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Lesser_Smaug

Yamata no Orochi analysis (WIP)

Oct 26th, 2011
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  1. [Overview]
  2.  
  3. <p>It's no surprise that Yamata no Orochi, the Pokemon that shaped the DPPt metagame, comes back for another round of blood in Black and White. With impressive 100 / 180 / 100 / 20 / 100 / 100 stats, a splendid defensive ability in Eight Heads, great STABs in Dragon and Dark, and a minute but very precise attacking movepool, it appears the tyrant dragon will live up to its reputation as the metagame itself. Unfortunately, a new face, Susanoo, appeared with a great buff: Dragon Absorb. Thankfully, Yamata no Orochi gained new tools to batter its previous checks: Bronzong is flared by Flare Blitz, Skarmory hates Wild Charge, and most other Pokemon can't stand up to repeated Outrages. With Susanoo standing up as the only block on the road, Yamata no Orochi just needs teammates who can destroy the dragonslayer. Overall, expect our destructive menace to be just as good as it has been.</p>
  4.  
  5. [SET]
  6. name: Dragon Dance
  7. move 1: Dragon Dance
  8. move 2: Outrage
  9. move 3: Wild Charge
  10. move 4: Recover / Flare Blitz / Baton Pass
  11. item: Leftovers / Lum Berry
  12. ability: Eight Heads (Reduces damage by 1/8; if attacked, the denominator will subtract by 1 until it reaches 1)
  13. nature: Jolly
  14. evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
  15.  
  16. [Set Comments]
  17.  
  18. <p>Yamata no Orochi was one of the most defining Pokemon of the OU metagame in DPPt, but his rival Susanoo got a buff in Dragon Absorb in BWG, allowing him to switch into Yamata no Orochi's excruciatingly powerful Outrage and slay every head before he can finish Susanoo off. Thankfully, with the great wishes of MagmaRuby and AquaSapphire comes a new move for Yamata no Orochi: Dragon Dance. This set uses his naturally high Attack and Speed to kill Susanoo before it slays all eight heads. As always, Yamata no Orochi keeps his ability to check and eradicate a large portion of the metagame.</p>
  19.  
  20. <p>Dragon Dance is the crux of this lure, allowing Yamata no Orochi to outspeed Susanoo in one turn. Choice Scarf Susanoo is damned after two Dragon Dances, and is destroyed by Wild Charge. +1 Outrage is so powerful that it can 2HKO Skarmory after Stealth Rock, making Yamata no Orochi a rage-inducing opponent. Recover allows Yamata no Orochi to regain lost HP, and resets Eight Heads's denominator back to 8, making this Pokemon a tough one to beat. Flare Blitz can stop Bronzong from being a prick. And, if Yamata no Orochi has done its job of luring in and crushing Susanoo, it can Baton Pass those Dragon Dances to a partner like Scizor, who can then KO a Pokemon or two with the obtained boosts.</p>
  21.  
  22. [Additional Comments]
  23.  
  24. <p>Between Eight Heads, Leftovers, and Dragon Dance, this Yamata no Orochi can be hard to stop. Choice Scarf Susanoo is your only bet, but is doomed if Yamata no Orochi has two Dragon Dances. Lum Berry or the Own Tempo ability can be used to stop Outrage confusion.</p>
  25.  
  26. <p>This set needs no teammates, as Yamata no Orochi is already far too powerful enough for OU with Susanoo eliminated. <strong>YAMATA NO OROCHI TOO STRONGTH</strong></p>
  27.  
  28. [SET]
  29. name: Choice Band
  30. move 1: Outrage
  31. move 2: Crunch
  32. move 3: Wild Charge / ExtremeSpeed
  33. move 4: ExtremeSpeed / Flare Blitz
  34. item: Choice Band
  35. ability: Eight Heads
  36. nature: Adamant
  37. evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
  38.  
  39. [Set Comments]
  40.  
  41. <p>With a monstrous 756 Attack with Choice Band, excellent STAB and coverage moves, and much-needed priority, Choice Band Yamata no Orochi is a nightmare to face. Despite that its Outrage 4HKOes Leftovers Skarmory, a safe switch-in to Choice Band Outrages, it still carries wallbreaking power. Crunch decimates the many Psychic- and Ghost-types in the tier. Unfortunately, Susanoo's massive 150 base Defense and Dragon Absorb make it a fierce contender to Yamata no Orochi, so punishing it on the switch-in with a Wild Charge will drastically increase your sweeping chances with Outrage. While Yamata no Orochi has a decent Speed tier, ExtremeSpeed will help you avoid unnecessary Speed ties and will also destroy faster Pokemon like Infernape and Conkeldurr, who can Mach Punch Yamata no Orochi for super-effective damage. Flare Blitz can stop Bronzong from totally walling Yamata no Orochi, but team support is recommended.</p>
  42.  
  43. [Additional Comments]
  44.  
  45. <p>The standard EV spread is used for maximum sweeping potential. An Adamant nature allows you to punch more holes before going down.</p>
  46.  
  47. <p>Although special sweepers will love Yamata no Orochi's ability to OHKO Eviolite Chansey outright with Outrage, this Yamata no Orochi will often sweep teams by itself. Susanoo is an excellent teammate to absorb Dragon-type moves from opposing Dragon-types for free. Infernape and Darmanitan will also kill Bronzong for you.</p>
  48.  
  49. [SET]
  50. name: Swords Dance
  51. move 1: Swords Dance
  52. move 2: Dragon Claw
  53. move 3: Recover
  54. move 4: Refresh / ExtremeSpeed / Taunt / Baton Pass
  55. item: Leftovers
  56. nature: Adamant
  57. evs: 240 HP / 252 Atk / 16 Spe
  58.  
  59. [Set Comments]
  60.  
  61. <p>Yamata no Orochi can also make use of its terrifying bulk, combined with Eight Heads, to raze entire teams lacking Susanoo. Eight Heads provides easy set-up, while access to a reliable recovery engine in Recover and Refresh (or priority if you decide to use ExtremeSpeed) cements the dragon's position further as a bulky sweeper. Let's not be too hasty in ignoring that Recover resets Eight Heads's denominator back to 8. Taunt is a great way to stop Skarmory from phazing you or healing off the Dragon Claws. Additionally, Baton Pass allows Yamata no Orochi to pass Swords Dance boosts to another teammate. With such reliable moves, and godlike firepower, Yamata no Orochi can claim your team's victory in an instant.</p>
  62.  
  63. [Additional Comments]
  64.  
  65. <p>240 HP EVs provide 401 HP, allowing Yamata no Orochi to switch into Stealth Rock eight times, as well as recover 25 HP per turn with Leftovers. 16 Speed EVs outspeed Adamant Breloom and tie with positive nature base 60 Speed Pokemon. Outrage and Own Tempo can be used to plow through foes at a fleet rate in exchange for the ability to set up.</p>
  66.  
  67. <p>Susanoo is the closest counter to Yamata no Orochi; most Steel-types are 2HKOed by +2 Dragon Claw. That said, Skarmory can absorb the damage from two Swords Dance-boosted Dragon Claws and Whirlwind the tyrant. Magnezone can take out Skarmory and Susanoo with Thunderbolt, but Susanoo can 2HKO Magnezone with Head Slay. Therefore, Jolteon crushes Susanoo with Thunderbolt.</p>
  68.  
  69. [Other Options]
  70.  
  71. <p>Swords Dance, Dragon Claw, Outrage, Recover, Crunch, ExtremeSpeed, Wild Charge, and Flare Blitz is the extent of Yamata no Orochi's usable movepool. Earthquake can be used, but most Dragon-type resistances are immune to Earthquake, or have sky-high defenses to take even more than five unboosted Earthquakes. Refresh is an interesting option to recover from damning statuses, but its sole use is in the Swords Dance set. Anything else that Yamata no Orochi has is either not great competitively, or just reek mice.</p>
  72.  
  73. [Counters and Checks]
  74.  
  75. <p>It's not easy to find a counter to Yamata no Orochi, but Susanoo is your best bet, capable of soaking up its Crunches and Outrages thanks to its Water- / Fighting-typing, massive Defense, and Dragon Absorb ability. It can't take repeated Wild Charges, being 2HKOed at worst, but if it can switch into Yamata no Orochi, the tyrant dragon will get decapitated by Head Slay, which hits fleeing Yamata no Orochi, and ignores the Eight Heads ability. Skarmory can take Swords Dance-boosted Dragon Claws without breaking a sweat, but it can't take repeated Choice Band Outrages very well, being 4HKOed at worst. Most anything else is destroyed by Yamata no Orochi if they switch into one of the dragon's super effective moves, or Outrages if they lack enough bulk. Entry hazards and statuses like Spikes and Toxic will aid you in crushing Yamata no Orochi like a bug faster, but beware of Recover and Refresh, as it can heal off the status and lost HP if you do not react fast enough.</p>
  76.  
  77. [Dream World]
  78.  
  79. <p>Moody is a terrible ability for Yamata no Orochi; Outrage is illegal with Moody, as are Flare Blitz and ExtremeSpeed, since Yamata no Orochi is solely male. It learns Baton Pass by level-up, but then you realize that Moody is banned from the metagame.</p>
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