Richard's Reasoning - Gyarados (2.5.5)

Welcome to the thirteenth entry of Richard's Reasoning. This time marks a special edition - we're recovering Gyarados for the newest patch, given that he's lost a few tools in this patch. Let's get into it.

Base Stats: 95 HP / 125 Attack / 79 Defense / 60 Sp. Attack / 100 Sp. Defense / 81 Speed

In 2.5.5, Gyarados has lost Earthquake and Rock Slide, which it previously received via Battle Tutor. Additionally, Scope Lens has been banned from our tournaments, in part because of how overwhelming Gyarados was with the item. With all of these nerfs, it might be easy to believe that Gyarados isn't viable anymore, but this is far from true. Gyarados may have taken a small hit, but make no mistake: it is still a top tier threat, and one of the most terrifying Pokemon in the metagame.

-Dragon's Rage-

Gyarados@ MiracleBerry / PrzCureBerry / Leftovers
Aeroblast
Thunder / Hidden Power [Ground] / Toxic
Hydro Pump / Hidden Power [Ground] /  Surf / Toxic
Substitute / Hidden Power [Ground] / Toxic

Gyarados may have lost some coverage, but it's still an incredibly daunting Pokemon to fight. Aeroblast's 25% critical hit ratio makes switching into it a really scary proposition, and it's still one of the most spammable attacks in the metagame, with low risk and high reward. Having a powerful Flying type attack coming from one of the most physically powerful Pokemon in the game is incredibly valuable for targeting the common Fighting types that have risen to prominence in our metagame.

Thunder is my best recommendation for a coverage option, for a few reasons. It deals the most damage to Slowbro if Aeroblast doesn't crit, dealing 38-45%. It won't 2HKO, but if Slowbro is weakened it's your most damaging option. The biggest reason to use it, however, is for Skarmory, who has a 70% chance to be 2HKO'd by Thunder after Leftovers, assuming both of them hit. It also helps Gyarados in the mirror match if it lands, and the 30% chance to Paralyze is nice, but the accuracy really hurts Gyarados's consistency.

Hydro Pump gives you a secondary STAB, and despite it coming off Gyarados's low Sp. Attack, it has some legitimately good uses. It is Gyarados's strongest option against Steelix, dealing a massive 73-86%. It also OHKO's Rhydon easily, and still deals 36-43% to Skarmory, guaranteeing a 3HKO against it assuming every hit lands. Surf is an option here as well, and while it is weaker than Hydro Pump, it still 2HKOs most of the same things Hydro Pump does. It's less pressure overall, and can make switching around Gyarados easier, though. It comes down to reliability vs. mounting pressure against the opponent.

Substitute blocks status and scouts switches, which can be very helpful for Gyarados. Gyarados behind a Sub becomes even more threatening, since it forces the opponent to react as quickly as they can to stop it from gaining too much momentum.

Hidden Power Ground is an important consideration to be made for Gyarados. Without it, Electric types can switch in much more easily and immediately pose a significant threat, especially Lanturn. While Lanturn only takes 36-43% from Hidden Power Ground, hitting it on the switch-in early in a game can have a significant impact on wearing it down for teammates to take advantage of. HP Ground is also very useful for dealing 82-97% to Magneton, while Hydro Pump only does 40-48%, not even capable of 2HKOing it. The downsides to running HP Ground are the unfortunate DV spread - 7 HP and 12 Attack cuts into Gyarados's bulk and slightly into its offensive output as well. It's not that significant if you're really set on doing it, but it is something to keep in mind while running calculations; for example, Electrode's Thunderbolt cannot OHKO standard Gyarados, but if Gyarados runs HP Ground it can.

Toxic is a good option early in the match to punish many common Gyarados switch-ins like Porygon2, Slowbro and Lanturn. It can be used over any of these options, but you do lose out on something important for giving up any of these moves. Still, if your team is defensive enough to provide Gyarados with good switch-ins to those common counters, wearing them down with Toxic to make a late-game sweep possible.

PrzCureBerry and MiracleBerry protect Gyarados from status, which can be very beneficial in fighting many different kinds of Pokemon and ensuring that Gyarados doesn't have to set a Substitute in a situation where you're unsure how to read your opponent's next move. Leftovers helps keep Gyarados alive, and makes it surprisingly tanky. It pairs well with Substitute, and Gyarados has very good defenses. Giving it more longevity can make it more difficult for the opponent to repeatedly switch into it over the course of a game.

Gyarados has a few other options, but the only one really worth mentioning is Fire Blast. It can be used over Thunder if you want a more accurate move to target Skarmory, but you end up a little less consistent against Slowbro, given how physically defensive it is.

-My Opinion-

Gyarados is cool as hell, and gen 2 was by far his worst competitive generation, which is really a shame considering he was featured pretty prominently in marketing with the Lake of Rage Gyarados. The way it has been depicted in all forms of Pokemon media establish it as one of the scariest creatures in this world, and I'm glad it's finally getting to live up to that reputation in Crystal Clear.