massive damage on the switch. It also does not wallbreak as effectively, which is what Rayquaza is best at.

2. Neither V-Create nor Substitute should be slashed on Dragon Dance. V-Create takes away any speed boosts you obtain and makes Rayquaza far easier to revenge kill. Substitute takes away valuable coverage. The set should be Dragon Dance / Dragon STAB (slash Dragon Claw with Outrage, put Outrage first IMO) / Fire Blast / Earthquake. ExtremeSpeed isn't terrible and still has solid utility, so it's worth a mention in Set Details. However, like Manaphy said, ExtremeSpeed is not that strong even after a Dragon Dance and cannot secure OHKOs after Stealth Rock like it can after a Swords Dance. It also takes away coverage and leaves you walled by the likes of Heatran.

3. "Dragon Dance lets Rayquaza outspeed the whole metagame bar Deoxys-S" <------- this is wrong, Choice Scarf users such as Palkia and Genesect outrun and kill Rayquaza even after a Dragon Dance. Remove this.

4. Fire Blast hits important targets such as Arceus-Steel and Arceus-Grass as well.

5. Heatran does not wall sets with Earthquake! EQ also kills Dialga after a Dragon Dance. Remove that.

6. "If you see a Ferrothorn you can set up right in its face if you have substitute unless if it has Gyro Ball." Remove, even if Substitute were a good option Ferrothorn almost always carry Gyro Ball.

7. The usage tips section contains a lot of obvious information, such as Defog and hazard support being good. That's fine, but how does Rayquaza play? When is it a good time to set up a Dragon Dance, and when is it a good time to simply attack? For example, mention that spamming Outrage if the opponent's Arceus has not been revealed isn't a good idea unless you are in an emergency situation, as Steel and Fairy Arceus can easily switch in and beat you. Also talk about how bringing in Rayquaza too early to eat SR and LO damage may hurt you later in the game, as Rayquaza can be picked off by priority after switching into SR twice. That kind of information should be included in this analysis.

8. Mention Aegislash before Forretress as a potential teammate since Aegislash is more viable overall. Mention partners to kill Fairies, such as Steel Arceus.


Mixed set

Please include one. Once you write up a skeleton for it I will comment. It should be the 2nd set.


Swords Dance

1. THIS is the set that should have V-Create, not Dragon Dance. Replace Overheat & Fire Blast with V-Create and bump Dragon Claw above ExtremeSpeed in the set order. Other than that, the set looks fine and I agree that Adamant>Jolly as a nature on this.

2. "ExtremeSpeed is your main move since everything will be obliterated by this"

"Dragon Claw will 1HKO slower and bulkier Pokemon"

"Fire Blast is the only way to damage those psychical walls like Skarmory / Ferro / Forre"

All three of these points are wrong. ExtremeSpeed is a nice move and Rayquaza will certainly use it, but it will never supercede Dragon Claw as its primary option. Dragon Claw will not 1HKO "slower and bulkier Pokemon" without the Swords Dance boost and even if it gets it, max HP Arceus and others can survive. Finally, V-Create nails the steels you mentioned. Please reword these, and I am happy to help you here if you need assistance.

3. Earthquake deserves the mention in Set Details, but I agree that it shouldn't be slashed and that Heatran is a legitimate threat to this set.

4. Also mention Outrage in Set Details, as the power increase is cool (but don't slash it, Dragon Claw usually hits hard enough and you might give Xerneas a free opportunity to come in and set up on you if you spam Outrage).

5. "Extremespeed everything unless if you know they won’t be scarfed and that you outspeed. Also keep in mind that Es only has 8 PP." <--- I can assure you that ExtremeSpeed's PP is of no concern to Rayquaza, as it does not live very long! Rarely will it can a chance to use over half of that PP. Also, you are making Rayquaza sound like a frailer Extremekiller when in reality it is a wallbreaker. You don't bring in Rayquaza to "ESpeed everything," you bring it in to rip apart walls such as Chansey and Giratina. A +2 ExtremeSpeed is very nice for when a faster opponent comes in to revenge Rayquaza, and is also cool for utility purposes. It is by no means the cruz of the set. Please make this clear when describing how to use Swords Dance Rayquaza.

6. Mention Fairy types in the teammates section as Rayquaza loses to faster dragons such as Timid Kyurem-W and Palkia 1-1.


Other Options

Substitute should go here. Mention Flamethrower over Fire Blast for consistency, but power loss is notable and Fire Blast is not terribly inaccurate. Iron Tail destroys Fairy Arceus and Xerneas at +1 after Stealth Rock (+1 252 Atk Life Orb Rayquaza Iron Tail vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Arceus-Fairy: 406-478 (91.4 - 107.6%) -- 50% chance to OHKO). Definitely mention this here and perhaps bring this up in Set Details in the Dragon Dance set! Steel STAB is really only useful on the DD set as the Uber Fairies outrun you otherwise. Mention Tailwind as well here as its usable on the mixed set and supports the team. Dragon Tail is kinda usable to stop overeager set-up sweepers but Rayquaza is usually too dangerous to set up on anyway.


Checks & Counters

Add Fairy Arceus, Wallceus (Physically Defensive Arceus-Normal with Will-O-Wisp) and Rock Arceus for sure. Physically Defensive Xerneas completely shuts Rayquaza down lol nope, Fireburn correctly pointed out that SD Rayquaza can break this. Mention how difficult it is to check Rayquaza due to its set-up moves, obscenely powerful attacks, and diverse movepool.


So yeah, you have some work to do on this analysis. Don't be discouraged though, and feel free to take your time. Quality is more important than churning this out as quickly as possible.

 

[Hack]

Atm I am reluctant on accepting anything but the Swords Dance set, but as Sweep pointed out above you really need shape up pretty much every aspect of this skeleton as you lack crucial understanding of the metagame (I mean c'mon there are other fairys than Xerneas, mention of scarf Palkia w/ice beam, irrelevant Forretress calc for example).

Dragon Dance is a bs set as far as I see it. Its reliance on Outrage to break walls on the switch is horrendous as there now exists and immunity to the move. V-create on the SD set is just so much more spamable, and the SD set in general provides more utility with no cost in its sweeping capability. I will have a long thought and some discussions with some other qc members before I make up my mind about this.

 

[Fireburn]

Dragon Dance is a bs set as far as I see it. Its reliance on Outrage to break walls on the switch is horrendous as there now exists and immunity to the move. V-create on the SD set is just so much more spamable, and the SD set in general provides more utility with no cost in its sweeping capability. I will have a long thought and some discussions with some other qc members before I make up my mind about this.

DD can still work imo since many people are running slower scarfers in this metagame (if at all) and Mega Gengar exists to trap and kill the defensive Fairies. SD should definitely be first set regardless.

Also,

Physically Defensive Xerneas completely shuts Rayquaza down.

+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Rayquaza V-create vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Xerneas: 463-545 (101.5 - 119.5%)

It is still a solid check but this should be noted.

 

[anttyaalt]

Overview

Mention that it has some ridiculously powerful moves at its disposal, including Draco Meteor and V-Create. Rayquaza's immediate and brutal power is its best asset. Also mention that this generation's inclusion of fairies really hurts it as Outrage is no longer as spammable as it once was. The increase of bulky Support Arceus such as Rock Arceus also hurts Rayquaza, though the Defog buff helps Rayquaza out with its longetivity. Talk about how Air Lock is not as important as it was last generation since Excadrill, Omastar, Kabutops, and other weather sweepers are far less common. It still helps prevent Steel types from walling Rayquaza in rain, however. Finally, 95 base speed is average, not "pretty slow."


Dragon Dance

1. Swords Dance is a better set and should go first this generation. Swords Dance has wallbreaking power with V-Create and extremely useful and powerful priority in ExtremeSpeed. Dragon Dance on the other hand struggles with Fairy-types since it cannot simply V-Create them for massive damage on the switch. It also does not wallbreak as effectively, which is what Rayquaza is best at.

2. Neither V-Create nor Substitute should be slashed on Dragon Dance. V-Create takes away any speed boosts you obtain and makes Rayquaza far easier to revenge kill. Substitute takes away valuable coverage. The set should be Dragon Dance / Dragon STAB (slash Dragon Claw with Outrage, put Outrage first IMO) / Fire Blast / Earthquake. ExtremeSpeed isn't terrible and still has solid utility, so it's worth a mention in Set Details. However, like Manaphy said, ExtremeSpeed is not that strong even after a Dragon Dance and cannot secure OHKOs after Stealth Rock like it can after a Swords Dance. It also takes away coverage and leaves you walled by the likes of Heatran.

3. "Dragon Dance lets Rayquaza outspeed the whole metagame bar Deoxys-S" <------- this is wrong, Choice Scarf users such as Palkia and Genesect outrun and kill Rayquaza even after a Dragon Dance. Remove this.

4. Fire Blast hits important targets such as Arceus-Steel and Arceus-Grass as well.

5. Heatran does not wall sets with Earthquake! EQ also kills Dialga after a Dragon Dance. Remove that.

6. "If you see a Ferrothorn you can set up right in its face if you have substitute unless if it has Gyro Ball." Remove, even if Substitute were a good option Ferrothorn almost always carry Gyro Ball.

7. The usage tips section contains a lot of obvious information, such as Defog and hazard support being good. That's fine, but how does Rayquaza play? When is it a good time to set up a Dragon Dance, and when is it a good time to simply attack? For example, mention that spamming Outrage if the opponent's Arceus has not been revealed isn't a good idea unless you are in an emergency situation, as Steel and Fairy Arceus can easily switch in and beat you. Also talk about how bringing in Rayquaza too early to eat SR and LO damage may hurt you later in the game, as Rayquaza can be picked off by priority after switching into SR twice. That kind of information should be included in this analysis.

8. Mention Aegislash before Forretress as a potential teammate since Aegislash is more viable overall. Mention partners to kill Fairies, such as Steel Arceus.


Mixed set

Please include one. Once you write up a skeleton for it I will comment. It should be the 2nd set.


Swords Dance

1. THIS is the set that should have V-Create, not Dragon Dance. Replace Overheat & Fire Blast with V-Create and bump Dragon Claw above ExtremeSpeed in the set order. Other than that, the set looks fine and I agree that Adamant>Jolly as a nature on this.

2. "ExtremeSpeed is your main move since everything will be obliterated by this"

"Dragon Claw will 1HKO slower and bulkier Pokemon"

"Fire Blast is the only way to damage those psychical walls like Skarmory / Ferro / Forre"

All three of these points are wrong. ExtremeSpeed is a nice move and Rayquaza will certainly use it, but it will never supercede Dragon Claw as its primary option. Dragon Claw will not 1HKO "slower and bulkier Pokemon" without the Swords Dance boost and even if it gets it, max HP Arceus and others can survive. Finally, V-Create nails the steels you mentioned. Please reword these, and I am happy to help you here if you need assistance.

3. Earthquake deserves the mention in Set Details, but I agree that it shouldn't be slashed and that Heatran is a legitimate threat to this set.

4. Also mention Outrage in Set Details, as the power increase is cool (but don't slash it, Dragon Claw usually hits hard enough and you might give Xerneas a free opportunity to come in and set up on you if you spam Outrage).

5. "Extremespeed everything unless if you know they won’t be scarfed and that you outspeed. Also keep in mind that Es only has 8 PP." <--- I can assure you that ExtremeSpeed's PP is of no concern to Rayquaza, as it does not live very long! Rarely will it can a chance to use over half of that PP. Also, you are making Rayquaza sound like a frailer Extremekiller when in reality it is a wallbreaker. You don't bring in Rayquaza to "ESpeed everything," you bring it in to rip apart walls such as Chansey and Giratina. A +2 ExtremeSpeed is very nice for when a faster opponent comes in to revenge Rayquaza, and is also cool for utility purposes. It is by no means the cruz of the set. Please make this clear when describing how to use Swords Dance Rayquaza.

6. Mention Fairy types in the teammates section as Rayquaza loses to faster dragons such as Timid Kyurem-W and Palkia 1-1.


Other Options

Substitute should go here. Mention Flamethrower over Fire Blast for consistency, but power loss is notable and Fire Blast is not terribly inaccurate. Iron Tail destroys Fairy Arceus and Xerneas at +1 after Stealth Rock (+1 252 Atk Life Orb Rayquaza Iron Tail vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Arceus-Fairy: 406-478 (91.4 - 107.6%) -- 50% chance to OHKO). Definitely mention this here and perhaps bring this up in Set Details in the Dragon Dance set! Steel STAB is really only useful on the DD set as the Uber Fairies outrun you otherwise. Mention Tailwind as well here as its usable on the mixed set and supports the team. Dragon Tail is kinda usable to stop overeager set-up sweepers but Rayquaza is usually too dangerous to set up on anyway.


Checks & Counters

Add Fairy Arceus, Wallceus (Physically Defensive Arceus-Normal with Will-O-Wisp) and Rock Arceus for sure. Physically Defensive Xerneas completely shuts Rayquaza down lol nope, Fireburn correctly pointed out that SD Rayquaza can break this. Mention how difficult it is to check Rayquaza due to its set-up moves, obscenely powerful attacks, and diverse movepool.


So yeah, you have some work to do on this analysis. Don't be discouraged though, and feel free to take your time. Quality is more important than churning this out as quickly as possible.

Thanks, this was really helpful ^^

 

[anttyaalt]

DD can still work imo since many people are running slower scarfers in this metagame (if at all) and Mega Gengar exists to trap and kill the defensive Fairies. SD should definitely be first set regardless.

Also,



+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Rayquaza V-create vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Xerneas: 463-545 (101.5 - 119.5%)

It is still a solid check but this should be noted.

Thanks, I'll add that in ^^

 

[MMII]

You don't need those empty lines between the moves and stuff.

 

[anttyaalt]

You don't need those empty lines between the moves and stuff.

Fixed and updated

 

[Fireburn]

-Mention teammates that appreciate SD Ray's ability to smash most physical walls. RP Groudon and EKiller are pretty solid partners for this purpose. Also mention things like Kyogre/Palkia that can handle Rock/Water Arceus since they match up the best vs SD Ray due to V-create resistance.

-Mixed set slashes should be cleaned up a bit:

move 1: Draco Meteor
move 2: Fire Blast / V-Create
move 3: Extreme Speed
move 4: Outrage / Earthquake

Fire move is mandatory for Skarm/Zong/MScizor/Arc-Grass/Ferrothorn/Aegislash. Outrage is still useful for SDef Giratina and defensive Ho-Oh so it should be given some importance (and is needed for blobs without V-create). EQ only offers Heatran coverage which is not that important imo. Dragon Claw shouldn't be slashed - it's too weak to do anything useful. And again, mention Pokemon that like having physical walls lured and beaten as teammates, particularly those that fear Groudon.

-Dragon Dance needs Mega Gengar stressed as a prominent teammate since it removes bulky Fairies really easily. I also think Iron Tail is worth a slash in slot 4 just because Fairy busting power is amazing on that set but I'll let other QC comment on that. Also switch the nature to Jolly - you take priority moves better and you still kill everything you need to with Fire Blast.

-Add Water Arceus as a check in the counters section.

 

[polop]

Fire burn's set is okay but IMO keep v-create before fire blast on mixed set, it's spammable because it's basically a one turn outrage that hits fairies. It was optional on mix ray earlier due to Draco meteor's coverage, it's hard not to use it now since v-create + extreme speed KO incoming xerneas.

I've used mix ray before this gen and think it needs more attack then special attack on mix now since that v-create is so freaking strong. The reason why this thing is so hard to wall is Draco meteor + extreme speed can KO arceus too.

 

[SuperWumbology]

I think I'll add some of my own opinions on 'Quaza, I mean it's my favorite Pokemon ever, and I have used it ever since I started Ubers:

I do agree with Fireburn's proposal for MegaGar as a teammate for DD Ray; it can trap and kill the Fairies that Ray has trouble with (Fairy Arceus + ugh Xern), and can also give it some switch-in opportunities by crippling a wall that cannot harm Ray with Taunt, like Groudon (but that is risky because either Gengar could be killed or cripples (T-Wave) for the rest of the match), Skarmory, possibly the blobs, Waterceus, and other walls that can't necessarily do anything back at all except use Seismic Toss or Judgmen.

In regards to MixQuaza, I also agree with polop in that V-Create is the superior choice to Fire Blast, stat drop or not. The 180 BP of it is basically a non-locked Outrage that can rip apart Steels and hit Fairies without worries, and even without SpA investment, the KO on Arc that polop mentioned still takes place, in addition to hurting stuff on the vulnerable side with Draco due to Rayquaza's excellent 150/150 offenses, and V-Create doesn't necessarily hurt Rayquaza when trying to remove the things that can check it like Xern. I don't know on Iron Tail though, Rayquaza does have the room for it (EQ doesn't hit much outside of 'Tran), but it still doesn't offer that much coverage. More opinion may be needed on it if it should warrant a main slash.

Edit: For more V-Create support, Steels like Ferrothorn or Aegislash are becoming more invested in SpD to check Xern (but not all of them, like in some cases Skarmory), letting Rayquaza hit them extremely hard on their weaker physical side, but possibly mention Quaza would be more vulnerable to KS shenanigans (Aegislash), and Iron Barbs+LO recoil, or even Rocky Helmet resid (Ferrothorn), but I'm 50/50 on the downsides I mentioned, so I'll let the QC team decide that one.