the sprites now seem to be moving!
QC 3/3 (Fireburn, Minority, CKW)
GP 2/2 (Fireflame479, P Squared)
[OVERVIEW]
* Necrozma-DW is a slower but more powerful version of Lunala, with some set variations that can help it stand out on its own.
* Ultra Necrozma is a possible option with Necrozma-DW as the base forme, but this only really offers Moongeist Beam as an advantage to specially based Ultra Necrozma sets, which can sometimes be a viable choice when paired with Brick Break or sufficient Dark-type checks.
* The movepool difference that Necrozma-DW has when compared to Lunala is actually a very bad trade, as it lacks any sort of special coverage to hit Dark-type Pokemon and only gains minimal niches in return thanks to its base stat changes and some additions to its movepool such as Stealth Rock and Rock Polish. This means Lunala can be seen as a superior option.
* Due to the Species Clause in Ubers, the usage of Necrozma-DW means that using Necrozma-DM is not possible. This leads to a fair question of opportunity cost, as the roles of Necrozma-DM can be very useful to a team, while Necrozma-DW is more niche in function. As a special wallbreaker, Necrozma-DW has some slight advantages over Necrozma-DM.
* Prism Armor is also a downgrade from Shadow Shield, as Necrozma-DW has no 2x weaknesses to make Prism Armor a better defensive ability. Strong Ghost- and Dark-type moves will still blow Necrozma-DW away.
[SET]
name: Trick Room
move 1: Trick Room
move 2: Moongeist Beam
move 3: Power Gem
move 4: Calm Mind / Psyshock
item: Lunalium Z
ability: Prism Armor
nature: Quiet
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA
ivs: 0 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
* Trick Room is one set that Necrozma-DW can pull off better than Lunala thanks to its higher Special Attack and lower Speed. This can turn Necrozma-DW into a strong wallbreaker and anti-offense Pokemon when Trick Room is active.
* Moongeist Beam is the ideal STAB move for Necrozma-DW, offering an increase in damage compared to Lunala's Moongeist Beam and achieving notable OHKOs against Xerneas, Rayquaza, and Mega Salamence at +1. It also ignores Multiscale and Sturdy.
* When paired with Lunalium Z, Moongeist Beam becomes Menacing Moonraze Maelstrom, a deadly attack that can cleanly OHKO many offensive Pokemon unboosted and shatter defensive walls at +1.
* Power Gem is Necrozma-DW's only option against Yveltal, hitting all variants for a 2HKO. It also has a low chance to OHKO offensive Ho-Oh sets, which can be handy because Ho-Oh is capable of taking Moongeist Beam rather well.
* Calm Mind is another byproduct of Necrozma-DW's lack of good coverage options, but it does come in handy for breaking bulky Pokemon such as Ho-Oh, Primal Groudon, and support Arceus formes when paired with Lunalium Z.
* Psyshock is an alternative option that trades setup potential in order to better handle Blissey and Chansey while also hitting Toxapex and the rare Arceus-Poison super effectively.
Set Details
========
* Trick Room gives Necrozma-DW the freedom to fully invest in HP, letting it take at least one strong neutral hit while setting up, including attacks such as Primal Groudon's Precipice Blades and Mega Salamence's Double-Edge.
* Fully investing into Special Attack is necessary for maximum damage output.
* A Quiet nature adds to Necrozma-DW's damage potential while also slowing it down, making it more likely to move first under Trick Room. 0 Speed IVs also help with this.
* Lunalium Z is needed to turn Moongeist Beam into Menacing Moonraze Maelstrom.
Usage Tips
========
* Necrozma-DW is ideally brought in when it is unlikely to take a hit doing so. This can include switching into Stealth Rock setters, switching into Pokemon likely to use recovery or hazard removal options, and just coming in after a teammate has fallen.
* Depending on the situation and matchup against the enemy team, it can be decided whether to use Calm Mind, or use Trick Room, or just attack. Trick Room is best used either when Necrozma-DW can take a hit and turn the tables on an offensive Pokemon next turn or when forcing something out.
* Note that Trick Room does have the potential to be detrimental to other faster team members. Setting up Trick Room when there is a healthy Dark-type able to switch in and force Necrozma-DW out right away can lead to a few turns where other teammates are negatively impacted by Trick Room. Be wary of its usage.
* Calm Mind can be a better option than Trick Room against teams that are slower on average, as the extra power to break a bulky Pokemon with Menacing Moonraze Maelstrom can be worth more than simply moving before the enemy, even if it means surviving a hit first.
* Be very careful when dealing with Dark-type Pokemon. This Necrozma-DW set has no ways of dealing with most Dark-types and is almost always forced out by them. Expect to have to weaken or remove them with other teammates before Necrozma-DW can shine.
* Assess the enemy team for Pursuit trappers in particular, as this is Necrozma-DW's worst nightmare.
Team Options
========
* Reliable answers to Dark-type Pokemon are an absolute necessity. Magearna makes for a great partner, as it can handle most variants of Xerneas and Yveltal while also gaining effectiveness under Trick Room. Other Fairy-types such as Xerneas and Arceus-Fairy have their own different perks but also make for effective partners.
* Arceus-Dark and Tyranitar are capable of handling most Yveltal variants, and Tyranitar can also assist against Ho-Oh for Necrozma-DW.
* Stealth Rock setters such as Primal Groudon and Dialga are handy to have to help chip at enemy Pokemon into range of Necrozma-DW's attacks. Stealth Rock support also helps Necrozma-DW a lot against Ho-Oh and Yveltal.
* Due to Necrozma-DW's crippling 4x weakness to Ghost-type moves, checks to Pokemon such as Marshadow, Mega Gengar, and Giratina-O are highly wanted.
* Marshadow checks include the already mentioned Arceus-Fairy, as well as Toxapex, Zygarde-C, and Choice Scarf Xerneas.
* Mega Gengar is difficult to conventionally check, but Pursuit users such as Marshadow, Alolan Muk, and Tyranitar can assist in minimizing its impact against Necrozma-DW.
* Giratina-O can be handled by Xerneas, Yveltal, and Arceus-Dark, to name some examples.
[SET]
name: Ultra Necrozma
move 1: Moongeist Beam
move 2: Power Gem
move 3: Brick Break / Calm Mind
move 4: Photon Geyser / Heat Wave
item: Ultranecrozium Z
ability: Prism Armor
nature: Naive / Timid
evs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
* Moongeist Beam is the only reason to use Ultranecrozium Z and therefore Ultra Necrozma with Necrozma-DW as the base forme. It targets Psychic-types that specially based Necrozma-DM sets do not usually have the coverage to effectively hit.
* Power Gem targets Yveltal, as this set is helpless against it otherwise. It also deals very high damage to Ho-Oh, which tends to be good at taking special hits from Necrozma-DW.
* Brick Break is Necrozma-DW's best chance at breaking Dark-types such as Tyranitar and Arceus-Dark. The massive boost to Attack that Ultra Necrozma has over Necrozma-DW in combination with Neuroforce's damage boost makes the usage of a physical attack a viable choice for helping Necrozma-DW overcome its biggest obstacles.
* If there are sufficient methods of handling Dark-types on the team, Calm Mind is an option that lets Necrozma-DW become a threatening sweeper with the Speed and power of Ultra Necrozma behind it.
* Photon Geyser lacks in real targets that Moongeist Beam cannot already hit outside of Poison-types such as Toxapex and Arceus-Poison, but it does combine with Ultranecrozium Z to become Light That Burns the Sky, which can assist in breaking a bulky neutral target, especially with Calm Mind. It also gives Ultra Necrozma a good STAB option to use.
* Heat Wave is an alternative option that allows Necrozma-DW and Ultra Necrozma to quickly dispatch of Steel-types such as Mega Scizor, Ferrothorn, Skarmory, and Celesteela.
* Earth Power could be an attractive option to better deal with Alolan Muk while also granting coverage against some Steel-types at the same time.
Set Details
========
* Maximum Special Attack investment is required for ideal damage output.
* Maximum Speed EVs are used to make the most use of Ultra Necrozma's base 129 Speed tier, notably outspeeding Arceus, Marshadow, and the very rare Darkrai.
* A Naive nature is used to avoid hurting the damage output of Brick Break but can be changed to Timid if Calm Mind is chosen instead. Naive is used over Hasty to avoid Shadow Sneak dealing too much damage to Ultra Necrozma.
* Ultranecrozium Z allows Necrozma-DW to use Ultra Burst to transform into Ultra Necrozma and turns Photon Geyser into Light That Burns the Sky if it is used.
Usage Tips
========
* This set can use Ultra Burst to make use of the resistances that changing from a Ghost-type to a Dragon-type gives whenever necessary, and this is rarely a bad idea from a defensive standpoint.
* Necrozma-DW does lose STAB on Moongeist Beam after using Ultra Burst, however, and this will lower the move's damage output considerably. Carefully consider if a strong Moongeist Beam will be necessary to break some neutral targets. This decision is easier to make if Necrozma-DW is carrying Photon Geyser, as Ultra Necrozma can typically fall back on that.
* In the same train of thought, note that the coverage this set is carrying gains quite a boost in power when hitting its intended targets as Ultra Necrozma, thanks to Neuroforce and a boost to attacking stats.
* When not hitting Pokemon super effectively, this variant of Ultra Necrozma can find itself lacking in the damage department without Calm Mind, which isn't always used. Try to weaken the enemy team with other team members to assist Ultra Necrozma in cleaning up.
* Using Ultra Burst changes Necrozma-DW's low base 77 Speed all the way up to base 129 Speed, which can catch some Pokemon by surprise.
* Note that a knowledgable opponent will rarely be lured into having their bulky Psychic-types like Necrozma-DM, Lugia, and Mega Slowbro hit by Moongeist Beam. It will eliminate them as strong checks, however, which can be enough for Ultra Necrozma to find room to cause trouble if the opponent has no secondary answers.
* Ultra Necrozma sets are best used aggressively, making use of Neuroforce-boosted coverage options to beat potential checks as they appear.
Team Options
========
* Choice Scarf Xerneas stands out as a great partner to this set. It can help against faster threats that would try to revenge kill Ultra Necrozma such as Deoxys-A and Mewtwo, as well as take on many Dark-type Pokemon. It also has Aromatherapy and Defog support to assist Necrozma-DW and its team.
* Magearna does a similar role to Xerneas but trades being more secure against Yveltal and opposing Xerneas while also being difficult to trap in exchange for lesser utility.
* Offensive Stealth Rock setters such as Primal Groudon, Excadrill, and Dialga are handy to have to help chip at enemy Pokemon into range of Necrozma-DW's attacks. Stealth Rock support also helps Necrozma-DW and Ultra Necrozma a lot against Ho-Oh and Yveltal.
* While Ultra Necrozma has a problematic 2x weakness to Ghost-type moves, Necrozma-DW has a crippling 4x weakness, which makes checks to Pokemon such as Marshadow, Mega Gengar, and Giratina-O highly wanted. Marshadow checks include Arceus-Fairy, Toxapex, Zygarde-C, and the already mentioned Choice Scarf Xerneas. Mega Gengar is difficult to conventionally check, but Pursuit users such as Marshadow, Alolan Muk, and Tyranitar can assist in minimizing its impact. Giratina-O can be handled by Xerneas, Yveltal, and Arceus-Dark.
* Extra wallbreakers such as Yveltal and Primal Kyogre are helpful to get damage onto the enemy team so Ultra Necrozma can clean up.
* Spikes from the likes of Ferrothorn and Skarmory are also useful at wearing down the opponent's team.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
* Rock Polish is an alternative option to Trick Room that can prove useful in situations where having Trick Room active can be detrimental to other team members. This does require investment in Speed, however, which will retract from Necrozma-DW's bulk.
* Stealth Rock is an interesting option for Necrozma-DW, as no other Ghost-types can make use of setting it. Necrozma-DW also directly threatens Giratina-O, as well as some support Arceus formes that may try to Defog with a Calm Mind-boosted Moongeist Beam or Menacing Moonraze Maelstrom. However, there tend to be more useful options for Necrozma-DW available, and alternative Stealth Rock setters exist with various perks.
* Choice Specs is a possible option, but compared to Lunala, Necrozma-DW lacks important coverage moves in Ice Beam and Focus Blast and is also slower. A strong Moongeist Beam from Necrozma-DW can be achieved with more versatile options that do not require locking into an attack.
* Substitute can see use on Necrozma-DW in order to dodge status moves from defensive Pokemon, but Necrozma-DW is actually slower than a fair few users of status moves.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Dark-types**: Necrozma-DW is cursed with a complete lack of specially based coverage that can hit Dark-type Pokemon such as Tyranitar, Arceus-Dark, and Mega Gyarados and therefore can only work around the usage of Brick Break on Ultra Necrozma to feasibly beat them. Power Gem can hit Yveltal, Earth Power can hit Alolan Muk, and Toxic might annoy some other Dark-type switch-ins in the long run, but Necrozma-DW stands little chance in a straight up fight without using Ultra Necrozma. It can also get easily Pursuit trapped by some Dark-types, to make matters worse.
**Faster Attackers**: Necrozma-DW sits at a low base 77 Speed for an offensive Pokemon, meaning that anything faster can threaten it when Trick Room is not active. Ultra Necrozma has less of an issue, sitting at base 129 Speed, but can still be easily revenge killed by the likes of Mega Gengar, Deoxys-A, and various Choice Scarf users such as Xerneas and Yveltal.
**Priority Attacks**: Shadow Sneak exploits Necrozma-DW's 4x weakness to Ghost and bypasses any hopes of it being faster than the attacker under Trick Room. Marshadow and Giratina-O are prime users of the move. Sucker Punch from Yveltal is also a very threatening move to both Necrozma-DW and Ultra Necrozma, as it will OHKO them first if they ever try to attack Yveltal. While Extreme Speed is ineffective against Necrozma-DW, Ultra Necrozma can be picked off by Extreme Killer Arceus and Rayquaza if it is weakened enough. Ultra Necrozma can usually take a Shadow Sneak from its prominent users at full health, but it can still be revenge killed if it has taken any damage.
**Bulky Attackers**: Without a Calm Mind boost, Menacing Moonraze Maelstrom, or both, Necrozma-DW tends to trade blows with many bulky attackers in the tier such as Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre, which can get the better of it over the course of the match. The Ultra Necrozma set can also struggle to break past Pokemon that it does not deal super effective damage to, but Calm Mind combined with Light That Burns the Sky will destroy any neutral targets if opted for.
**Blissey and Chansey**: If Necrozma-DW lacks Psyshock, Blissey and Chansey can comfortably take attacks and proceed to stall it with Toxic. Attempts to Calm Mind and break past them typically result in Necrozma-DW being neutralized by Confide. Ultra Necrozma can break through Blissey with a Neuroforce-boosted Brick Break but has trouble 2HKOing Chansey.
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